Wrestler of the Decade Countdown: #5

It's true, it's damn true.

5. Kurt Angle


Kurt Angle first made his bones in legitimate wrestling in 1996 by winning a couple of gold medals at the Atlanta Olympics, using it as his gimmick upon entry into the WWF. When he first debuted, many people, including myself, thought him as a goober, a corny Bob Backlund-clone not edgy enough for the new wrestling. We were wrong.

Kurt Angle developed into one of the best, if not the best, funny-guy characters and a damn fine wrestler to boot. He's also a guy who's defeated the odds by not imploding due to his rampant drug use that got him fired on the first offense from the WWE. Read that again, the company that just gave Chris Masters a second at-bat after he whiffed on the three-strikes policy, didn't want to keep a guy in Angle who was a proven draw. That's how batshit insane he was and may still be.

It's that self-proclaimed, self-imposed exile to TNA that is keeping Angle out of the top 3 and maybe even out of the top spot altogether. Sure, it might be better on the psyche to rein in Hell rather than serve Triple H in Heaven (if you want to call the WWE Heaven), but for your career, well, not so much. Still, Angle does give TNA some mainstream credibility. You also cannot deny the impact he had on the WWF/E during his time there, from the feuds with Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and Big Show, to the unfulfilled but intriguing-while-it-lasted love triangle with Stephanie. He was a great foil to Steve Austin in the WCW faction, and he was also the perfect rival for Brock Lesnar when he was around.

While he's sorta petered out at the end of the decade, Angle's resumé is enough to get him into the top five. Here's hoping that there's a change in direction in TNA and they become a bigger presence, and here's hoping that Angle totally cleans himself up and dedicates himself to his craft rather than chasing Knockout tail, doing drugs and being a menace to himself and others, because Angle is truly a natural, a gifted performer who can anchor any successful company when clean and sober.

The List So Far
5. Kurt Angle
6. Edge
7. Eddie Guerrero
8. Dave Batista
9. Booker T
10. Randy Orton
11. Shawn Michaels
12. CM Punk
13. Jeff Hardy
14. The Rock
15. Bryan Danielson
16. Brock Lesnar
17. Jeff Jarrett
18. Rey Mysterio, Jr.
19. "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush
20. Chris Benoit
21. Samoa Joe
22. The Big Show
23. Sting
24. Rob Van Dam
25. Ric Flair

Tomorrow, it's the wrestling equivalent of a fine wine, a man who's gotten much better with age.