1. Kurt Steven Angle was born on December 9,1968 and is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestler.
178 Facts About Kurt Angle
1. 2.
Kurt Angle first earned recognition for winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics despite competing with a broken neck, and achieved wider fame for his tenures in WWE and TNA.
3.
Kurt Angle is considered one of the greatest professional and amateur wrestlers of all time.
4.
Kurt Angle is one of four people to win the Junior Nationals, NCAA, World Championships, and the Olympics.
5.
Kurt Angle made his first appearance at a professional wrestling event in 1996, and signed with the WWF in 1998.
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Kurt Angle became a one-time WCW Champion and one-time World Heavyweight Champion.
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Kurt Angle is the tenth professional wrestler to achieve the WWE Triple Crown and the fifth to achieve the WWE Grand Slam.
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Kurt Angle was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame's class of 2017.
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Kurt Angle is the second wrestler, after Sting, to be inducted into both the WWE and TNA Halls of Fame.
10.
Kurt Angle has won over 21 professional wrestling championships and is an overall 13-time world champion.
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Kurt Angle is the only wrestler to have won the WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, WCW Championship, TNA World Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and an NCAA Wrestling Championship.
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Kurt Angle is the first person to hold both the WWE and TNA Triple Crowns.
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Kurt Angle has headlined numerous pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania XIX and Bound for Glory on three occasions, the flagship events of WWE and TNA, respectively.
14.
Kurt Angle is of Welsh, German, Irish, Polish and Lithuanian descent.
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Kurt Angle has four older brothers named David, Mark, John, and Eric, the latter of whom is a wrestler; his older sister, Le'Anne, died at the age of 43 in 2003.
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Kurt Angle attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in education in 1993.
17.
Kurt Angle's father was a crane operator who died in a construction accident while working on Fifth Avenue Place when Angle was 16.
18.
Kurt Angle dedicated both his career and his autobiography to his father.
19.
Kurt Angle stated in an interview that, following his father's death, he regarded his wrestling coach David Schultz as a paternal figure.
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Kurt Angle started amateur wrestling at the age of seven.
21.
Kurt Angle was undefeated on the freshman wrestling team and qualified for the state wrestling tournament his sophomore year.
22.
Kurt Angle placed third in the state wrestling tournament as a junior and was the 1987 Pennsylvania State Wrestling Champion as a senior.
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Kurt Angle was a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I champion, national runner-up in 1991, and a three-time NCAA Division I All-American.
24.
In January 1996, not long after Kurt Angle began training at the club, Schultz was murdered by John Eleuthere du Pont, the sponsor of Schultz's team of Olympic prospectives.
25.
Kurt Angle faced further hardships while taking part in the 1996 Olympic Trials, when he suffered a severe neck injury, fracturing two of his cervical vertebrae, herniating two discs, and pulling four muscles.
26.
Nonetheless, Kurt Angle won the trials and then spent the subsequent five months resting and rehabilitating.
27.
Kurt Angle won his gold medal in the heavyweight weight class despite his injury, defeating several competitors including Mongolian Dolgorsurengiin Sumyaabazar, Cuban Wilfredo Morales, Ukrainian Sagid Murtazaliev, and others.
28.
Kurt Angle won four close matches to earn his spot in the gold-medal finals.
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In 2006, Kurt Angle was named the greatest shoot wrestler of all time by USA Wrestling, as well as one of the top 15 college wrestlers.
30.
Kurt Angle later announced he was unable to make the trials for the national team due to a knee injury, though he held an honorary title as team manager.
31.
In 2016, Kurt Angle was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame for his amateur wrestling accomplishments.
32.
On October 26,1996, Kurt Angle was convinced by fellow Pittsburgh native Shane Douglas to attend the Extreme Championship Wrestling event High Incident.
33.
Kurt Angle gave an in-ring interview and provided guest commentary during a match between Taz and Little Guido, but left the building after Raven attached Sandman to a cross using barbed wire.
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Kurt Angle rejected a decade-long contract with the WWF due to his unwillingness to accept scripted losses.
35.
Kurt Angle later conceded that his negative attitude toward the industry was misguided and "stupid".
36.
In 1998, Kurt Angle had a tryout with the WWF after the rescindment of the WWF's original 1996 offer.
37.
Kurt Angle was signed to a five-year deal in August 1998, just three days after his tryout.
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Kurt Angle performed for Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling defeating Steve Bradley and the East Coast Wrestling Association in February 1999 defeating Cyborg.
