Legend says Vince McMahon initially booked Brock Lesnar to squash him in WWE title match
Kurt Angle recently recalled how Vince McMahon came up with an alternative idea if he could not face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 19.
The Olympic gold medallist needed surgery to repair his broken neck around the time of the match against Lesnar. Due to fears that the WrestleMania main event would not be a success, McMahon planned to book the WWE Championship encounter on SmackDown instead.
Speaking on the “Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling” podcast, Angle explained how the then-WWE Chairman wanted the match to go:
“Long story short was, I was supposed to do the job for Brock a week before WrestleMania because my neck was broken. Vince wanted to take the title off of me, so he wanted me to go on SmackDown the week before WrestleMania and basically just have Brock do his F-5 and pin me and win the match, win the title.” [4:17-4:35]
Angle informed McMahon shortly before WrestleMania that he could compete at the event. It is unclear how Lesnar would have been booked had his opponent not been cleared.
Why Kurt Angle changed his mind about facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 19
WWE Greatest Matches, No91! Brock Lesnar Vs Kurt Angle, WrestleMania 19. @RealKurtAngle @BrockLesnar #WWENetwork #WWE http://t.co/ypBoxzbEgF
Although WWE had already started advertising Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle for WrestleMania, it was decided internally that the match would happen on SmackDown. Those plans changed when Angle visited his neighbor and spotted a magazine cover promoting the WrestleMania main event.
The four-time WWE Champion was reduced to tears by a child at his neighbor’s house who wanted to watch the match. From that moment on, he knew he had to compete at WWE’s biggest show of the year.
“He said, ‘Kurt, I really wish you would wrestle [at] WrestleMania,’” Angle continued. “Literally, I started crying, so I called Vince and said, ‘Hey, instead of doing that match on SmackDown, why don’t we just go [to] WrestleMania? I’ll do what I can.’” [5:00-5:13]
Lesnar defeated Angle in a 21-minute match to win the WWE Championship. The show-closing contest is best remembered for The Beast Incarnate suffering a concussion after failing to properly execute a Shooting Star Press.
Please credit the “Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.