Chris Benoit was allegedly upset after his 4.5-star rated match against former WWE Champion
Chris Benoit is not a popular name in wrestling due to his horrific acts outside the ring, but his work as a wrestler was always second to none in WWE.
Despite putting on several classics, Chris Benoit was a perfectionist who allegedly didn't like one of his greatest WWE matches against Kurt Angle as it wasn't "smooth" enough.
Benoit and Angle faced each other at Unforgiven 2002, and their 14-minute outing was the most impressive match on the card, receiving a whopping 4.5 stars from Dave Meltzer.
While the bout was also universally praised backstage, Chris Benoit was unhappy with how it had panned out. Kurt Angle recalled details of the hard-hitting match on this week's episode of his AdFreeShows podcast.
The Olympic Gold Medalist confirmed that Benoit believed their Unforgiven clash was "rough and edgy" and could have been much better, as you can view below
"Yeah [he was upset]. You know what? When you are a perfectionist like Chris Benoit, sometimes things didn't go the way he wanted them to go. They weren't smooth; they were a little rough and edgy," revealed Kurt Angle. [From 38:38 to 38:48]
While Benoit wasn't a fan of his performance that night, Kurt Angle felt their relatively messy match made for a more believable viewing experience for the fans.
The Olympic hero also noted that real fights always look disorganized and that his Unforgiven match against Chris Benoit benefited because it ended like a legitimate scrap between two intense wrestlers.
"So, Chris just felt like things were choppy and edgy and not as quite smooth as he wanted them. But that's what's good about the wrestling match. In a real fight, you're going to have choppiness, and you know, you're not going to be able to be smooth the whole time things are going to get rough and rugged," Angle explained. [From 39:01 to 39:23]
Kurt Angle on his Royal Rumble 2003 match against Chris Benoit
My favorite non Royal Rumble match from any Royal rumble is Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle from the 2003 Royal Rumble. What’s yours? https://t.co/ID3Z9HsdmZ
Benoit and Angle complimented each other's styles in the squared circle as they always delivered high-quality performances for the WWE Universe. Their Royal Rumble 2003 match for the WWE Championship has often been considered one of the most gripping title defenses in history.
Similar to how Benoit did not enjoy their Unforgiven assignment, Kurt Angle initially felt his universally-acclaimed match from the Royal Rumble was horrible.
The WWE Hall of Famer later rewatched his title-winning effort and realized it was one of the best matches he ever had:
"The same thing happened with our match at the 2003 Royal Rumble. I wrestled him for the WWE Championship, and he got a standing ovation afterwards. I thought it was a horrible match, and I watched it back, and I was like, 'Holy s**, this was a great match. This was the best match I ever had.'" [From 38:49 to 39:00]
A great aerial photo of my match vs Chris Benoit at Royal Rumble 2003 for the WWE Championship, in front of a sold out Boston crowd....where Chris received a standing ovation after our match. Hear about it on my past episode of The Kurt Angle Show at adfreeshows.com #TAP https://t.co/KWxYIBpf38
Which Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle match do you remember the most? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Kurt Angle Show and H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription.