Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996) On October 26, 1996, Angle was convinced by fellow
Pittsburgh native
Shane Douglas to attend the
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) event
High Incident. Angle, shocked by the controversial imagery and afraid that his career prospects were going to be damaged if he was associated with the incident, threatened to sue ECW owner
Paul Heyman if he was shown on television in the same broadcast as the stunt. He rejected a decade-long contract with the
WWF due to his unwillingness to accept scripted losses. His opinion of professional wrestling changed when he began watching
WWF Raw is War in 1998 and developed an admiration for
Stone Cold Steve Austin's talents as an entertainer. just three days after his tryout. Angle continued to wrestle for the WWA in August and September. Additionally, he sought bookings outside of the WWF, participating in a
battle royal won by
Steve Williams at the
National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) 50th Anniversary Show on October 24. Angle also performed for Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling (PCW) defeating
Steve Bradley and the
East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) in February 1999 defeating Cyborg. He also continued to wrestle for PPW through October and on July 24 won the PPW Championship. Angle then lost the championship to
Steve Bradley on August 7. He is noted for learning the art of pro wrestling quicker than almost anyone else;
Historic rookie year (1999–2000) Angle made his televised WWF debut on November 14, 1999, at
Survivor Series, where he defeated Shawn Stasiak. He remained undefeated in singles competition until losing to the debuting
Tazz at the
Royal Rumble on January 23, 2000. In the months that followed, Angle captured both the
European Championship (on the February 10 episode of
WWF SmackDown!) and the
Intercontinental Championship (at
No Way Out on February 27), holding both titles simultaneously. He lost both championships in a triple threat match at
WrestleMania 2000 without being pinned. in 2000 – a tournament he eventually won Throughout mid-2000, Angle aligned himself with
Edge & Christian and
feuded with
Too Cool and
Rikishi, with Angle defeating Rikishi in the finals of the
King of the Ring tournament at
King of the Ring on June 25. Later he feuded with Triple H and
Stephanie McMahon, On October 22, Angle defeated The Rock at
No Mercy to win the
WWF Championship for the first time. Angle's first year on the main roster is widely regarded as the most impressive rookie year in professional wrestling history. In under 12 months, he won multiple championships, headlined pay-per-view events, and quickly established himself as a main-event-level talent. Wrestling publications and analysts have often cited his 1999–2000 run as one of the most accomplished debut years ever seen in the industry.
WWF Champion (2000–2002) Angle retained the WWF Championship for the rest of the year in matches with
The Undertaker at
Survivor Series on November 19 and in a six-man
Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker,
Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, and Rikishi at
Armageddon on December 10. After beating Triple H at the
Royal Rumble on January 21, 2001, Angle eventually lost the title to The Rock at
No Way Out on February 25. Angle then feuded with Chris Benoit, whom he defeated at
WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, but lost to him at
Backlash on April 29 in an
Ultimate Submission match. Continuing the feud, Angle again defeated Benoit in a
two-out-of-three-falls match at
Judgment Day on May 20. When
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ECW were purchased by the WWF in 2001, wrestlers from WCW and ECW formed
The Alliance. Angle and WWF Champion
Stone Cold Steve Austin joined forces to repel them, turning Angle
face in the process. At the
Invasion event on July 22, Angle and Austin captained a team of five WWF superstars against members of the Alliance. Team WWF lost to Team Alliance when Austin turned on Team WWF to join the Alliance. Angle then began feuding with Austin over the WWF Championship and challenged him for the title at
SummerSlam on August 19, and defeated Austin by disqualification. After winning and losing the
WCW Championship,
WCW United States Championship, and the
WWF Hardcore Championship in matches with Alliance members, Angle defeated Austin to win his second WWF Championship at
Unforgiven on September 23. Angle lost the title to Austin on the October 8 episode of
Raw. Angle later turned
heel again and joined the Alliance himself. Angle ultimately returned to the WWF side by enabling The Rock to defeat Austin in a "Winner Takes All" match between the WWF and The Alliance at the
Survivor Series on November 18. Angle was drafted to the
SmackDown! brand and then reignited his feud with
Edge, defeating him at
Backlash on April 21. The
naturally balding Angle lost a "
hair versus hair" match to Edge at
Judgment Day on May 19, having his head shaved bald, which he would retain for the rest of his career. During mid-2002,
John Cena made his WWE televised debut, losing to Angle after a roll-up pin on the June 27 episode of
SmackDown!. In September 2002, Angle started to feud with
Chris Benoit, losing to him at
Unforgiven on September 22. Angle and Benoit were teamed together to participate in a tournament to crown the first
WWE Tag Team Champions. They won the tournament finals at
No Mercy on October 20 making Angle the fifth WWE
Grand Slam Champion. The match at No Mercy was named the
2002 Match of the Year by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter. They made their first successful title defense by defeating
Los Guerreros (
Eddie Guerrero and
Chavo Guerrero) at
Rebellion on October 26. Their reign ended after they lost the title to Edge and Mysterio on the November 7 episode of
SmackDown! in a
two-out-of-three-falls match. Angle and Benoit would receive another shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship in a
triple threat elimination match against Edge and Mysterio and Los Guerreros at
Survivor Series on November 17, but failed after they were the first team eliminated; Los Guerreros eventually won.
