Photo by Bob Daemmrich, courtesy of Fox Sports
Though he will undoubtedly be remembered for his long career in professional wrestling, Kurt Angle was one of the greatest folkstyle and freestyle wrestlers that has ever come along. Angle was a 2 time NCAA All American and a 2 time NCAA National Champion in folkstyle wrestling, a FILA World Champion in freestyle, and a gold medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in freestyle. Unfortunately for Angle his switch to professional wrestling caused him to lose a lot of respect in the wrestling community, however many people still regard him as one of the geatest ameteur wrestlers to ever step onto a mat. In many ways he left the sport at the perfect time, when he was on top.
Many people involved in martial arts do not respect professional wrestling because it is staged, but it is hard to deny that the men who perform are great athletes. Many men who find their way into the ring have had roots in martial arts or combat sports (Brock Lesnar, Josh Barnett, Ken Shamrock, RVD), but Angle's abilities in this environment still trumped those of his peers. His list of accomplishments and records in pro wrestling are only matched by his accomplishments as an ameteur wrestler. He is the only man to have the honor of being a hall of famer in both arenas, and he is still wrestling for TNA today with hardly any signs of wear. Many people might disagree with the decision to bring Angle into the top 10, but thats why there's two countdowns, to keep everybody happy. Now I will leave everbody with something to think about, how different would things be if Angle got into MMA instead of pro wrestling?
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