Kurt Angle Didn’t Think He’d Work As A Heel: I Said, Vince I Don’t Think These Fans Are Going To Boo Me

Kurt Angle didn’t think his gimmick would’ve worked the way Vince McMahon wanted it to.

Angle joined WWE in 1998, a few years after winning the Olympic Gold Medal. In the next few years, he would become one of the most popular wrestlers in the world and go on to win multiple WWE Championships in the company.

Speaking on The Dos and D show, Angle talked about Vince pitching a gimmick for him. Angle said Vince used The Rock’s initial gimmick as an inspiration for his character.

The Rock was booed heavily by the fans when he first debuted as Rocky Maivia. However, Angle didn’t think the crowd would treat him the same way because he was an Olympic Gold Medalist. Vince asked him to put his trust in him and do exactly what he says.

“Vince McMahon wanted to use The Rock as material for me, being who I was. He tried to push him as a baby face really hard, and the fans were chanting ‘Die Rocky Die.’ They didn’t like him because [Vince] pushed The Rock as a white meat/nerdy type of baby face. That’s what Vince did with me, but he knew it was going to fail.

In other words, they weren’t going to cheer for me. They were going to boo me cuz I’d make them sick to their stomachs. Because of what happened with The Rock when he tried to be a babyface and it made him a heel. Vince knew that would do the same for me, and he wanted me to be a heel.

I was like, ‘Vince, I’m an Olympic Gold Medalist for the United States of America. I said, ‘I don’t think these fans are going to boo me’. He goes, ‘Trust me, after you’re done with what I tell you to say, they’re gonna boo you,’ and they did. They wanted the character to be [like] ‘uh, you know what, I like this guy, but there’s something off…’ and he just explained that to me. I would always talk about the three I’s, but I wouldn’t always portray that.

So it was like I was a hypocrite, and that’s what the character was. It wasn’t a very easy character. It was a complex character, but I understood what Vince meant.”

Angle retired from in-ring competition back in 2019. He wrestled his final match against Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35.

In another interview, Angle talks about how Vince McMahon asked him to cut a promo on television with barely any experience. Fans can read his comments here.

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