WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle won his first world championship at the 2000 No Mercy pay-per-view when he defeated The Rock in a No Disqualification match thanks to some heavy interference from Stephanie McMahon, Triple H and Rikishi. The win turned out to be pivotal for the Olympic Gold Medalist, establishing him as a main eventer and world champion a mere 11 months into his run with the company. On Thursday ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reflected on seeing the match live, which prompted a response from Dwayne Johnson.
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“Love this match! It was a brilliant build up and promotion,” Johnson wrote. “Honored to ‘do the honors’ for Kurt. He’s one of the good guys AND one of the greatest athletes of all time. Rare combo.”
Love this match! It was a brilliant build up and promotion. Honored to “do the honors” for Kurt. He’s one of the good guys AND one of the greatest athletes of all time. Rare combo. Didn’t know your wrestling roots go this far back, Ariel. We gotta talk 😉👊🏾
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) October 22, 2020
Rock would win back the championship from Angle at the No Way Out pay-per-view months later, setting up his iconic WrestleMania X-Seven match with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Angle would go on to be a six-time world champion in WWE, holding the WWE, WCW and World Heavyweight Championships. He was the fifth man to ever accomplish the title of Grand Slam Champion in WWE
Back in January Angle gave his personal Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling and put Johnson on the list.
“A guy like Shawn Michaels would be on the Mount Rushmore, Ric Flair would be on Mount Rushmore,” Angle told The Sun. “I don’t see Brock as an overall athlete that would be up there. But don’t get me wrong, what he does in the ring, no-one does better.”
“‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and The Rock,” he later added. “I would never put myself up there, it’s just not who I am. I imagine some people do, but when I think about Mount Rushmore, I don’t think of myself.”
As for Johnson, he gave his Mount Rushmore in late 2019.
“*I made an edit after thinking about the wrestling star’s impact and drawing power during their respective runs. Thanks for the carve out and always a cool debate. I’d go with/ Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Gorgeous George/Bruno Sammartino, Steve Austin 🐍 #WrestlingsMtRushmore,” he wrote on Instagram at the time.
