WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has opened up on the true story behind the legend that he legitimately beat up Brock Lesnar during The Conqueror’s first run in the company.
Back in 2003, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar were locked in an on-screen rivalry that has gone down as one of the best in recent history. They eventually clashed for the first time in the main event of WrestleMania 19 with Lesnar emerging victorious and capturing the WWE Championship for the second time.
Prior to joining WWE, both men had also been accomplished amateur wrestlers with Lesnar having been a two-time NCAA Division 1 Heavyweight Champion and Angle accomplishing the same but also famously winning an Olympic Gold Medal with a “broken freakin’ neck”.
As the story goes, Kurt Angle challenged Brock Lesnar to an amateur-style match before an episode of SmackDown after hearing The Beast had claimed he “would kill” the star in such a contest. It has been claimed that Angle not only won the bout, but “kicked his ass”.
Speaking on “Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling” podcast, Angle has addressed those stories and admitted it was actually a close contest. However, he is also clear that he was able to take down Lesnar several times while Lesnar was unable to do the same.
“I walked up behind Brock and tapped him on the shoulder. I said, ‘It’s time to go.’ We went and, you know what, the rumoru is that I kicked his ass. Not true.
“It was a really close match. I took him down a couple of times. He didn’t take me down at all, but it was a pretty tight match. Who won? Kurt Angle!”
H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the above transcription.