So, I'm on Patreon for Conrad Thompson's podcasts. He now has a podcast with Kurt Angle. This week's Angle podcast was about his WM 21 match with Shawn. This podcast hasn't dropped yet, but will this Sunday. I got it early since I'm on their Patreon. Anyway, I wrote up what Kurt had to say about that match and that night straight from Kurt's mouth about his WM 21 match with Shawn:
-Despite it not being the main event, Kurt says this was his biggest payday of his career.
-Creative couldn't believe at this point in time that Shawn and Kurt haven't wrestled eachother yet.
-Kurt says he found out at the 2005 Royal Rumble that Shawn would be his opponent that very day of the Rumble. Shawn super-kicked him over the top to eliminate Kurt and Kurt was happy because he really wanted to work with Shawn more than anyone else in the world.
-Kurt and Shawn not having any previous history with eachother prior to this was also appealing to him because you can start from scratch and the Rumble is the perfect place to start.
-1996 was a big year for both men. Kurt won the Olympic Gold Medal and Shawn won his first World Title and both men were on top of their respective worlds.
-The storyline of Kurt winning a gold medal with a broken (freakin') neck and Shawn winning the WWF World Title in a 62 iron man match and Shawn getting all of the attention was a great storyline and way to start their feud with Kurt being the 'jealous' heel.
-Brian Gerwitz wrote alot of this storyline and he is a great writer. He now works for The Rocks' production company.
-On the 2/28/05 Raw, Shawn beats Edge in a street-fight and bladed big time. After the match, Kurt attacks Shawn and gets a ton of Shawn's blood on him. Kurt says he wearing one of his favorite suits and he gave the cleaners bill to WWE to clean his suit because it was an expensive suit.
-People ask if Kurt used his real olympic gold medals on TV. He said at first he did use his real one. But a few months after he debuted after a show, in the parking lot, thousands of fans were there, and he put his gold medal down, and a fan stole it. A fan wound up bringing it back, but after that he never used his real gold medal again. After that, Vince made 3 fake gold medals, and two of them wound up getting stolen, too.
-Marty Jannetty gets involved in the storyline. Kurt taps him out, but it was a great match and Kurt gave him a good amount of offense.
-The following week is the 'Sexy Kurt' segment. Sherri shows up with Kurt, too. Kurt says its one of his favorite moments. He loves being entertaining. Kurt says he watched a bunch of Shawn's matches so he can accurately impersonate him. Brian Gerwitz wrote the segment.
- Sherri was a complete professional. She knew what to do and had a great knack for the business. She has alot of talent and didn't make a single mistake and people love her.
-Kurt says he enjoys being entertaining even more than the actual wrestling. He says it was Vince's idea for him to be more serious later on in his career.
-Vince at first thought Kurt was just gonna be a great technical wrestler and didn't know Kurt could be entertaining, as well. That gave Vince the confidence to start utilizing Kurt in more entertaining segments.
-There was no rehearsal for the 'Sexy Kurt' singing of the theme song. He sang it alittle bit under his breath throughout the day, but there was no walkthrough before the show.
-Kurt says it was the most entertaining storyline in his career and alot of it had to do with Shawn. He had to step up his game to keep up with Shawn.
-Both guys had some injuries going into the match. But both guys talked and agreed to work the match like it was the last match of both guys' careers. It's WrestleMania, and you have to step your game up.
-A week before the match, Shawn said to Kurt that he's not afraid of him. Kurt said he respected that, but was shocked because he wasn't expecting it.
-Kurt says they structured some of the match 4 days prior to WM. They only rehearsed one move where Shawn had Kurt in arm-bar and Kurt had to lift Shawn up, so Shawn could then sunset-flip him into a false finish. Kurt needed to see if he can lift Shawn up. That is the only move they rehearsed. He says that Shawn is the best in-ring worker that can produce great matches on the fly and call it in the ring. Kurt says he didn't have the ability to call it ALL in the ring yet, but Shawn did. Pat Patterson was the agent of the match. He usually structures 80% of the match. For this match, Pat let both guys structure the match because of their expertise. They structured the comeback and finish, and alittle bit of the beginning.
-At the staredown before the match, Kurt says "Whats with that smile on your face? It's not going to be there at the end of the match." And Shawn says back "Yes, it will. We'll see, we'll see." Shawn is a cocky arrogant "SOB" and rightfully so. Kurt says what I always say, that Shawn has a really great shit-eating grin, lol.
-They start the match off with some amateur wrestling. It was Pat Patterson's idea that both men wanted to prove who the best wrestler is.
-It was Shawn's idea for Kurt to olympic slam him into the ring-post.
