Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar defined the Ruthless Aggression Era. Path-defining matches to their wrestling skills, Angle and Lesnar pushed the boundaries of what was possible in the ring. In this video, we break down their most memorable encounters, including their epic showdown at WrestleMania XIX and the legendary Iron Man match on SmackDown.
How their rivalry elevated the WWE product during a transformative period in professional wrestling.
You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe
#brocklesnar #kurtangle #wwe #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling
How their rivalry elevated the WWE product during a transformative period in professional wrestling.
You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe
#brocklesnar #kurtangle #wwe #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling
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00:00 Who is Brock Lesnar's best rival? Is it Roman Reigns? Is it The Undertaker?
00:06 Is it John Cena? Each of these wrestlers has shared the ring with Lesnar in memorable matches.
00:12 However, one name that stands out as his greatest rival is Kurt Angle.
00:18 While Angle might not immediately come to mind as one of Lesnar's top opponents, the matches they had and the stories they told in the
00:25 ring were nearly perfect. Their rivalry had it all.
00:29 Optimosity, friendship, competition, jealousy, betrayal, and championships.
00:35 So how did it all begin?
00:37 Let's get into it. Before we talk about Angle and Lesnar's feud, it's important to know how we got here.
00:44 In 2002, WWE was making a huge change in the company.
00:48 They had won the Monday Night Wars and had acquired WCW.
00:52 Also, stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were appearing less on the shows.
00:58 So Vince McMahon decided to introduce a new era in WWE.
01:02 The Ruthless Aggression Era where they elevated newer talents and one such talent was Brock Lesnar.
01:09 Brock Lesnar made his WWE debut in 2002 and quickly became a force to reckon with.
01:15 Aside from his monstrous look, Lesnar had an aura of legitimacy.
01:20 He was an NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Champion and maintained a record of
01:25 206-5 in college wrestling.
01:28 Looking at his accomplishments outside of WWE, the management decided to put the machine behind him and make him the next big thing.
01:36 WWE aligned him with Paul Heyman who did most of the talking and Lesnar ran through everybody.
01:42 In just a little over two months after his arrival,
01:45 he became the king of the ring earning a shot for the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam.
01:51 And at that show, he went on to defeat The Rock and won the WWE Championship at the age of 25.
01:58 Let me tell you why this is such a huge deal.
02:01 Lesnar was unknown just a few months ago at WrestleMania 18 and at SummerSlam, he was the WWE Champion.
02:08 He won the title just 126 days after coming to WWE.
02:14 That's how much potential WWE saw in him. He was unstoppable.
02:18 After winning the championship, WWE continued booking him as a monster and he even beat The Undertaker.
02:25 There was no stopping Brock Lesnar at this point. The only way to defeat him was through underhanded tactics.
02:32 This is exactly what happened at Survivor Series when Paul Heyman betrayed Lesnar,
02:37 helping Big Show in winning the WWE Championship and turning Lesnar into a face in the process.
02:44 Up until this time, Kurt Angle was already a decorated superstar.
02:49 Having made his WWE debut a few years before Lesnar, he had won the WWE Championship multiple times.
02:56 Just like Lesnar, Angle also brought a sense of legitimacy to his matches due to his impressive amateur wrestling credentials.
03:03 After all, he did win the gold medal at the Olympics with a broken freaking neck.
03:08 Also around this time, he underwent significant changes from his previous appearances.
03:13 He had shaved his head bald and adopted a more ruthless persona in the ring.
03:18 A feud between the two was bound to happen due to their similar wrestling background.
03:22 But before we talk about their in-ring feud, we must talk about the instance when the two fought for real.
03:29 When Lesnar stated that he would destroy Kurt in a wrestling match, as he had about 100 pounds on him, Angle challenged him.
03:36 On the Talk is Jericho podcast, Kurt said quote, "We had the showdown. It was close. It really was."
03:43 "He had 90 pounds on me, but I probably took him down in the ropes a good 7 to 8 times."
03:49 "He used the ropes to say we're out of bounds. That's okay. I did take him down once. He didn't take me down at all." End quote.
03:58 This goes to show you how driven two guys were who wanted to be the best.
04:02 Angle was the perfect opponent WWE could book for Lesnar.
04:06 His high level of technical mastery proved to be a test for Brock.
04:10 Angle came out as the only viable opponent for Lesnar who could believably beat him.
04:15 So their feud began after Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Big Show and got betrayed by his manager Paul Heyman.
04:23 To settle the score with Big Show and Heyman, Lesnar interfered during Big Show's title defense against Kurt Angle the following month at Armageddon and allowed Angle to win the WWE Championship.
04:34 Angle had initially promised Lesnar a WWE Championship match if he won the title.
04:39 However, the following week on Smackdown, Kurt introduced Paul Heyman as his new manager and refused to grant Lesnar a title shot.
