Kurt Angle’s Top 10 WWE Matches
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
1. vs. Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 21
When you buy a ticket to see a pro wrestling show one always wonders if they’ll get their money’s worth. Will the matches be compelling? Will the performers pull out all the stops? Will I be jumping out of my seat? These are all valid questions when spending a lot of money to watch a show. Well for the 20,000 people in attendance at the Staples Center at Wrestlemania 21, they needed to look no further than this Michaels/Angle classic. After over 27 minutes of back and forth battling it was clear that their money was very, very well spent.
Going into the event the two legends didn’t have much history with together. In fact, they’d never even wrestled a match against each other. But they clashed at that year’s Royal Rumble which thankfully spawned this match. It was PWI’s match of the year for 2005 and should be considered on every Wrestlemania top 10 list that exists. And what made it so incredible? Well, in a word, everything.
When you talk big fight feel, this match was the epitome. The sell-out crowd seethed as they watched two multiple time world champions try to master each other’s technique only to come up short time after time. They seemed in awe of each other as they both kicked out of multiple match-ending moves and left the fans groaning time after time. And that Ankle Lock at the end? Breathtaking. For minutes The Heartbreak Kid was locked in it and screamed and writhed in pain before eventually having no choice but surrender.
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It really was the perfect match. Two icons of the sport going to war on it’s biggest stage in front of a beloved audience obviously had the potential for greatness. But it was what the duo produced that made everyone remember what it was like to watch brilliance unfold inside the squared circle.