-Kurt says he doesn't hear much from the fans when he's in the ring but you have to try to pay attention to them at least alittle bit.
-Kurt begins to bleed from the mouth after Shawn's knee hits him in the mouth from a moonsault. Kurt says he started spitting the blood out to make it look more dramatic.
-Kurt says nearfalls and kicking out at 2.9 (like he did from Sweet Chin Music in this match) is the best feeling in the world. He always tried to kick out as late as possible and there is a psychology to it. And that as they do each nearfall in the match, the later in the match it is, the later he kicks out in the count. He said that even Vince told him once that he needs to kick out quicker because he's putting pressure on the refs to not count to 3 because he's kicking out so late, haha. Interesting stuff.
-Kurt says that Shawn sold the ankle-lock better than anyone he's ever seen. The way he sold it with his body got the people into it even more and the way he teased the tap. He has a way about selling, but his selling is what makes Shawn incredible and the best entertainer of all time according to Kurt. He said their match at WM proved to him that Shawn is the best ever.
-Kurt says that Vince left it up to Shawn and Kurt as to who should win the match! The meeting Shawn and Kurt had about the match 4 days earlier, Shawn came up to Kurt and said "We dont have a finish for WM, but you should go over by tap out and here's why. I think you're going to have a program with Batista and we need to make you look really strong." Kurt was pleasantly surprised that Shawn offered to job to him because it showed him that Shawn respected him and he knew they would have a great match and it wouldn't matter who won or lost.
-Kurt says they went over about 2-2.5 minutes for their alotted time and the standing ovation Shawn got after the match wasn't planned. Kurt says when you get that reaction from the crowd, that's about respect and it was well-earned.
-Kurt says after the match, it was the first time in his life where he said to himself, "I nailed this." He had other great matches, but he was dealing with stuff that and injuries that held him back from feeling 100% great about the match. But with this match, it was the first time where he said to himself it was the first time where he said the match was close to perfect.
-They were originally supposed to only have 20 mins for the match, but Shawn went and asked for 5 more minutes to make it a 25 minute match and they gave it to them. The match wound up going 27:25 seconds. Kurt says no one was mad that they went 2 mins over because 'the match was so damn great.' :LOL: He says Shawn had a knack for time that no one else he's ever seen had and that he would end his segment at that time without looking for a cue.
-He said they got a standing ovation backstage when they walked through the curtain. He said Pat Patterson cried when Shawn and Kurt walked to the back. Kurt says that Shawn, Kurt, and The Rock were Pat's three favorite wrestlers and he was so proud of both guys for the match they just had.
-Despite it not being the main event, Kurt says this was his biggest payday of his career.
-Creative couldn't believe at this point in time that Shawn and Kurt haven't wrestled eachother yet.
-Kurt says he found out at the 2005 Royal Rumble that Shawn would be his opponent that very day of the Rumble. Shawn super-kicked him over the top to eliminate Kurt and Kurt was happy because he really wanted to work with Shawn more than anyone else in the world.
-Kurt and Shawn not having any previous history with eachother prior to this was also appealing to him because you can start from scratch and the Rumble is the perfect place to start.
-1996 was a big year for both men. Kurt won the Olympic Gold Medal and Shawn won his first World Title and both men were on top of their respective worlds.
-The storyline of Kurt winning a gold medal with a broken (freakin') neck and Shawn winning the WWF World Title in a 62 iron man match and Shawn getting all of the attention was a great storyline and way to start their feud with Kurt being the 'jealous' heel.
-Brian Gerwitz wrote alot of this storyline and he is a great writer. He now works for The Rocks' production company.
-On the 2/28/05 Raw, Shawn beats Edge in a street-fight and bladed big time. After the match, Kurt attacks Shawn and gets a ton of Shawn's blood on him. Kurt says he wearing one of his favorite suits and he gave the cleaners bill to WWE to clean his suit because it was an expensive suit.
-People ask if Kurt used his real olympic gold medals on TV. He said at first he did use his real one. But a few months after he debuted after a show, in the parking lot, thousands of fans were there, and he put his gold medal down, and a fan stole it. A fan wound up bringing it back, but after that he never used his real gold medal again. After that, Vince made 3 fake gold medals, and two of them wound up getting stolen, too.
-Marty Jannetty gets involved in the storyline. Kurt taps him out, but it was a great match and Kurt gave him a good amount of offense.
-The following week is the 'Sexy Kurt' segment. Sherri shows up with Kurt, too. Kurt says its one of his favorite moments. He loves being entertaining. Kurt says he watched a bunch of Shawn's matches so he can accurately impersonate him. Brian Gerwitz wrote the segment.
- Sherri was a complete professional. She knew what to do and had a great knack for the business. She has alot of talent and didn't make a single mistake and people love her.
