History Wrestling / KurtAngle

* UncoolUndies: KurtAngle has been pantsed in the ring several times, revealing his skimpy thong, much to the crowd's delight. One pantsing incident added insult to injury as after he was pantsed, the ridiculous hair piece he was wearing was snatched off his head, revealing his baldness ([[ItMakesSenseInContext long story]]). It's one of his character's RunningGags as he would be flustered and struggle to pull his pants up while wrestling.

* AHeroToHisHometown: Of Pittsburgh, always.

* AllAmericanFace: Played straight when he's a face, such as after 9/11 and he beat then heel Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. Subverted when he's a heel. In his first match he was played up as a face coming from an amateur and Olympic background, but the crowd was bored, he was told in the ring that he was going to be a heel and he ran with it.

* JerkJock: Pretty much always, but fans will tolerate it so long as he is a jerk to people they dislike, or just like less. This seemed to seep into real life at some point during ''Tough Enough'', with him breaking three of Chris Nawrocki's ribs and getting Daniel Puder into a shoot fight.
* KickTheDog: After Bitch Slap got injured against Americans Most Wanted and Wrestling/RonKillings, new commissioner Wrestling/JimCornette announced there would be no more male vs female violence in TNA. So Angle, wanting to get Cornette's attention, put [=SoCal=] Val in an ankle lock and dragged her out the ring.

Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is a retired American professional wrestler best known for his seven-year tenure in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where he was referred to as "professional wrestling's only Olympic gold medalist" (which is legit; he won gold medals for wrestling at the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 1996 Summer Olympics]] [[CatchPhrase WITH A BROKEN]] [[Memes/ProfessionalWrestling FREAKIN' NECK!]]). He was also known for a decade-long tenure at Wrestling/{{TNA}}, before returning to WWE in 2017, where he wrestled his final matches as an in-ring competitor. He currently works for WWE as a road agent.

You can read an extensive article on his career on his [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Angle page]] over at [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} That Other Wiki]], of course.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Kurt was on the winning side of a very one sided rivalry with Mic Tierney in Memphis Power Pro Wrestling.

As his neck injuries and personal troubles began to catch up to him, Angle announced in February 2019 that he would retire from in-ring competition, challenging Corbin for one final match at [=WrestleMania=] 35. There, Corbin defeated Angle, ending his 20-year career as a wrestler. Both he and fellow WWE competitor Wrestling/{{Batista}} wrestled their last matches in the event. Angle continued to work for WWE as a backstage producer until he and dozens of other wrestlers and staff were released in April 2020.

As his neck injuries and personal troubles began to catch up to him, Angle announced in February 2019 that he would retire from in-ring competition, challenging Corbin for one final match at [=WrestleMania=] 35. There, Corbin defeated Angle, ending his 20-year career as a wrestler. Both he and fellow WWE competitor Wrestling/{{Batista}} wrestled their last matches in the event.

*** A little sadder as at the time, he was weeping for the joy of his new gold medal, and for the grief he could not share it with an old friend, Dave Schultz, who had been shot dead that year.

** He wrestled against Wrestling/DolphZiggler at Crown Jewel, and wrestled against Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre on Wrestling/WWERaw and Wrestling/BaronCorbin on ''Wrestling/WWERaw and Wrestling/WrestleMania 35.

* OvershadowedByAwesome: While much better liked than his predecessor, Kurt Angle was essentially in New Japan and the Inoki Genome Federation to serve as a transitional champion. NJPW stripped Brock Lesnar of the IWGP Heavyweight Title for his matches generally being of low quality despite his limited work schedule, refusing to drop the belt and being difficult to work with in several other ways despite [[TheScrappy not connecting with the fans]]. Wrestling/AntonioInoki thought IWGP/NJPW had made a mistake in stripping Brock of the belt instead of having a match [[AuthorsSavingThrow and so brought in]] TNA World Champion Kurt Angle, someone he knew Lesnar would agree to drop it too, gave Kurt a nice but short run where he successfully defended against Samoa Joe and defeated the recognized IWGP Heavyweight Champion Wrestling/YujiNagata (who was trying to take it back) and then lost the belt to Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura, who unified the titles, putting an end to the "third IWGP belt" saga.

