WWE legend opens up about infamous Daniel Puder incident on SmackDown
WWE legend Kurt Angle recently opened up about the incident with Daniel Puder in 2004.
Daniel Puder is a former Tough Enough contestant. The former MMA fighter is most famous for his segment with Kurt Angle on WWE SmackDown where he locked in a submission hold on the Olympic Gold medallist.
Kurt Angle was recently interviewed by The Hannibal TV on YouTube. During the interview, Angle opened up about the incident with Daniel Puder and what happened with Puder at the WWE Royal Rumble in 2005. Angle said:
"Well, you know, it was a wrestling match and he caught me in a submission and it really wasn't supposed to be a submisison. I told him that afterward. I said, "You're a dumbass because you pinned yourself. I liked Daniel. I actually got along with him really well. We were supposed to have a program right before WrestleMania but there were rumors about his attitude and he was p*ssing off some of the boys. He told somebody he was in the main event at the Royal Rumble and they were like "What are you talking about? You're not in the main event" and he said "I'm in the rumble". They said, "That's not the main event" *laughs* so he just came across as arrogant and I think a lot of the guys took their frustrations out on him at the Rumble. If you watch the match, during the Royal Rumble, they were chopping the cr*p out of him, chest chopping, they were brutalizing him. The poor kid didn't even know how to wrestle. He was put in a situation where he was uncomfortable and I totally get why he was upset."
The Daniel Puder incident on WWE SmackDown
Daniel Puder was part of the fourth season of WWE's Tough Enough. He was part of an unscripted segment on an episode of WWE SmackDown in November 2004 with Kurt Angle. After Angle beat Chris Nawrocki, he challenged the rest of the Tough Enough contestants with Daniel Puder accepting.
Daniel Puder ended up locking in a Kimura Lock on Angle. Fast thinking from referee Jimmy Korderas saved the situation after he did a quick count when Puder's shoulders were on the mat.
If any quotes are used from this article, please add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription