Yesterday marked the 17th anniversary of WWE No Mercy 2003. A fairly unremarkable show on the surface, but one which saw John Cena take on Kurt Angle. The match ended with Angle making Cena tap out in the Ankle Lock in 18 minutes.
To mark the anniversary Angle took to Twitter to heap praise on his former foe, declaring him “The greatest WWE Superstar of all time.”
One of my favorite feuds. I consider Cena the greatest WWE Superstar of all time. John was consistent and dominant for 15+ years. Nobody has done it that long specifically in WWE. #itstruehttps://t.co/s83vsbBHmS
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) October 19, 2020
The Kurt Angle and John Cena rivalry is not only remembered fondly by fans but it also kickstarted the Ruthless Aggression era of the early 2000’s. The rap battles between the two are still talked about to this day, while the matches between the pair never failed to deliver in the ring.
The former rivals often represented different ends of the wrestling spectrum throughout their careers. With Angle representing ‘the wrestler’ and Cena being the ‘sports entertainer,’ but both men demonstrated that they could excel in either role. Never more so than when going up against each other.
In recent weeks has spoken a lot about his retirement and career, reflecting that in a perfect world he would have preferred his final opponent to be none other than Cena.
It would have been a fitting end to a glittering career, with Cena facing off one more time against the main who he debuted against back in 2002.