* {{Pittsburgh}}: He's one of the only professional wrestlers to sport a homegrown yinzer accent. The only other prominent example has been ShaneDouglas, and Kurt's accent is far thicker.

** At the 2003 ''Wrestling/{{No Way Out|Wrestling}}'' pay-per-view (which was taking place in Montreal, Quebec), he insulted Canadians in general and Wrestling/ChrisBenoit and Wrestling/{{Edge}} in particular, mocking their French heritage (although Edge is Anglo-Canadian, and has insulted French Canadians himself) in the CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys idiom. [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece Extremely common at the time]].

* TenMinuteRetirement: His 2010 leave of absence from TNA last all of one month.

* BittersweetEnding: He ended his 20+ year career at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 35,'' being defeated cleanly by heel Wrestling/BaronCorbin. The match wasn't the legendary send-off a wrestler of Angle's caliber deserved (Angle was being forced into retirement because [[DentedIron he honestly couldn't go any more]] and Corbin isn't a talented enough worker to pick up the slack), Corbin was considered by ''everyone'' to be an unworthy final opponent, and it was generally agreed that Angle deserved much better.

----

* WrestlingFamily: His brother, Eric, had a stint as a professional wrestler that was brought to an end in the International Wrestling Cartel. Kurt almost had [[Characters/WWEDivas WWE Diva Nidia]] as a sister-in-law, since Nidia was engaged to Eric when he was in OVW, but they split up for whatever reason.

Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is a retired professional wrestler best known for his seven-year tenure in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where he was referred to as "professional wrestling's only Olympic gold medalist" (which is legit; he won gold medals for wrestling at the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 1996 Summer Olympics]] [[CatchPhrase WITH A BROKEN]] [[Memes/ProfessionalWrestling FREAKIN' NECK!]]). He was also known for a decade-long tenure at Wrestling/{{TNA}}, before returning to WWE in 2017, where he wrestled his final matches as an in-ring competitor. He currently works for WWE as a road agent.

-->--The fans. [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Whether he's a Face or a Heel]].

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kurt_angle_entrance_video.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Everyone's Olympic Hero.]]

The first to be declared a "Future Legend"[[note]]awarded annually from 2000 through 2015[[/note]] by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauliflower_Alley_Club Cauliflower Alley Club]], he's a 13-time world champion, having being a four-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWF/E Champion]], a one-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-h.html World Heavyweight Champion (WWE)]], a one-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-h.html WCW Champion]] (he won it in the WWE during the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invasion_%28professional_wrestling%29 Invasion]] storyline), a six-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tna/tna-h.html TNA World Heavyweight Champion]] and a one-time [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling IWGP]] [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-h.html Heavyweight Champion]] (in the Inoki Genome Federation). He was also selected to join WWE's Hall of Fame class of 2017 and then returned to ''Raw'' as its new general manager, serving in this capacity until December 2018 (though Wrestling/BaronCorbin had "replaced" Angle in an acting capacity for four months by then).

As his neck injuries and personal troubles began to catch up to him, Angle announced in February 2019 that he would retire from in-ring competition, challenging Corbin for one final match at [=WrestleMania=] 35. There, Corbin defeated Angle in six minutes, ending his 20-year career as a wrestler. Both he and fellow WWE competitor Wrestling/{{Batista}} wrestled their last matches in the event.

* ActionDad: He has five children. Two with Karen Angle and three with Giovanna Yannotti.
* AllAmericanFace: Played straight when he's a face, such as after 9/11 and he beat then heel [[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin "Stone Cold" Steve Austin]]. Subverted when he's a heel. In his first match he was played up as a face coming from an amateur and Olympic background, but the crowd was bored, he was told in the ring that he was going to be a heel and he ran with it.

** He wrestled against Wrestling/DolphZiggler at Crown Jewel, and wrestled against Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre and Wrestling/BaronCorbin on ''Wrestling/WWERaw.''

Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is a retired professional wrestler best known for his seven-year tenure in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where he was referred to as "professional wrestling's only Olympic gold medalist" (which is legit; he won gold medals for wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics [[CatchPhrase WITH A BROKEN]] [[Memes/ProfessionalWrestling FREAKIN' NECK!]]). He was also known for a decade-long tenure at Wrestling/{{TNA}}, before returning to WWE in 2017, where he wrestled his final matches as an in-ring competitor. He currently works for WWE as a road agent.

