Angle was such a tough man that he won an Olympic gold medal with a broken neck when he defeated Abbas Jadidi at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
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The WWE did what no other wrestling organization could previously do when they signed Olympic gold medallist Kurt Angle. It was one of the first times that a mainstream athlete signed for a wrestling company. Angle was such a tough man that he won an Olympic gold medal with a broken neck when he defeated Abbas Jadidi at the 1996 Summer Olympics. That went on to be his catchphrase during his time in the WWE. He was so over with the fans that each time he came out, the crowd would chant “You Suck” to the tune of his theme.
Speaking on the latest edition of the Kurt Angle Show, Angle revealed what the biggest regret of his life is. Angle revealed, “My biggest regret was breaking my neck. Everything went downhill from there. My whole career, my painkiller problem got worse. It actually started with my neck break in 2003 and I just wish it would have never happened. I would have had a nice, long, successful career, drug-free and I would have been elated. So, that is my biggest and probably one and only regret.” Kurt was referring to the neck injury he suffered in 2003 at the hands of Brock Lesnar. Lesnar whipped Kurt Angle to the turnbuckle when his neck whiplashed and broke.
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Angle broke his neck a total of five times in his career and four of them occurred during his time in the WWE. The first time he injured his neck was when he was wrestling in the semi-finals of the national trials. He was dropped on his neck by his opponent and as a result, broke his neck. The second time was when he took on Brock Lesnar in 2003. He suffered a third neck break at the hands of the same man Brock Lesnar when he hit Angle with a steel chair.
Kurt broke his neck a fourth time, this time at the hands of the Big Show. The giant chokeslammed the Olympic gold medallist off a ledge and that led to further damage to Kurt’s already damaged neck. His final neck injury happened in 2006 when he faced The Undertaker at No Way Out. He left WWE in 2006 and joined TNA. Angle returned to the WWE after a decade long absence when he was named as manager of Monday Night RAW.