04:48 Towards the end of 2002, it was obvious that WWE was gearing towards the first ever Angle vs Lesnar match at WrestleMania 19.
04:57 Around this time, Angle introduced Team Angle consisting of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin.
05:03 Despite being great in-ring performers, they were just used as Kurt Angle's entourage to help him further solidify Angle's status as a top heel in the company.
05:12 Lesnar had to jump through hoops to get to Angle and that's what he did.
05:16 He finished his rivalry with Big Show at Royal Rumble 2003 and later that night entered the Royal Rumble match at number 29.
05:24 He went on to win the entire thing by last eliminating The Undertaker.
05:29 On the same night, Angle retained the WWE title in a classic against Chris Benoit.
05:35 Lesnar was a full-fledged babyface by now and at No Way Out, he teamed up with Benoit to defeat Angle and Team Angle in a 2-on-3 handicap match to continue the build-up to the Ultimate Showdown.
05:47 Now the stage was set for their dream match.
05:50 Everyone knew this would be one hell of a match, but unfortunately, Kurt injured his neck.
05:56 It was so severe that he would need surgery, similar to what Stone Cold Steve Austin had undergone in previous years.
06:03 WWE was even considering cancelling the match at WrestleMania.
06:07 A few weeks later, WWE booked a WWE title match between Angle and Lesnar where it was presumed that Lesnar would quickly win the title due to Angle's injury.
06:16 On his podcast, Angle said quote, "I was going to drop the title to Brock and I believed Brock was going to go to WrestleMania and face a new opponent for the main event.
06:25 So, I think they were going to substitute Chris Benoit, I believe.
06:29 So he was basically going to take my place and you know it bothered me." end quote.
06:34 After talking to a neighbor who was sad that Angle wasn't wrestling at WrestleMania, he changed his mind and reached out to Vince McMahon.
06:41 He said quote, "I told Vince, 'Let's have the match,' and he said, 'You need to get it approved by your doctor.' And I'm sorry, Kurt, but we have a match that's advertised on TV the past week and it's a SmackDown before WrestleMania and you're wrestling Brock and Brock's beating you for the title.'
06:59 I said, 'Well, we're going to have to change that, Vince.'" end quote.
07:05 And the plans were changed. He did face Lesnar on SmackDown as advertised, but Kurt retained the championship with the help of his brother who took the beating at the hands of Lesnar and switched places with Kurt, allowing the Olympic gold medalist to pin the Beast Incarnate.
07:20 It was a classic heel tactic that made fans root for Lesnar even more.
07:25 Eventually, the time for the match came at WrestleMania 19.
07:29 Despite Rock vs Austin 3 being on the same show, WWE went with Angle vs Lesnar as the main event.
07:37 It was a huge deal. This match is still regarded as one of the greatest matches in WWE history.
07:44 Both of them showcased their incredible technical skills and athleticism.
07:48 The storytelling was top notch.
07:51 The narrative of Lesnar's quest to reclaim the WWE Championship against a determined and cunning Angle kept the audience engaged throughout.
07:59 Fans kinda knew that Lesnar was getting the title back, but no one knew what would happen in the match.
08:04 During the climax, Brock went up to the top rope and decided to deliver a shooting star press.
08:10 Yes, a nearly 300-pound Brock Lesnar attempted a shooting star press.
08:16 Unfortunately, he miscalculated the distance and landed on his neck.
08:21 He was clearly concussed after this.
08:23 Lesnar had performed this move during his Ohio Valley Wrestling days,
08:27 and everyone thought it would make a great WrestleMania moment if he delivers it at the grandest stage of them all.
08:32 On the Michael K show, Lesnar said quote, "Thankfully, I didn't break my neck or anything like that, but I shouldn't have done that move.
08:40 I finished the move, I had a concussion, or I finished the match, I had a concussion, but thankfully, I didn't break my neck. That was the worst of it." end quote.
08:51 But despite the scary scene, he continued to finish the match by hitting Angle with an F5 and pinning him to win his second WWE Championship.
09:01 Angle took some time off to heal from his injury following this, while Lesnar became the main attraction of SmackDown as the WWE Champ.
09:09 He defended the title against the likes of John Cena and Big Show.
09:14 In the meantime, he also developed a mutual respect for Angle and praised the Olympic gold medalist.
09:20 Angle returned on the June 5th episode of SmackDown.
09:23 The fans completely embraced him as a face and he became one of the most over stars in WWE.
09:29 Now the time was right to renew their rivalry, but this time, both of them were fan favorites.
09:35 They also became friends following their intense Wrestlemania match.
09:39 The two were also featured together in hilarious vignettes playing up their friendship.
09:43 However, they were still competitors who wanted to be on top.
09:47 At Vengeance 2003, Angle defeated Lesnar and Big Show in a triple threat match to regain the WWE title.