WWE Champion, Team Angle (2002–2004) after their
WWE Championship title match at
WrestleMania XIX Angle won his third WWE Championship at
Armageddon on December 15 by defeating
Big Show. During this reign, he aligned with
manager Paul Heyman and recently-formed "
Team Angle" (
Charlie Haas and
Shelton Benjamin). At the
Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003, Angle defeated Chris Benoit to retain the WWE Championship, before beginning a rivalry with
Brock Lesnar, who had won the
Royal Rumble match. Angle lost the title to Lesnar at
WrestleMania XIX on March 30, needing time off for neck surgery. Rather than a traditional
spinal fusion, he underwent a less invasive procedure where only the spurs and selected portions of the discs were removed, reducing his recovery time from one year to three months. Angle returned as a babyface on the June 5 episode of
SmackDown! and a month later won his fourth WWE Championship at
Vengeance on July 27 in a triple threat match against Lesnar and Big Show. He successfully defended the title against Lesnar at
SummerSlam but lost it back to Lesnar in a 60-Minute Iron Man match on the September 18 episode of
SmackDown!. At
Survivor Series on November 16, Angle led a five-man team (consisting of himself,
Bradshaw,
Chris Benoit,
Hardcore Holly and
John Cena) against Lesnar's (consisting of himself,
A-Train,
Big Show,
Matt Morgan and
Nathan Jones), winning the match despite being eliminated by Lesnar. In early 2004, Angle began feuding with
Eddie Guerrero. After becoming number one contender for the WWE Championship at
No Way Out on February 15 by defeating
John Cena and Big Show, he turned heel by attacking Guerrero during his title defense against
Chavo Guerrero on the February 19 episode of
SmackDown!. Angle lost to Guerrero at
WrestleMania XX on March 14 and later took time off for another neck surgery. He returned as the new SmackDown! General Manager on the March 25 episode of
SmackDown!, continuing his feud with Guerrero. At
The Great American Bash on June 27, Angle helped JBL defeat Guerrero for the WWE Championship. He was later fired as General Manager by Vince McMahon after faking an injury, leading to a rematch with Guerrero at
SummerSlam on August 15, which Angle won. Angle's feud with Guerrero continued into the fall, culminating in a match at
No Mercy on October 3, where Angle lost to Big Show. On the November 4 episode of
SmackDown!, during a segment of
Tough Enough, Angle challenged contestants to physical competitions, where Chris Nawrocki won an opportunity to have a match against Angle. During this match, Angle would
legitimately break Nawrocki's ribs whilst performing a
double leg takedown. beginning a heated rivalry. After mocking Michaels by defeating Michaels' former
tag team partner Marty Jannetty, and attacking Michaels' former manager
Sherri Martel, Angle defeated Michaels at
WrestleMania 21 on April 3 in a match which won
Pro Wrestling Illustrated's
Match of the Year award. Booker T defeated Angle at
Judgment Day on May 22, but Angle won a mixed handicap against Booker T and Sharmell match on
SmackDown! before losing the feud in a final singles match on June 9. A few days later, Angle also appeared at
ECW One Night Stand on June 12 as an anti-ECW “crusader” and was involved in a brawl with ECW alumni led by
Stone Cold Steve Austin. Following the
2005 WWE draft in June, Angle was moved to the
Raw brand and resumed his feud with Michaels, losing to him at
Vengeance on June 26. In July he began a brief rivalry with
Eugene, who won Angle's
Olympic gold medal after Angle was unable to make him submit in a match within three minutes on the July 25 episode of
Raw. Angle regained the medal by defeating Eugene at
SummerSlam on August 21. Angle then entered a feud with WWE Champion John Cena, facing him at
Unforgiven on September 18,
Taboo Tuesday on November 1, and
Survivor Series on November 27, each time failing to win the title. Angle defeated Cena in a non-title
first blood match on the January 2, 2006 episode of
Raw, but again failed to capture the WWE Championship at
New Year’s Revolution on January 8 in the annual
Elimination Chamber match. Angle returned to the SmackDown! brand on the January 13 episode of
SmackDown!, winning a 20-man battle royal as a surprise entrant to win the vacant
World Heavyweight Championship, and adopting the moniker known as "The Wrestling Machine" having a more serious ruthlessness to his persona and having a no-nonsense attitude, turning face in the process. He retained the title against
