It was announced recently that TNA Champion Kurt Angle will be one of the inductees into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2012. The ceremony itself will be held on April 14, 2012 and will be hosted by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum, in Waterloo, Iowa. May i be the 1st to congratulate Kurt Angle, for this tremendously well deserved achievement in his career, one which he has spilled blood, sweat and tears to obtain. Angle of course found worldwide fame with his simply amazing win at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, winning the 100kg gold medal. It was this success, which would help catapult a young Angle into the world of professional wrestling, signing an 8 year contract with the WWF which would see him grow into one of the greatest superstars to ever grace the sport of wrestling.
He would hold numerous titles within the WWF / E, culminating in him becoming the 5th grand slam champion, joining the prestigious group of Chris Jericho, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Kane as a grand slam champion at the time. Not only did Angle gain this prestigious honour during his time with the WWF, but he was also part of some of the most memorable and entertaining feuds of the generation. Whether it was Brock Lesnar, Hulk Hogan, Eddie Guerrero or Edge, Angle always brought it all to the ring and would always leave the fans with a great feeling. Maybe the most memorable of Angles WWF matches was the Hair vs Hair match with Edge, which culminated in Angle losing his hair, a look which he continues to use to this day.
Angles part in the Invasion storyline cannot be overlooked either, he was a pivotal part of both Team WWF and then Team Alliance when he turned on the WWF which brutal chair shots. Along with Steve Austin, Kurt Angle was arguably the superstar who did most for the Invasion storyline due to his continued involvement amongst ppv matches and the ever swapping titles.
At the end of his WWE run, Angle was drafted to the newly reformed ECW brand, where he would see out his WWE career with victories over Randy Orton at One Night Stand 2006 and a rematch loss to him at Vengeance of the same year. What followed were sporadic appearances by Angle, until August when he would ask for his release from WWE, stating the need to rest injuries as his reason. At the time, Angle stated that when he left, WWE lost their very top talent, as he was at the very top of the payroll.
Upon leaving the WWE, Angle would take a month out, but would then go on to sign for Florida based TNA Wrestling, run by Dixie Carter & former WCW champion Jeff Jarrett. His debut for the company was for me one of the most impactful of his generation, entering the ring to confront Samoa Joe, before head butting him and brawling with him. It showed that Angles passion for wrestling was still strong, and he was ready to prove himself against a whole different bunch of competitors in TNA.
Again TNA would provide Angle with top class competiton, and give the fans memorable matches for years to come. His matches with Sting, Jarrett, Aj Styles, Christian Cage, Rhyno & Abyss would be ones to match if not better those which Angle strived to within the WWE. He would go on to be successful ,becoming the 2nd Triple Crown champion in TNA, to go along with his Grand Slam in the WWE. Angle is the current TNA champion, retaining only yesterday over Bobby Roode at their annual Bound For Glory PPV.
After 15 years in professional wrestling, 20 title reigns, an Olympic gold medal and a wave of fan support, Kurt Angle is a perfect example of hard work and graft to achieve goals within professional wrestling. He now joins George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame with the likes of Mick Foley, Terry Funk, Roddy Piper, Curt Hennig, Harley Race & Antonio Inoki. He joins a prestigious grouping of the sports brightest and best, one which will keep the illustrious career of Kurt Angle in our hearts and minds for years to come. Once again a huge congratulations to Kurt Angle for this huge achievement, and i wish him a long and happy run with TNA.
Any comments, hit me up on twitter @WholeKirknShow
No comments:
Post a Comment