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Kurt Angle appeared on WWF television on Sunday Night Heat, where he took part in an angle with Tiger Ali Singh.
40.
Kurt Angle faced against Owen Hart in a dark match on Shotgun Saturday Night just two weeks before Owen died.
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Kurt Angle later turned heel again and joined the Alliance himself.
42.
In September 2002, Kurt Angle started to feud with Chris Benoit, losing to him at Unforgiven on September 22.
43.
Kurt Angle then began feuding with Brock Lesnar, who had won the Royal Rumble match on January 19,2003.
44.
Rather than remove the afflicted discs and fuse his vertebrae together, Kurt Angle opted for a less conventional surgery where only the spurs and selected portions of the discs were removed.
45.
Kurt Angle then got involved in a feud with Eddie Guerrero.
47.
Kurt Angle became a heel by attacking Eddie on SmackDown February 19,2004.
48.
Kurt Angle quickly took Nawrocki down with a guillotine choke, but Nawrocki managed to make it to the ropes, forcing Kurt Angle to break the hold.
49.
Kurt Angle then took Nawrocki down with a double leg takedown, breaking his ribs.
50.
Kurt Angle then locked another guillotine choke on Nawrocki, pinning him in the process.
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Not only was Kurt Angle not getting out of the move, but most MMA fighters would have tapped already.
52.
The ref counted a three even though Puder's shoulders weren't fully down, trying to end the thing, because the reality was Kurt Angle would have been in surgery had it gone a few seconds longer or had Puder not given up the hold.
53.
The unscripted nature of the contest was the main reason that Kurt Angle was made to look so bad since Puder just reacted to the situation and could have forced Kurt Angle to submit had the referees not thought quickly and counted a pin that wasn't there on Puder.
54.
On January 30,2005, at the Royal Rumble, after failing to win a triple threat match for the WWE Championship, which involved Big Show and champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Kurt Angle took part in the Royal Rumble match itself.
55.
Kurt Angle was quickly eliminated by Shawn Michaels, which caused Kurt Angle to return to the ring to eliminate Michaels in retaliation.
56.
Kurt Angle resumed his feud with Michaels upon being drafted to the Raw brand in the 2005 WWE draft lottery, losing to Michaels at Vengeance on June 26.
57.
Kurt Angle was unable to make Eugene submit within the three-minute time limit, winning Kurt Angle's cherished Olympic gold medal, and starting a feud between the two.
58.
Kurt Angle later feuded with John Cena for the WWE Championship.
59.
Kurt Angle would continue his feud with Cena into 2006, defeating him in a non-title first blood match on the January 2,2006, episode of Raw, after interference from Daivari.
60.
Kurt Angle would fail to win the match, as he was eliminated by Michaels.
61.
Kurt Angle won by eliminating Mark Henry, becoming a face in the process.
62.
Kurt Angle then began a three-way feud with Royal Rumble winner Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton.
63.
Kurt Angle stated that when he quit, WWE lost their top talent, as he was at the very top of the payroll.
64.
Kurt Angle signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
65.
In 2006, Kurt Angle made his TNA debut on October 19 as a face, confronting Samoa Joe after Joe refused to relinquish the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt that, according to the storyline, he had stolen from Jeff Jarrett.
66.
Team Kurt Angle was victorious after Jeff Jarrett hit Abyss with a gimmicked guitar full of thumbtacks and allowed Sting to score the pin fall victory.
67.
Kurt Angle was the victor by making Sting submit, who had technically just pinned Cage, and he was announced as the new "World Heavyweight Champion".
68.
Kurt Angle then attacked Joe after denying a request for a handshake, reigniting their feud and turning heel in the process.
69.
At Final Resolution on January 6,2008, Kurt Angle successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Cage, due to interference from Styles, and again at Against All Odds on February 10, with help from Tomko.
70.
Later that night, after Styles suffered a beating at the hands of Team 3D, Booker T, and Tomko, Kurt Angle added to the mugging by hitting Styles with a steel chair.
71.
The next week Kurt Angle challenged Styles to a ladder match for the Olympic gold medal.
72.
Kurt Angle lost to Jarrett in this match, being pinned after taking the mandible claw from Foley and a guitar shot and Stroke from Jarrett.
73.
Kurt Angle started attacking other superstars backstage in order to get a rematch against Jarrett.
74.
Kurt Angle defeated Rhino to earn a rematch with Jarrett at Genesis on January 11,2009, after Al Snow made a surprise appearance and distracted Foley so that Kurt Angle could cheat.
