Smark Out Moment

The Gold Medal Olympian Kurt Angle has been a star in the wrestling business for nearly two decades. Just a few short years after taking gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Angle signed with then-WWF. Two years into his tenure, Angle had captured both the European and Intercontinental Championships. He was a WWF Champion, being the only person to ever win a Gold Olympic Medal and a wrestling world championship. He is also a Grand Slam Championship winner and holding nine different titles in WWF/WWE on his way to becoming a Hall of Fame inductee in 2017.

Today's viewers know him more as the current general manager of Monday Night Raw and to have also returned to in-ring action at this year's TLC pay-per-view when he joined The Shield. It was the first time in 11 years that Angle wrestled in a WWE ring. His last time in action for WWE over a decade ago wasn't as glorious.


It was January of 2006 and Kurt was a surprise addition to a 20-man battle royal for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship on SmackDown. He was victorious when he eliminated Mark Henry and held the belt all the way to the main event at WrestleMania 22, where he lost in a Triple Threat match with Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton.

With no direction at WrestleMania, he was drafted by the new ECW brand, where he was booked as an unstoppable "Wrestling Machine". Angle only appeared on ECW on occasion throughout 2006. On August 25, 2006, it was announced that Angle has been given an early release to his contract after almost a decade with the company as one of their top talents.

August 8th was his last match for WWE and he wrestled Sabu in a number one contender match for RVD's ECW World Championship. Sadly, in what was a solid match all around, RVD interfered and drew a no-contest for the match after the DQ. It was a shock to the WWE Universe when they found out just weeks later that this was going to be Angle's last match in WWE for the next 11 years.

In 2008 in a documentary Kurt Angle: Champion, Angle revealed the truth behind his early release. It was seemed to be over health reasons, and that was true in a sense. Angle was denied time off to heal as he was in action injured, and sometimes severely. He asked for his release over this dispute and for time to recover. Angle was one of the top talents for the company and was at the tip top of the payroll when he departed.


Angle would continue to wrestle after WWE, including a historic 9 year run with TNA Impact Wrestling. Surely enough, Angle did return home to WWE and made his way back into the ring at the age of 48. TLC won't be his last action in the ring, as he is set to compete at Survivor Series on November 19th as the team captain for Team Raw, so be sure to tune in to that event and if you can attend it live, get WWE tickets offers at Dealslands to see Kurt Angle in action for just the second time in years.


What are your thoughts on Kurt Angle's last match in WWE in 2006? Be sure to leave a comment below.