-Kurt says he enjoys being entertaining even more than the actual wrestling. He says it was Vince's idea for him to be more serious later on in his career.
-Vince at first thought Kurt was just gonna be a great technical wrestler and didn't know Kurt could be entertaining, as well. That gave Vince the confidence to start utilizing Kurt in more entertaining segments.
-There was no rehearsal for the 'Sexy Kurt' singing of the theme song. He sang it alittle bit under his breath throughout the day, but there was no walkthrough before the show.
-Kurt says it was the most entertaining storyline in his career and alot of it had to do with Shawn. He had to step up his game to keep up with Shawn.
-Both guys had some injuries going into the match. But both guys talked and agreed to work the match like it was the last match of both guys' careers. It's WrestleMania, and you have to step your game up.
-A week before the match, Shawn said to Kurt that he's not afraid of him. Kurt said he respected that, but was shocked because he wasn't expecting it.
-Kurt says they structured some of the match 4 days prior to WM. They only rehearsed one move where Shawn had Kurt in arm-bar and Kurt had to lift Shawn up, so Shawn could then sunset-flip him into a false finish. Kurt needed to see if he can lift Shawn up. That is the only move they rehearsed. He says that Shawn is the best in-ring worker that can produce great matches on the fly and call it in the ring. Kurt says he didn't have the ability to call it ALL in the ring yet, but Shawn did. Pat Patterson was the agent of the match. He usually structures 80% of the match. For this match, Pat let both guys structure the match because of their expertise. They structured the comeback and finish, and alittle bit of the beginning.
-At the staredown before the match, Kurt says "Whats with that smile on your face? It's not going to be there at the end of the match." And Shawn says back "Yes, it will. We'll see, we'll see." Shawn is a cocky arrogant "SOB" and rightfully so. Kurt says what I always say, that Shawn has a really great shit-eating grin, lol.
-They start the match off with some amateur wrestling. It was Pat Patterson's idea that both men wanted to prove who the best wrestler is.
-It was Shawn's idea for Kurt to olympic slam him into the ring-post.
-Kurt says he doesn't hear much from the fans when he's in the ring but you have to try to pay attention to them at least alittle bit.
-Kurt begins to bleed from the mouth after Shawn's knee hits him in the mouth from a moonsault. Kurt says he started spitting the blood out to make it look more dramatic.
-Kurt says nearfalls and kicking out at 2.9 (like he did from Sweet Chin Music in this match) is the best feeling in the world. He always tried to kick out as late as possible and there is a psychology to it. And that as they do each nearfall in the match, the later in the match it is, the later he kicks out in the count. He said that even Vince told him once that he needs to kick out quicker because he's putting pressure on the refs to not count to 3 because he's kicking out so late, haha. Interesting stuff.
-Kurt says that Shawn sold the ankle-lock better than anyone he's ever seen. The way he sold it with his body got the people into it even more and the way he teased the tap. He has a way about selling, but his selling is what makes Shawn incredible and the best entertainer of all time according to Kurt. He said their match at WM proved to him that Shawn is the best ever.
-Kurt says that Vince left it up to Shawn and Kurt as to who should win the match! The meeting Shawn and Kurt had about the match 4 days earlier, Shawn came up to Kurt and said "We dont have a finish for WM, but you should go over by tap out and here's why. I think you're going to have a program with Batista and we need to make you look really strong." Kurt was pleasantly surprised that Shawn offered to job to him because it showed him that Shawn respected him and he knew they would have a great match and it wouldn't matter who won or lost.
-Kurt says they went over about 2-2.5 minutes for their alotted time and the standing ovation Shawn got after the match wasn't planned. Kurt says when you get that reaction from the crowd, that's about respect and it was well-earned.
-Kurt says after the match, it was the first time in his life where he said to himself, "I nailed this." He had other great matches, but he was dealing with stuff that and injuries that held him back from feeling 100% great about the match. But with this match, it was the first time where he said to himself it was the first time where he said the match was close to perfect.
-They were originally supposed to only have 20 mins for the match, but Shawn went and asked for 5 more minutes to make it a 25 minute match and they gave it to them. The match wound up going 27:25 seconds. Kurt says no one was mad that they went 2 mins over because 'the match was so damn great.' :LOL: He says Shawn had a knack for time that no one else he's ever seen had and that he would end his segment at that time without looking for a cue.
-He said they got a standing ovation backstage when they walked through the curtain. He said Pat Patterson cried when Shawn and Kurt walked to the back. Kurt says that Shawn, Kurt, and The Rock were Pat's three favorite wrestlers and he was so proud of both guys for the match they just had.
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Good, little segment.
