Kurt Angle admits that he wanted to win back the World Heavyweight Championship from Rey Mysterio back in 2006.
Kurt Angle, Mysterio, and Randy Orton had been involved in a feud leading up to WrestleMania 22. Mysterio won the Royal Rumble but ended up losing his big World Title shot to Orton. Mysterio earned his way back in the match and it was made a triple threat. At the time, Angle was the World Heavyweight Champion.
Mysterio ended up capturing the gold by nailing Orton with the 619 followed by a springboard hurricanrana. It was a memorable moment, as Mysterio’s win was in honor of the late Eddie Guerrero.
During an edition of The Kurt Angle Show, the former Olympic gold medalist said that while he loved the moment that Rey had, he felt there was an opportunity to create a new star had he won back the World Heavyweight Championship.
“Rey won the title and I was all for it. I thought it was awesome. I think that Rey winning the title for the first time and representing Eddie Guerrero was an incredible moment. But I’m the best at making people. That’s what I do and I know Rey didn’t really need that title for very long. And I thought that if I took the title and had a program with somebody else to bring them up, that’s what I wanted to do.
“It’s not like I need more titles. I’ve won real titles in my life. Olympic gold medalist, world champion in 1995, two NCAA Championships. I won the real stuff, I don’t really need the fake hardware. Not fake, you know what I’m saying? In pro wrestling and sports entertainment. But I wanted to do what I did best and that was bringing up younger talent and making them.”
Mysterio ended up holding the title for 112 days. Booker T ended his reign at The Great American Bash on July 23, 2006. Kurt Angle never had a run with the World Heavyweight Championship again.
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