Kurt Angle reveals what Paul Heyman lied to him about in ECW
Kurt Angle had a legendary career with WWE, thanks to his phenomenal in-ring work, comedic segments, and his good mic skills. The Olympic gold medallist then moved to TNA, and had great matches there too, before returning to WWE.
Not many would have envisaged at the start of his career that Angle would have the career he had. And things could have been entirely different if Kurt Angle had signed for ECW rather than WWE over two decades ago.
The WWE Hall of Famer, in a recent interview with PWInsider, opened up on numerous things, including that night in ECW, when he was a part of the show back in 1996.
Kurt Angle reveals the lie that Paul Heyman told him
Before joining WWE, Kurt Angle made an appearance on ECW in 1996, which was run by Paul Heyman. Angle was interviewed and worked as a commentator for one match, but one incident during that night scarred him.
During a match between Sandman and Raven, the former was put up on a cross, resembling a crucifixion. Kurt Angle was completely against it, and left the venue. In this recent interview, Angle said that Heyman "was BS'ing" as the ECW head told the Olympic gold medallist that he did not know that the crucifixion angle was to take place.
"I think they did that to make me happy, to say 'Hey, we're doing this for you,' but you know as the night went on, everybody kept coming out with weapons, it wasn't even wrestling, it was all gimmicks, you know - kendo sticks, chairs, ladders, crucifixes, that was the one that got me, you know, when Raven crucifixed Sandman up on the cross I was like 'I need to leave [laughs]. This is not good for me.' And I talked to Paul Heyman, and Paul said he didn't know about the crucifix under the ring, which I knew was, you know, I knew he was BS'ing me."
Angle joined WWE two years later in 1998 and quickly got the hang of the business, establishing himself as one of the best in the business.
Incidentally, Kurt Angle's last match of his first stint in WWE came in an ECW show against Sabu in 2006. ECW had by then been acquired by WWE.