Mark Henry at the
Royal Rumble on January 29, after which The Undertaker challenged him. At
No Way Out on February 19, Angle defeated The Undertaker in a critically acclaimed title match. A rematch on the March 3 episode of
SmackDown! ended in disqualification, allowing Angle to retain the title heading into
WrestleMania 22 on April 2. However, at WrestleMania, Angle lost the World Heavyweight Championship to
Rey Mysterio in a triple threat match, which also involved
Randy Orton. In the
2006 brand draft Angle was moved to the new
ECW brand, where began quickly
squashing opponents. Angle made sporadic appearances through mid-2006, inlucluding unsuccessfully challenging
Rob Van Dam for the
ECW World Heavyweight Championship on June 27. On August 25, WWE granted his release due to health concerns. In the
Kurt Angle: Champion documentary DVD, Angle stated he had been working through serious injuries and needed time off. His final WWE match was at an ECW house show on August 14, where he defeated
Danny Doring.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2006–2016) The Angle Alliance (2006–2008) '' Angle debuted in
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on October 19, 2006, shortly after signing with the company, making an immediate impact by confronting
Samoa Joe, who had refused to return the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt he had stolen from
Jeff Jarrett. The confrontation sparked a heated feud between Angle and Joe, culminating in Angle defeating Joe at
Genesis on November 19, ending Joe's undefeated streak in the company. Angle then lost to Joe in a rematch on December 10 at
Turning Point. Angle and Joe fought again at
Final Resolution on January 14, 2007, with Angle winning once more and earning a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He faced the champion,
Christian Cage, at
Against All Odds on February 11, but lost due to interference from
Tomko and
Scott Steiner. This led to a brief feud with Steiner, whom Angle defeated at
Destination X on March 11. Angle then captained a team against Cage's in a
Lethal Lockdown match at
Lockdown on April 15, where the man who gained the winning pinfall would earn a title shot for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Angle's team emerged victorious, with
Sting being awarded the title shot. However, on the day of
Sacrifice on May 13, where Angle, Sting and Cage would face each other for the championship, the
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) severed ties with TNA and stripped its champions of their titles. Despite this, the triple threat match between Angle, Sting, and Cage still took place, with Angle declared the unofficial winner of the new "World Heavyweight Champion" after making Sting submit whilst Sting simultaneously pinned Cage. In the aftermath, Angle unveiled the newly created
TNA World Heavyweight Championship, though the title was later vacated later that night due to the controversial finish at Sacrifice. A tournament for the championship culminated at
Slammiversary on June 17, where Angle won the
King of the Mountain match match, officially becoming the inaugural TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He soon entered into a heated program with Samoa Joe once again, this time playing the role of heel. At
Hard Justice on August 12, the two faced off in a tag team match where all championships the two held were on the line at the time; Angle held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and
IWGP Heavyweight Championship, while Joe held the
X Division and
Tag Team titles. With help from his then-wife
Karen Angle, Angle won the bout, becoming TNA’s second
Triple Crown champion, as well as the first to hold all eligible titles simultaneously. A month later Angle dropped both the X Division and Tag Team Championships to
Jay Lethal and
Team Pacman respectively, at
No Surrender on September 9. Angle was more successful on holding on to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. While he briefly lost the title to Sting at
Bound for Glory on October 14, he won it back on the October 25 episode of
Impact!. He then formed an alliance with
A.J. Styles and Tomko, known as
The Angle Alliance, and entered another feud with Christian Cage. He successfully defended the title against Cage at
Final Resolution on January 6, 2008 and
Against All Odds on February 10 with help from his Alliance. However at
Lockdown on April 13, despite interference from the Alliance Angle lost the championship to Samoa Joe.
