"Vince is crazy!" - WWE Hall of Famer recalls physical altercation with Vince McMahon
Kurt Angle has recalled being "jumped on" and wrestled by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon during the infamous "Plane Ride From Hell."
In the first-ever Ask Kurt Anything segment of The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic Gold Medalist was asked by a fan about his personal experience on The Plane Ride From Hell. For those who are unaware, the 2002 flight, which was carrying numerous WWE Superstars and members of management back to the United States from the UK, has become known for its outrageous stories and the drunken antics of those on board. This also included Vince McMahon.
Angle called the experience "the longest night of his life" and recalled how Vince McMahon continually attempted to wrestle with him while he was drunk.
"Oh God. It was the longest night of my life! The thing was, I was on the place, Vince had a few wines in him, a few glasses of wine and he was feeling frisky. And he thought, "Hey, if I’m gonna wrestle someone who’s the best, might as well wrestle and Olympic Gold Medalist. I’m gonna try him out!" You have to understand, Vince is the type of guy to say to Mike Tyson, "Hey, knock me out! Go on, hit me in the face! I wanna feel what it’s like!" He wants to feel what it’s like to be with the best person available. And I totally get it, but Vince is crazy!"
Reportedly, several thousand dollars worth of damage was done to the plane over the course of the flight. It's an event that has since become legendary in the history of professional wrestling.
Kurt Angle says he and Vince McMahon almost caused a catastrophe
During the podcast, Kurt Angle also recalled how he and Vince McMahon came dangerously close to accidentally opening the plane's door mid-flight. This is what prompted airline staff to intervene, which McMahon didn't take too kindly, according to Angle:
"Vince and I are wrestling near the door, the latch? You open the latch and push the door open, you fly out of the plane. We kept hitting the latch while we were wrestling. So the flight attendant came and said, "Hey! The Pilot says if you don’t sit down and stop he’s going to land this plane right now." And Vince says, "Go tell the Pilot to f*** himself, I’ll buy the f****** plane." I was like, oh my God!"
Kurt Angle has since retired from wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.