Kurt Angle says Brock Lesnar's botched shooting star press is one of the most famous moves in WrestleMania history.
New WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle talked with ESPN about some of his Wrestlemania matches. He spent some time discussing the WrestleMania 19 match with Brock Lesnar, who earned his opportunity at Angle's WWE Championship by winning the royal rumble match. The two had been involved in a feud which involved Paul Heyman and Big Show. All of this was when Lesnar was twenty-five-years old and before his mixed-martial-arts career. Angle told ESPN that he was worried about working with such a young talent at Wrestlemania but Lesnar came through for him.
"I loved the buildup,I thought that it couldn't have been more perfect for me to have a former amateur wrestler face me in the main event of Wrestlemania. Now, I was a little concerned, as Brock was only on TV for about six months. A guy that big and strong and fast, who could maybe not be ready for that spot could get a little anxious and mess some things up, and by that I mean me, physically. Brock held his composure. He was a true pro, He showed that he belongs in the business, and he belongs at that very top spot. I wished that we could have built it up a little better, but with my neck injury, there wasn't a lot I could do in that last month. We were able to give the Wrestlemania performance we wanted to, so I was happy about that. The program continued on after I came back from surgery, and Brock and I kept going," said Angle.
During the match, Lesnar preformed a shooting star press on Angle but landed short causing him to hit his own head. Angle said he was worried about the worse outcome but he was impressed with how Lesnar finished the match.
"First of all, this is selfish, but I was like, 'Damn, he broke his neck. I'm going to have to hold this title another month,' Then I was concerned about him because he wasn't responding. When I covered him, he did kick out. I did tell him to kick out, and he kicked out. I remember asking him, 'Can you give me an F-5?' He didn't respond. I was getting really worried. I started picking him up. I said, 'Could you F-5 me?' He said, 'I think so,' and he did. Brock's a pro. He came out of that. Let's face it. That's one of the most famous moves in Wrestlemania history. It's because he came up short, and everybody remembers that. If you want a Wrestlemania type of memory, that's a good one. Unfortunately, Brock got his bell rung. But he didn't have any long-term damage, and thank God for that. I'm very proud of that match, it's one of my favorites of all time," said Angle.
This was Lesnar's second WWE Championship. Both Lesnar and Angle left WWE for an extended time within the next few years. On Friday, Angle entered the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 inductee class. In the rest of the interview, Angle discussed his Wrestlemania matches with the likes of Eddie Guerrero and Shawn Michaels.
The interview can be found at ESPN.com