75.
Wolfe managed to gain the first fall by pinning Kurt Angle following the Tower of London, but Kurt Angle forced him to submit with the ankle lock to win the second fall.
76.
Kurt Angle responded to the incident by spitting in Hogan's face, threatening to quit TNA and go back to WWE.
77.
Kurt Angle apologized to Hogan, after being saved by him from Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac.
78.
At Lockdown, Kurt Angle defeated Anderson in a steel cage match and afterwards announced that he would take some time off from wrestling.
79.
Kurt Angle decided to take his name out of the running for a title shot and vowed to fight his way through the top 10 and earn his spot at the top of the company.
80.
At Bound for Glory, Kurt Angle was defeated by Hardy, when he turned heel and pinned Anderson after an interference from Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, who then went on to form an alliance named Immortal, with Hardy, Abyss, and Jeff Jarrett.
81.
Later that same month, Kurt Angle signed a new three-year contract with TNA.
82.
Kurt Angle ended up winning the fight after choking Jarrett with a shirt, forcing him to say "adios".
83.
In 2011, with his feud with Jarrett behind him, Kurt Angle aligned himself with Sting to feud with the rest of Immortal, including the group's newest member, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Mr Anderson.
84.
When Sting confronted Kurt Angle, he was attacked by Hogan, which led to Kurt Angle revealing that Hogan had been the one who had exposed Carter's lie to him.
85.
Kurt Angle revealed that his goal was now to ruin Carter's youth movement in TNA by eliminating the younger wrestlers one-by-one, and started by attacking Bound for Glory Series leader Crimson after the main event, cementing his heel turn.
86.
Kurt Angle returned on the November 17,2011, episode of Impact Wrestling, attacking James Storm and revealing himself as the man who had attacked and bloodied him the previous week, costing him his match with Bobby Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
87.
On January 8,2012, at Genesis, Kurt Angle defeated Storm in a rematch.
88.
Kurt Angle wrestled his final match in the 2012 Bound for Glory Series on the August 30 episode of Impact Wrestling, losing to Jeff Hardy, which resulted in him being eliminated from the tournament.
89.
On October 25,2012, Kurt Angle was chosen as the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Jeff Hardy in his title match.
90.
Kurt Angle revealed the vice president as D'Lo Brown on the following episode of Impact.
91.
Later that night, Kurt Angle defeated Styles in a singles match.
92.
Kurt Angle returned on the October 10,2013, episode of Impact Wrestling, attacking EGO and challenging Bobby Roode to a match at Bound For Glory.
93.
Roode responded by attacking Kurt Angle with help from his faction, EGO, forcing Kurt Angle to submit to the crossface hold in a precursory act prior to their match.
94.
At the PPV Kurt Angle was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame, but he refused to accept the offer as he felt he had let himself, TNA, and the fans down and didn't deserve a Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
95.
Kurt Angle said he would accept the offer when he feels he has earned it, and he still has great things to do in TNA.
96.
Later in that night, Kurt Angle was defeated by Roode, after he landed awkwardly from a running belly-to-belly suplex.
97.
However, Kurt Angle lost his next match against Magnus, due to an interference from Roode.
98.
At Final Resolution, Kurt Angle was defeated by Roode in a 2-out-of 3 falls match, but Kurt Angle faced and defeated Roode in a Steel Cage match at Genesis to end the feud.
99.
On February 6,2014, Kurt Angle had a match against Magnus.
100.
However, he won by disqualification, when Ethan Carter III attacked Kurt Angle, performing a leglock, which injured Kurt Angle's knee.
101.
On February 27,2014, Kurt Angle officially accepted his induction into the TNA Hall of Fame, but the ceremony was interrupted by EC3, with Kurt Angle attacking him.
102.
The next week, Kurt Angle was attacked by EC3 and his knees were severely damaged, thus losing his chance to fight at Lockdown.
103.
At Sacrifice, Willow and Kurt Angle defeated EC3 and Rockstar Spud.
104.
On June 20,2014, Kurt Angle was named Executive Director of Wrestling Operations of TNA by TNA's board of directors.
105.
Kurt Angle retired the TNA Television Championship, which had not been seen or defended since Abyss won it at Slammiversary 2013.
106.
On September 18,2014, Kurt Angle refereed the TNA World Heavyweight Championship between Bobby Roode and Bobby Lashley.
107.
Kurt Angle offered to return as a part-time wrestler due to concerns of his age and health.
108.
Kurt Angle was caught off guard when WWE declined his services.