* WrestlingFamily: His brother, Eric, had a stint as a professional wrestler that was brought to an end in the International Wrestling Cartel.

Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is a retired professional wrestler best known for his seven-year tenure in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where he was referred to as "professional wrestling's only Olympic gold medalist" (which is legit; he won gold medals for wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics [[CatchPhrase WITH A BROKEN]] [[Memes/ProfessionalWrestling FREAKIN' NECK!]]). He was also known for a decade-long tenure at Wrestling/{{TNA}}, before returning to WWE in 2017, where he wrestled his final matches as an in-ring competitor.

* InsultOfEndearment: The "You Suck!" chants when Angle's a babyface. This was highlighted during his HeelFaceTurn as part of his break with [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Team Angle]] in 2003, where he told Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas that he ''earned'' that chant.

Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is a retired professional wrestler best know for his seven-year tenure in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where he was referred to as "professional wrestling's only Olympic gold medalist" (which is legit; he won gold medals for wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics [[CatchPhrase WITH A BROKEN]] [[Memes/ProfessionalWrestling FREAKIN' NECK!]]). He was also known for a decade-long tenure at Wrestling/{{TNA}}, before returning to WWE in 2017, where he wrestled his final matches as an in-ring competitor.

** In Wrestling/WrestleMania 34 he's teaming up with Creator/RondaRousey against Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon. Angle is older than Triple H and Stephanie and Ronda is younger than Triple H and Stephanie.
** He wrestle against Wrestling/DolphZiggler at Crown Jewel, wrestle against Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre and Wrestling/BaronCorbin at Wrestling/WWERaw.

* StalkerWithACrush: In 2005, when he was obsessed with Booker T's RealLife-wife, Sharmell. There were some creepiness as Angle said he wanted to have "bestiality sex" with her. "Bestiality" is copulation with animals. Booker T and Sharmell are both black. He likely meant beastly (i.e. do it ''like'' animals instead of ''with'') but never corrected himself.

* ArchEnemy: Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, Wrestling/BrockLesnar, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, Wrestling/TripleH, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, Wrestling/{{Sting}}, Wrestling/JeffJarrett.

As his neck injuries and personal troubles began to catch up to him, Angle announced in February 2019 that he would retire from in-ring competition, challenging Corbin for one final match at [=WrestleMania=] 35. There, Corbin defeated Angle in six minutes, ending his 20-year career as a wrestler. Both he and fellow WWE competitor Wrestling/DaveBautista wrestled their last matches in the event.

Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is a professional wrestler who has wrestled for Wrestling/{{TNA}}, but made his name during a seven-year tenure in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where he was referred to as "professional wrestling's only Olympic gold medalist" (which is legit; he won gold medals for wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics [[CatchPhrase WITH A BROKEN]] [[Memes/ProfessionalWrestling FREAKIN' NECK!]]).

The first to be declared a "Future Legend"[[note]]awarded annually from 2000 through 2015[[/note]] by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauliflower_Alley_Club Cauliflower Alley Club]], he's a 13-time world champion, having being a four-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWF/E Champion]], a one-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-h.html World Heavyweight Champion (WWE)]], a one-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-h.html WCW Champion]] (he won it in the WWE during the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invasion_%28professional_wrestling%29 Invasion]] storyline), a six-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tna/tna-h.html TNA World Heavyweight Champion]] and a one-time [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling IWGP]] [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-h.html Heavyweight Champion]] (in the Inoki Genome Federation). He was also selected to join WWE's Hall of Fame class of 2017 and then returned to ''Raw'' as its new general manager.

*** A little HarsherInHindsight as at the time, he was weeping for the joy of his new gold medal, and for the grief he could not share it with an old friend, Dave Schultz, who had been shot dead that year.

* StalkerWithACrush: In 2005, when he was obsessed with Booker T's RealLife-wife, Sharmell. There were some UnfortunateImplications in this, as Angle said he wanted to have "bestiality sex" with her. "Bestiality" is copulation with animals. Booker T and Sharmell are both black. He likely meant beastly (i.e. do it ''like'' animals instead of ''with'') but never corrected himself.