Why Kurt Angle Debuted As A Heel Character In WWE

WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle is undoubtedly one of the most talented in-ring pro wrestlers to have competed inside the squared circle. He had arguably the best rookie year in the company and solidified himself as a true main event Superstar. Angle made his WWE debut back in at Survivor Series 1999 where he defeated Shawn Stasiak as a heel.

While speaking to The Hannibal TV, Kurt Angle explained why Vince McMahon made him debut as a heel, citing The Rock’s initial failure as a babyface being a reason why.

“I thought they were full of crap. I thought the fans were going to accept me as a babyface but Vince McMahon said, ‘They are not going to. They don’t know who you are, they know you won an Olympic gold medal but they don’t know you personally and when people come into the business and they’re pushed really hard, they’re usually going to be booed’. He said, ‘I will make it happen. I have the right equation.’ They tried it with The Rock in the early to mid-90s and they tried to make him a babyface and they did everything they could and it backfired so they wanted to use the same equation with me and push me as the babyface, you know, the man with the three I’s, I take vitamins, drink milk and I won an Olympic gold medal, I’m about intensity, integrity and intelligence and what I think that did was made me so cut and dry like a milk drinking, vitamin taking nerd that. They actually made my character a bit of a nerd and I was oblivious to everything. They did a really good job of setting it up to make me a heel.”

Angle would win his debut match and go on to have a tremendous career in WWE spanning multiple World Title reigns. Angle had previously revealed that he has  something planned with WWE, so we will have to see if that means he will return to the company eventually.