Matt Striker Says Kurt Angle/Eugene Storyline In WWE Was Supposed To Involve Him

Matt Striker began his WWE career by answering three Kurt Angle Invitationals, which involved the former WWE Champion putting his 1996 Olympic gold medal on the line. The first time Striker accepted Angle's challenge was as Matt Martel on "WWE SmackDown" in February 2005. The second time came on "WWE Raw" nearly five months later after he made the headlines for skipping his teaching duties at school to wrestle. Striker reflected on returning to face Angle for the second consecutive week after tasting defeat against him seven nights prior on "Raw" in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 

"So I am already signed for the second match, so it's a little different," Striker said on the "Wrestling Then And Now" podcast. "I think it's one week later, maybe it's Cleveland, but I know the buzz was that I was supposed to win his medal ... Kurt and I did a spot where I had him in a rear naked choke, and in my head, I must have been squeezing a little too hard because he came up with the next spot. He kicked me square between the eyes for real ... I kind of think that maybe because I was a little too tense there, the angle went to Eugene. Nick Dinsmore. And actually, in hindsight, it's much better to have Eugene win the gold medal than me."

Eugene ended up winning Angle's gold medal the following week on "Raw" after he answered the Kurt Angle Invitational. The WWE Hall of Famer would take his cherished prize back at the SummerSlam premium live event a few weeks later. For Striker, he featured regularly on "WWE Heat" after his two consecutive matches against Angle and eventually adopted a teacher gimmick. Striker left WWE in 2013 and currently works as a commentator for Major League Wrestling. 

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Wrestling Then And Now" with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.