109.
Kurt Angle teased a return to WWE; however, he was offered a full-time contract by TNA; so, Kurt Angle decided to stay.
110.
Kurt Angle returned to in-ring action on TNA's debut on Destination America on January 7,2015, when he stopped a brawl, but started a street fight against MVP.
111.
On January 31,2015, Kurt Angle defeated Lashley to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for a record sixth time.
112.
Kurt Angle successfully defended his title against Lashley once, and then again against both Lashley and Eric Young.
113.
At Destination X, Kurt Angle defeated Rockstar Spud, who gave up the X Division Championship in order to challenge for the title.
114.
On October 4,2015, at Bound for Glory, Kurt Angle defeated Young via ankle lock submission.
115.
Kurt Angle announced his "Farewell Tour" which took place on TNA's tour of the UK.
116.
At TNA One Night Only: Live, Kurt Angle teamed with Drew Galloway in a three-way tag team match against Eli Drake and Jessie Godderz and The Wolves for their TNA World Tag Team Championship, in a losing effort.
117.
On February 18,2007, Kurt Angle made his debut in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, teaming with former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata to defeat fellow TNA wrestler Travis Tomko and fellow WWE alumnus Giant Bernard.
118.
Kurt Angle was booked to face Brock Lesnar in a champion-versus-champion match for the Inoki Genome Federation on June 29,2007, and defeated him by submission to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
119.
On December 19,2007, Kurt Angle defended the IWGP title successfully against Kendo Kashin.
120.
On January 4,2008, Kurt Angle made his third successful IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense when he defeated Yuji Nagata at the NJPW supershow Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome by forcing Nagata to submit to the ankle lock.
121.
On February 17,2008, Kurt Angle lost the IWGP title to the NJPW-recognized champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a unification match.
122.
Kurt Angle returned on January 4,2009, at Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome in a special eight-man tag match, where he, Kevin Nash, Chono, and Riki Choshu faced Great Bash Heel, with Angle getting the win for his team.
123.
Electroshock won the match for his team by pinning Kurt Angle, forcing Dorian to have his head shaved bald.
124.
On March 20,2016, Kurt Angle competed for URFight, going against former rival and fellow WWE alumnus Rey Mysterio in a losing effort in a two-falls match that saw Kurt Angle as a heel.
125.
On February 12,2017, Kurt Angle defeated Alberto el Patron at WCPW True Destiny in his final match in the United Kingdom.
126.
On March 3,2017, Kurt Angle appeared for Northeast Wrestling in Connecticut, where he was defeated by Cody Rhodes in a steel cage match.
127.
On January 16,2017, WWE announced that Kurt Angle would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
128.
Kurt Angle stated that his son eventually ended up in the WWE.
129.
Kurt Angle then made the announcement that his son was Jason Jordan of American Alpha, thus moving Jordan to the Raw brand.
130.
Kurt Angle participated in the 50-man Royal Rumble match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event later that month.
131.
Kurt Angle entered at number 16 and eliminated Bo Dallas, Primo Colon, and Dolph Ziggler before being eliminated by Elias.
132.
At the event, Kurt Angle was defeated by Dolph Ziggler in the first round of the WWE World Cup Tournament.
133.
On November 5, Kurt Angle competed in his first match on Raw since 2006, for a spot in the Survivor Series men's tag team match, losing to Drew McIntyre, with McIntyre using Kurt Angle's own ankle lock finishing maneuver to make him submit.
134.
At the 2019 Royal Rumble on January 27,2019, Kurt Angle entered the match at number four but was eliminated by Shinsuke Nakamura.
135.
At WrestleMania 35, Kurt Angle lost to Corbin in his final match.
136.
On July 22,2019, Kurt Angle appeared on Raw Reunion and raised a toast alongside Triple H, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and various other fellow wrestlers of his era.
137.
However, McIntyre and Alexander took out each other before the match began, and Kurt Angle was then attacked by "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.
138.
Kurt Angle would get into an altercation with Alpha Academy before being aided by The Street Profits, which led to a tag team match between the two teams with the stipulation that if Alpha Academy won, Angle would have to join them.
139.
The Street Profits would win the match and afterwards, Kurt Angle celebrated with them by drinking milk.
140.
Later on in the night, Kurt Angle reunited with Edge backstage and would get pranked by him with rigged pictures containing mocking slogans on the back of them in a similar fashion to a segment the duo had in 2002.
141.
