Ric Flair Once Gave Kurt Angle Some Sage Advice About Joining WWE
Before becoming a professional wrestler and future WWE and Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer, Kurt Angle pulled off the impossible when he won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics with a broken neck. From the time he made his WWE debut at Survivor Series 1999 until he left the company in 2006 for Impact Wrestling, the Pittsburgh native would hold multiple championships throughout his run, including the European, Intercontinental, WWE and World Heavyweight Championships, living up to his "Wrestling Machine" nickname. Angle would return to WWE for his Hall of Fame induction in 2017 and spent the next two years wrestling occasionally before retiring from the ring after falling to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35.
Not only was Angle one of the best wrestlers in the business, but his character work was top notch. Angle has been involved in some of the best comedic spots in WWE history with Hall of Famers "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Edge.
However, if it weren't for a specific WWE Hall of Famer back in 1999, Angle may have never stepped foot inside of a WWE ring.
Kurt Angle Reached Out to Ric Flair Before Signing With WWE
While promoting his A&E Documentary that aired earlier this summer, Angle sat down with the New York Post to discuss his career in the wrestling industry. In the interview, Angle shared an interesting fact about how he ended up signing with WWE over WCW, as Angle was a free agent during the height of the Monday Night Wars.
"I met Ric Flair before I signed with WWE and I said, 'Hey, Ric, do you think I should go to WWE or WCW?'" Angle explained. "Ric was in WCW at the time. He said, 'Do not come to WCW. They'll annihilate you. They will crush you. Go to WWE because Vince McMahon would take care of you.' And he was absolutely right. That's what Vince McMahon did, he took care of me."
Angle's decision to listen to the advice of the "Dirtiest Player In The Game" seemed to pay off. Angle succeeded in WWE and became one of the best wrestlers of his generation under McMahon's watch.