09:55 Giving the title to Angle was the right call.
09:58 He had just returned from a career threatening injury and fans were behind him.
10:02 Why not give him a hero's welcome by giving him the title?
10:05 However, Lesnar wanted his rematch.
10:08 After Vengeance, many fans expected WWE to book a babyface vs babyface match
10:14 with Angle defending the title against Lesnar at Summerslam.
10:18 But, WWE wanted something different.
10:21 Lesnar was working as a face for more than 9 months up until this time
10:25 and while you might argue that the face run could have lasted a little bit longer,
10:29 this was the perfect time for a change.
10:32 Lesnar turned heel before Summerslam, siding with Vince McMahon and attacking Angle.
10:38 Storyline wise, this made sense.
10:41 Lesnar just defeated Angle at Wrestlemania to win the championship,
10:45 only to lose the title to him a few months later.
10:47 Of course he would be pissed.
10:49 Lesnar continued his attacks on victims to build him up as a heel monster who didn't care about those around him.
10:55 He completely destroyed a once legend wrestler, Zack Gowen,
10:59 in one of the most uncomfortable matches in WWE history.
11:03 It felt like Lesnar was more comfortable working as a heel than a face.
11:07 Their Summerslam match was the Wrestlemania rematch,
11:10 but now the dynamic was different with Angle being the face while Lesnar was the heel.
11:15 The match was great.
11:17 Lesnar displayed a more aggressive and calculated approach and Angle was fueled with redemption.
11:23 Despite delivering an F5, Angle kicked out and managed to put Brock in the ankle lock.
11:28 Lesnar tried to escape, but he had no choice but to tap out of the middle of the ring.
11:33 Angle defeated Lesnar and retained his WWE championship at Summerslam.
11:38 Not only had he beat Lesnar, he beat Lesnar clean.
11:42 That's a huge accomplishment in its own right.
11:45 At Wrestlemania, Lesnar won.
11:48 At Summerslam, Angle won.
11:50 Now it was time for the third match.
11:52 Both of their singles matches were good, but it was nothing compared to what was coming next.
11:57 Soon, talks of an Ironman match between the two began to surface.
12:02 Many believed they would do this match at the next pay-per-view, no mercy,
12:06 but WWE decided to book this on Smackdown.
12:09 Yes, a 60-minute Ironman match was booked on TV.
12:14 In the weeks leading up to the Ironman match,
12:16 Angle and Lesnar had several warm-up matches at house shows
12:20 where they put on 25-minute wrestling clinics for fans.
12:23 However, just two days before the match was scheduled, Lesnar suffered a knee injury.
12:29 Fortunately, it was diagnosed as loose cartilage in his knee,
12:32 a condition he could manage and work through, allowing the match to proceed as planned.
12:36 But the biggest tragedy came when Kurt Angle learned just a day before the match
12:41 that his sister had passed away.
12:43 On the Joe Rogan podcast, he said,
12:45 "I was at a house show and it was the night before I was going to have the biggest match of my career
12:50 with Brock Lesnar the next day, an Ironman match on Smackdown.
12:54 My brother calls me and says, 'Hey, your sister just died.' And it crushed me."
13:01 He also revealed that WWE told him to go home and plan for a funeral,
13:06 but he ended up doing the match.
13:08 He felt that she would have wanted him to compete, and he did.
13:11 You can say that Kurt Angle walked as the Ironman that night.
13:15 The match featured numerous momentum swings,
13:17 with each wrestler gaining and losing the advantage multiple times.
13:21 Lesnar used a steel chair to attack Angle, losing a point,
13:25 only to capitalize on the situation and pin a weakened Kurt Angle to gain a point.
13:30 Brock even made Kurt tap out to his own submission, the ankle lock at one point.
13:35 The drama was on another level.
13:37 During the last few seconds, Lesnar was at one point ahead of Angle.
13:42 Kurt desperately tried to make Lesnar tap out to the ankle lock as the time was running out,
13:47 but Brock managed to survive the time and won the match.
13:51 With this, he won the WWE Championship for the third time in his career.
13:56 This would go down as one of the best Ironman matches in WWE history,
14:01 and it elevated both of their careers.
14:04 This was the last singles match in their rivalry, and arguably the best one.
14:09 They went their separate ways following this.
14:11 They did cross paths at Survivor Series, but the animosity between the two stars was no more.
14:18 This was a very important feud at a time when WWE was doing something new.
14:23 Stars like Steve Austin and The Rock were nowhere to be seen,
14:26 so they needed some legit names, and these two were the right people at the right time.
14:32 This rivalry will be hard to duplicate due to their abilities in the ring.
14:37 Angle was an Olympic gold medalist, while Lesnar was a collegiate wrestling champion and a UFC champion.
14:43 It's hard to find guys like this who can wrestle at the level that they did.
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