Kurt Angle interacted with various superstars backstage, including his storyline son, Jason Jordan, before getting into an altercation with Alpha Academy at the end of the show during his in-ring celebration.
142.
Kurt Angle would be aided by Gable Steveson, who drove a milk truck to the ring, with the two spraying Alpha Academy with milk from a hose, mimicking Kurt Angle's famous 2001 segment.
143.
On February 1,2025, Kurt Angle was acknowledged amongst other legends at ringside at the Royal Rumble.
144.
When Kurt Angle began to train as a professional wrestler, he was asked to not watch old tapes, since the style had changed during the Attitude Era and the matches were more aggressive.
145.
The chants have become a trademark of Kurt Angle's persona, regardless if he is a face or heel.
146.
Kurt Angle expressed interest in pursuing an acting career after retiring from professional wrestling.
147.
Kurt Angle appeared in the "Car Wreck Vanish" episode of Criss Angel Mindfreak.
148.
Kurt Angle played Russian MMA champion Koba in the 2011 film Warrior, and starred as town sheriff Will Logan in the film River of Darkness.
149.
Kurt Angle had a small role in the 2014 cult-film Sharknado 2: The Second One and in the 2014 romantic-comedy film Not Cool.
150.
Kurt Angle appeared in the film The Last Witch Hunter.
151.
Kurt Angle made a cameo appearance in the movie Pain and Gain, in which he brawls with Dwayne Johnson's character in a prison fight.
152.
Kurt Angle appeared on an episode of Duck Dynasty in February 2016.
153.
In 1996, Kurt Angle became a marketing representative for Protos Foods, the manufacturers of OSTRIM, an ostrich-meat-based foodstuff.
154.
Kurt Angle did a commercial for Pittsburgh-based pizza chain Pizza Outlet.
155.
Kurt Angle is a longtime fan of MMA, and has occasionally talked about his desire to compete.
156.
UFC president Dana White stated that Kurt Angle was in talks to appear as a heavyweight contestant on the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, but did not meet the medical requirements.
157.
In 2008, Kurt Angle was selected to be featured on the cover for metal band Emmure's second album The Respect Issue, where he is depicted on the front and back covers for the record, as well as on the inlay.
158.
From January 2021 to January 2024, Angle co-hosted a podcast called The Kurt Angle Show with Conrad Thompson.
159.
In 2010, it was reported that Kurt Angle was engaged to actress Giovanna Yannotti.
160.
Kurt Angle supported Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries.
161.
Kurt Angle is a supporter of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Coventry City FC.
162.
In July 2015, Kurt Angle underwent emergency surgery to remove fluid buildup on his spinal cord after all of his extremities had become numb.
163.
In 2007, Sports Illustrated reported that Kurt Angle's name was found in the client database of a Florida wellness center suspected of being a front for distributing performance enhancing drugs.
164.
The magazine alleged that Kurt Angle had received prescriptions for trenbolone and nandrolone, both anabolic steroids.
165.
Kurt Angle denied the allegations, commenting that his neck issues were well documented.
166.
Kurt Angle only failed a drugs test under WWE's Wellness Policy because his prescription for nandrolone had expired.
167.
Kurt Angle has been open about struggles with addiction to prescription pain medication.
168.
In September 2007, Kurt Angle was arrested by the Moon Township Police Department in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a part of the Greater Pittsburgh area, on a DUI charge, after police received a report of an erratic driver leaving a local bar.
169.
Kurt Angle was charged with driving under the influence and careless driving after police traced the description of the car to his home.
170.
Kurt Angle was later found not guilty on those charges when the complaining witness was unable to corroborate her story.
171.
Kurt Angle's girlfriend stated that she had filed a protection from abuse order and that he was stalking her in the Robinson area.
172.
Kurt Angle was charged with "driving while operating privilege is suspended, prohibited acts-possession, harassment and prohibited acts".
173.
Hygetropin, a human growth hormone, was found in his car; Kurt Angle maintained that he had a prescription for the drug.
174.
On March 25,2011, Kurt Angle was arrested by North Dakota Highway Patrol officers in Thompson, North Dakota, and charged with "being in control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated", after failing a field sobriety test.
175.
Kurt Angle was arrested in the early morning of September 4,2011, by Virginia State Troopers for allegedly driving under the influence.
176.
Kurt Angle was placed in Warren County Jail, before posting $2,000 bail and being released.
177.
On November 8,2011, Kurt Angle entered a plea of no contest and was fined $1,500.
178.
Later that day, Kurt Angle announced he was immediately entering a drug rehabilitation center.