Kurt Angle Talks About Wrestling WWE Star Brock Lesnar For Real
Over the course of his career, Kurt Angle has shared the ring with some of the most legendary performers in professional wrestling. However, there's one man he singles out as the best athlete of the bunch. Speaking on "The Joe Rogan Experience," Angle sang the praises of wrestler and MMA fighter Brock Lesnar.
"He's adapted to everything in his life," Angle said. "The kid is unbelievable. For his size — he's 310 pounds — he's the best athlete I've ever been in the ring with." Angle then recalled actually getting in the ring with Lesnar to see who was the better amateur wrestler.
"I did wrestle him one time for real," Angle continued. "When he came up from training, from OVW, someone went up to him and asked him how he'd do against Kurt Angle. He said, 'I'd kick his ass.' ... So the guy comes to me and says, 'Hey, Brock said he can beat you in a wrestling match.'"
Angle says he immediately attempted to get in the ring with Lesnar, but Lesnar shut him down, stating that he was wearing sandals and didn't want to wrestle barefoot. The following week, however, Angle witnessed Lesnar wrestling Paul "The Big Show" Wight, with Lesnar picking the 500-plus pound giant up and dropping him onto the mat. Despite his surprise at Lesnar's strength, Angle saw the opportunity to see who was better.
Angle vs. Lesnar
According to Angle, he waited for the right opportunity, when Big Show was down on the mat and Lesnar had his back turned. At that moment, he made his move.
"I said, 'Big Show, get out,'" Angle said, causing Wight to exit the ring. "I sneak up behind Brock and I tap him on his shoulder and I go, 'It's time to go.' So we went, and we went for about 15 minutes. The wrestlers [will] tell you that I kicked his ass, that I dominated him — that's not true. I beat him, but I didn't beat him [by much]. I took him down twice, he didn't take me down at all."
Angle shared his surprise that Lesnar never attempted to train for and compete in the Olympics. As a former Gold Medal winner himself, Angle seems to think Lesnar had what it takes to make it to that legendary milestone. Later on in the podcast, Angle returned to the topic of his amateur match against Lesnar, answering a question on what he used to take Lesnar down.
"Duck-unders," Angle stated. "'Cause Brock would come with these double-leg [takedowns]. He'd come up, and I'd jack him up and duck under and get behind him. It would be like in a flurry. I wouldn't just do a move. He'd do something, [and] I'd counter into it."
Lesnar and Angle would share the ring for professional wrestling matches as well, including a WWE WrestleMania 19 bout that may be best remembered for Lesnar's botched shooting star press.