No one dared test Kurt Angle in an actual wrestling match.
Speaking with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, the Olympic gold medalist revealed that Brock Lesnar was the only other wrestler to test their amateur abilities against him. Angle says the person that instigated the whole event was the Brooklyn Brawler and that Brock initially declined because he was wearing sandals.
"Nobody ever tested me," Angle said. "The only one was Brock. He was the only one and after that nobody wanted to test me. I actually did really well with Brock. I was very happy with my performance that day. So, it was just one of those things, somebody went to Brock and asked, ‘How do you think you’d do against Kurt Angle?’ He said, ‘Well, he’s way too small. I’d crush him.’ That person came to me—it was the Brooklyn Brawler—and he said, ‘Listen, Brock said he would crush you because you’re a lot smaller.’ So, I went to Brock and confronted him and said, ‘Hey, how do you think you would do against me?’ He said, ‘I think I would beat you.’ I said, ‘Well, let’s go. Right now.’ He said, ‘I can’t. I’m wearing sandals.’ I said, ‘Let’s do it in our bare feet. Let’s do it old school.’ He said, ‘No.’"
Unwilling to accept no for an answer, Angle set up Lesnar so that he couldn't decline again. However, after seeing Brock throw Big Show around in the ring, he began questioning his decision. Here is what happened:
"So, the following week, we set him up. We had him get in the ring with Big Show. Big Show actually wrestled him in the ring for real and Brock was throwing Big Show around. I couldn’t believe it. Big Show had weighed about 520 at the time and Brock’s picking him up and slamming him. I’m going, ‘Oh, my gosh. This guy’s a beast. I don’t know if I should get in there with him.’ So, with Big Show, who's facing me, and Brock’s back to me, I was outside the ring, I go, ‘Big Show, leave the ring.’ He said, ‘Okay,’ turned around and walked away. I walked up to Brock, tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘Let’s go right now,’ and he didn’t have a choice. He had to do it. Everybody was there watching and there was no way he was going to back down."
Angle says he won the encounter with Lesnar, but points out that it was very close. He also gives Brock credit for fareing so well especially after tossing Big Show around.
It was during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta where Angle won his gold medal while wrestling with a broken neck. He signed with WWE in 1998 and went on to have a Hall of Fame career, being inducted in 2017.
You can see our full interview with Kurt Angle at the top of the page and can check out the Kurt Angle Show on AdFreeShows.com. You can also check out his nutrition line at this link.