Kurt Angle is widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers of the past thirty years. Many people have praised him for his natural talent and the incredible speed with which he learned how to be a pro wrestler and how quickly he improved.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Angle would have an eye for talent, given all that he has accomplished and all that he has been a part of. That is why the praise he has recently given to one of IMPACT Wrestling’s top stars must be worth so much.
Kurt Angle praises IMPACT’s Joe Hendry
Angle recently took to Twitter to post some highlights of a recent episode of his Kurt Angle Show podcast. One of these highlights was how he was a fan of Joe Hendry and his gimmick. He also went on to say that “he saw Hendry’s potential early on.”
"I really enjoyed this kid. I loved his gimmick." – @RealKurtAngle saw the potential of @joehendry early on! #IMPACTonAXSTV
Catch #AngleOnTheIndies at https://t.co/tOQdSbPHjn 🥇🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/WnBC4v7bEw
— The Kurt Angle Show (@TheAnglePod) February 17, 2023
Angle was so impressed with Hendry that he decided to wrestle him. The two had a singles match at Defiant Wrestling’s Refuse To Lose 2016 show, which Angle won.
That show also included matches featuring Cody Rhodes, Alberto El Patron, Joe Coffey, and Minoru Suzuki. It also featured commentary by Jim Cornette and Jim Ross.
For those unaware, Joe Hendry is an accomplished amateur wrestler in his native Scotland. Though he hasn’t reached the same level of accomplishment as Kurt Angle, Hendry has nonetheless achieved some impressive feats.
He won three gold medals and one bronze medal in the English and British Senior Championships in freestyle wrestling between 2017 and 2018.
In his professional wrestling career, Hendry has won singles and tag titles all over the United Kingdom and beyond. His most recent accomplishment was winning the IMPACT Digital Media Championship, which he won in October 2022 from Brian Myers.
Meanwhile, Kurt Angle has largely stepped away from appearing on live wrestling programming. However, he also thinks that WWE might have plans for him for WrestleMania 39.