"You helped me get there" - Top SmackDown star reveals he reached the main event because of Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle took to wrestling like a fish to water and left a lasting impression on the wrestlers and the business as a whole.
While Kurt Angle elevated himself to the top in record time, he also helped a few other talents rise to the main event. One of the biggest success stories was Edge's transformation to a world title contender.
The Rated-R Superstar sat down for an interview with Kurt Angle on the Olympic gold medalist's podcast on AdFreeShows.com.
Edge revealed that while he was always confident about becoming a main eventer in WWE, he needed the help of Kurt Angle to cement his position amongst the greats.
Edge branched out as a singles superstar in 2001, and he feuded with Kurt Angle during a critical phase in his career. The WWE Hall of Famer won the King of the Ring tournament in 2001 after beating Kurt Angle in the finals, and the win enabled his entry into the top half of the card.
Edge explained the importance of good matchmaking and how he formed some magical chemistry with Kurt Angle. The Olympic hero was already an established name when Edge broke away from his tag team roots.
"I got there eventually. You helped me get there. Hey, that's honestly, that's when the magic happens. When you have two talents or four talents, if it's a tag team, whatever it is, that they are in this thing together to try and help each other along. To me, the end result of every storyline, every program, every match should be both characters coming out stronger. And, I understand scenarios; it might not be where both can look as strong in a match. I understand that, but there is still a way to make the character look strong in losing whatever it is. But in terms of a storyline, I always liked to think both characters can come out stronger than when they went in, and that should be the goal. And I really truly feel like with both of us, you were already cemented in the main event, and you were helping to bring me up. What that did was that it showed I could hang. And outside of a tag team, because I was kind of labeled as a tag team guy because Christian and I had much success as a team," Edge revealed.
'Boom, we were locked in': Edge on instantly clicking on the ring with Kurt Angle
By 2001, fans had become accustomed to seeing Edge as Christian's partner-in-crime; an extensive solo performance was necessary for the 11-time world champion to shed the tag team specialist tag.
Edge also noted how many legendary stars such as Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels also found it challenging to move on from their tag team past. Edge was grateful to have found an ideal dance partner in Kurt Angle and the storyline helped the former Brood member work his way up the WWE ladder.
"That can be hard sometimes to break out of. I know Bret Hart had a challenge with that; Shawn had a challenge with that. When you're in such a pivotal team as the Hart Foundation or The Rockers, it can be hard to make your own way and our program together; that was the first one where it was like, 'Okay, alright, I'm finding my groove here.' And I'm not saying this because you did on other interviews and things like that, but you and I had the chemistry in there from the first match, where it was just like, 'Boom,' we were locked in. When you've got that, that's a gift, you ride that train as long as you can and hope that the next person you get, you try to find the same thing with," Edge added.
"I appreciate that, Edge," Kurt Angle responded.
Kurt Angle and Edge spent a lot of time together in early 2000s as part of Team RECK, and they also spoke about the backstage group during the latest episode of 'The Kurt Angle Show.'
Edge is slated to be in another high-profile match as he will face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
If any quotes are used from this article, please credit The Kurt Angle Show on AdFreeShows.com and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.