Kurt Angle to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

WWE announced Monday on Raw that Olympic gold medalist and former Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Angle made a name for himself inside the WWE with his technical wrestling ability and for boasting about winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta while dealing with a "broken freakin' neck."


"Kurt Angle's accomplishments both in the Olympics and WWE were extraordinary," said WWE's executive vice president of talent, live events and creative Paul Levesque also known as Triple H in a statement.
"He was one of the most gifted athletes to ever enter the ring, and we are honored to welcome him into the WWE Hall of Fame," he continued.

Angle competed inside the WWE from 1999 until 2006 winning every major championship in the company and becoming a World Champion five times. The patriotic grappler enjoyed memorable rivalries with the likes of The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and many more.
"Huge! Had some amazing title matches w/ this Olympic gold medalist. Congrats my friend. Truly one of the best men I've ever met. #WWEHOF," The Rock wrote on Twitter to congratulate Angle.

Following his exit in 2006, Angle spent 10 years wrestling for rival company Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) where he also won a number of championships.
"I was shocked. I've been out of WWE for a long time and out of touch with them, so I didn't really expect this," the 48-year-old said to ESPN.

"It's a huge honor. This is the only Hall of Fame that I'm not in and probably [the one] I want to be in the most. This is the one that means the most for me. I had a lot of fun entertaining the fans for seven years with WWE, and I'm glad that my hard work paid off," he continued.

Angle is the first inductee announced for WWE's Hall of Fame class of 2017. He will be honored March 31 at the Amway Center in Orlando during WrestleMania week.