Main Event Mafia (2008–2009) Later that year, Angle returned from neck injury and attacked A.J. Styles, kicking off another feud which lead to Angle and
Jeff Jarrett's paths crossing. After feuding with Styles and Jeff Jarrett throughout the summer, Angle aligned with Jarrett’s enemies (
Booker T,
Kevin Nash, Sting and
Scott Steiner) to form the Main Event Mafia, a stable of established wrestling veterans positioned against younger talent. The stable would dominate TNA for much of late 2008 and early 2009. During this time, Angle had multiple main-event matches with
Abyss,
Rhino, and continued to feud with Jarrett, culminating in a loss to him at
Bound for Glory IV in a match featuring
Mick Foley as the enforcer. In 2009, Angle lost control of the Main Event Mafia to Sting after a match at
Sacrifice, but regained leadership after winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for a fourth time at
Slammiversary via assistance from Samoa Joe. On the following episode of
Impact!, Angle and the rest of the Mafia attacked Sting while introducing Joe as their newest member. Angle held the title until
No Surrender, losing the belt to A.J. Styles in a five-way match. Angle turned face a month later, praising TNA’s younger talent and leaving the Mafia on the October 22 episode of
Impact!.
Various feuds (2009–2011) Following his departure from the Main Event Mafia, Angle began feuding with
Desmond Wolfe, trading wins in late 2009 before ultimately defeating him in a "
Three Degrees of Pain" match at
Final Resolution. In early 2010, he entered a title feud with A.J. Styles, now aligned with
Ric Flair, losing multiple championship matches against Styles due to murky finishes and interference. Frustrated, Angle teased leaving the company but ultimately stayed and feuded with
Mr. Anderson after losing in the
8 Card Stud Tournament at
Against All Odds. The feud saw both men trading victories through early 2010, ending with a
steel cage match at
Lockdown, which Angle won. Angle then took a brief hiatus but returned in May, vowing to climb the new TNA Top 10 Rankings on merit and earn another title shot. Over the next few episodes of
Impact! and TNA PPVs, Angle defeated several of the other "Top 10" ranked wrestlers, (
Kazarian, Desmond Wolfe,
D’Angelo Dinero,
Hernandez, and A.J. Styles), boldly claiming that he would retire if he lost during this climb. Angle would not get the opportunity to rise any higher in the ranks. In August the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was vacated, with an eight-man tournament created to crown anew champion. While Angle was victorious in his first-round match, at
No Surrender Angle faced Jeff Hardy in the semi-finals. The match first ended in a time-limit draw and later, after the match was restarted, a no-contest due to Angle accidentally
blading his forehead too deeply. Both men were added to the finals at
Bound for Glory, where Angle was pinned by Hardy after interference from
Eric Bischoff and
Hulk Hogan, who turned heel and formed
Immortal with Hardy, Jarrett, and Abyss. at
Slammiversary IX Following the loss, on the next episode of
Impact! Angle teased making good on his vow and retiring, but was attacked by Jarett and TNA's security officers
Gunner and
Murphy, with Jarett revealing he was involved with ensuring Angle lost at Bound for Glory. Throughout the spring of 2011 the two would bitterly feud over a series of personal and intense matches, which often featured Jarret's wife (and Angle's ex-wife) Karen, playing upon the real-life tension between the trio. Eventually, the feud ended with Angle defeating Jarrett in a
loser-leaves Parking Lot Brawl on the June 16 episode of
Impact Wrestling, forcing Jarett to leave TNA. The month prior, Angle signed a new three-year contract with TNA, stating he was "here for the long haul."
