From Multiple Angles: Kurt Angle, Fan Popularity, and the Reintroduction of Legitimacy to North American Professional Wrestling

On March 30, 2003, former amateur wrestling standouts Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle closed WrestleMania XIX, accomplishing a feat yet to be duplicated: for the only time in the show’s thirty-three year existence, both main event participants were billed using their birth names. Most World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly Federation) Superstars perform under pseudonyms: Terry Bollea became Hulk Hogan, Dwayne Johnson became the Rock, etc. There was no marketability under their real identities, so they had to make up new ones. Conversely, Lesnar and Angle’s legitimate amateur wrestling credentials led ultimately to their WrestleMania main event. One question is immediately raised: How was such a marketing shift made possible?

Kurt Angle, former NCAA Division and 1996 Olympic heavyweight champion in freestyle amateur wrestling was the focal point of this shift. In 1999, he entered the WWF at the peak of the company’s popularity, but also arguably at the point where “legitimate” wrestling skills took a back seat to risqué segments and short televised matches. In fact, when Angle debuted, his amateur background got him booed relentlessly. Yet in 2003, he was massively popular and got cheered in part for the same reason. This paper will demonstrate that Kurt Angle’s presence in the WWF/E from 1999 to 2006, through lengthy exposure to casual wrestling audiences, led fans to value more realistic looking matches, ranking work rate ahead of charisma. This added a much-needed element of legitimacy back into North American pro wrestling, an impact still seen today, hence why Angle’s career is worthy of academic study.