Kurt Angle to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame 2017 ahead of Wrestlemania 33
Kurt Angle, the 1996 U.S. Olympic gold medallist and celebrated professional wrestler, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017 in April ahead of Wrestlemania 33.
Kurt Angle, the 1996 U.S. Olympic gold medallist and celebrated professional wrestler, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017 in April ahead of Wrestlemania 33.
A world-class amateur competitor, Kurt Angle become a two-time All-American and a two-time NCAA Champion while wrestling for Clarion University in his home state of Pennsylvania. But, his biggest wrestling accomplishment came in 1996 when he won the gold medal in the heavyweight (90–100 kg) weight class after defeating Abbas Jadidi at the Atlanta Olympics.
In 1998, Angle became the first Olympic gold medallist to compete in the World Wrestling Entertainment and during his stint with the company till 2006, he won the world title six times.
The 48-year-old also won the King of the Ring tournament in 2000 and a host of other titles, including the United States Championship, Intercontinental Championship, European Championship, Hardcore Championship, and also the WWE Tag Team Championships.
Talking to ESPN, Kurt Angle said, “I was shocked. “I’ve been out of WWE for a long time and out of touch with them so I didn’t really expect this. It’s a huge honour. This is the only Hall of Fame that I’m not in and probably [the one] I want to be in the most. Whether I wrestle or not after this — which is irrelevant right now — I’m just really proud to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.”