During a recent interview pro wrestling icon Ric Flair revealed that he purposely steered Kurt Angle away from joining WCW when the Olympic gold medalist was looking for advice about a potential jump into the industry.
There have been many gifted amateur wrestlers who made the switch from legitimate grappling to the fictional world of professional wrestling. However, Kurt Angle was the first Olympic gold medalist to make the transition. And shockingly he was arguably better in professional wrestling than he was on the grappling mats.
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There have been many stories told about Angle’s journey into the industry, as well as how his interest in potentially joining ECW was quickly ended when he saw The Sandman “crucified” by Raven during an event in Philadelphia. However, this week WCW and WWE legend Ric Flair added a new piece of information on Kurt Angle’s WWE origin story.
During a Wednesday appearance on “Busted Open Radio” the “Nature Boy” told a story about how he helped to make the original introductions between Angle and WWE while still a member of the WCW roster.
Ric Flair admits setting up the first contact between Kurt Angle and WWE
“I was working for WCW when I saw Kurt, he said ‘Where should I go?’ And I called Vince right there from the gym,” Flair recalled. “I said, ‘You don’t want to go to Atlanta, brother. You would get lost.’ All the politics going on there … We were in a gym working out in Nashville, Tennessee, and I had met Kurt several times. He walked over and said, ‘I’m thinking about getting into [professional] wrestling.
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“He said, what do you think about me going to WCW?’ I said, ‘Give me a minute.’ I went into the locker room, got my phone, came out, I called Vince, put [Kurt] on the phone and he would work it out with Dory Funk Jr. two weeks later.”
While Angle still might have ended up with WWE, since he joined during a peak period, it can’t be understated the influence this moment had on wrestling history. Angle would go on to become one of the greatest performers the industry has ever seen. And a top star swaying the WWE Hall-of-Famer away from going to WCW likely helped lead to that company’s eventual demise a few years later.