Immortal (2011–2012) After ending his feud with Jeff Jarrett, Angle allied with Sting to oppose the Immortal stable, including TNA World Heavyweight Champion Mr. Anderson. On the July 14 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Angle helped Sting reclaim the title from Anderson. At
Hardcore Justice on August 7, Angle defeated Sting to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for a record fifth time, turning heel in the process after hitting him with a chair. Angle later revealed he opposed Sting’s plan to return control of TNA to
Dixie Carter, claiming Carter had lied to him about her knowledge of the Jarretts’ relationship. He aligned with Hulk Hogan and Immortal, vowing to dismantle TNA’s younger talent, starting with attacking
Crimson that night. Angle successfully defended the title against Sting on the September 1 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Mr. Anderson on the September 8 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Mr. Anderson and Sting in a three-way match at
No Surrender on September 11, and
Bobby Roode at
Bound for Glory on October 16. However, on the October 20 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Angle lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to
James Storm. Angle returned on the November 17 episode of
Impact Wrestling, attacking Storm and revealing himself as the person who had cost him a title match the previous week. Their feud continued through the end of 2011, with Storm defeating Angle at
Final Resolution on December 11, Angle defeating Storm at
Genesis on January 8, 2012, and Storm defeating Angle on the January 12 episode of
Impact Wrestling. Angle began a rivalry with
Jeff Hardy, defeating him at
Victory Road on March 18 but losing a steel cage rematch at
Lockdown on April 15. Angle then feuded with A.J. Styles on the April 19 episode of
Impact Wrestling. On May 13 at
Sacrifice, Angle defeated Styles in a rematch, following another interference from Daniels and Kazarian. After the match, Angle made the save for Styles, chasing Daniels and Kazarian out of the ring. This turned Angle face once again. At
Slammiversary on June 10, Angle and Styles defeated the duo to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship. On the following episode of
Impact Wrestling, Angle entered the
2012 Bound for Glory Series, taking part in the opening
gauntlet match, from which he was eliminated by Daniels. Two weeks later, Angle and Styles lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship back to Daniels and Kazarian. Angle wrestled his final match in the 2012 Bound for Glory Series on the August 30 episode of
Impact Wrestling, losing to Jeff Hardy, which resulted in him being eliminated from the tournament. Angle and Styles unsuccessfully challenged for the TNA World Tag Team Championship on September 9 at
No Surrender and
Bound for Glory on October 14. On the following episode of
Impact Wrestling, Angle defeated Daniels and Styles in a three-way match to become one of four wrestlers in consideration for a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
New Main Event Mafia (2012–2013) In late 2012, Angle began feuding with the
Aces & Eights stable after being attacked by them on the October 25 episode of
Impact Wrestling. He defeated stable member
Devon at
Turning Point An and continued battling the group with other wrestlers such as Samoa Joe and Wes Brisco. He later unmasked D'Lo Brown as the group's vice president and continued feuding with Aces & Eights through early 2013. By May, Angle had entered a feud with A.J. Styles, who had refused to answer whether was associated with Aces & Eights on the May 9, 2013, episode of
Impact Wrestling. This resulted in a match at
Slammiversary XI, where Angle won. That same night, he was announced as the second inductee into the
TNA Hall of Fame. Shortly after, Angle began a storyline with the debuting
Rampage Jackson and later joined Sting in reforming the Main Event Mafia. The new faction would soon recruit Samoa Joe,
Magnus, and Jackson. Angle's association with the storyline would be cut short, following when in August he went on hiatus after entering rehab for drug and alcohol use. Their rivalry continued, with Angle suffering (
kayfabe) injuries, including concussions, amnesia and issues with his knee. Despite being cleared later, Angle was attacked again by Roode and lost further matches in the ongoing TNA World Title tournament due to Roode's interference. At
Genesis, Angle defeated Roode in a steel cage match to end their feud. In early 2014, Angle began a feud with Ethan Carter III (EC3), who injured his knee during an attack. Angle officially accepted his Hall of Fame induction on February 27, but the ceremony was interrupted by EC3. At
Sacrifice, Angle teamed with
Willow to defeat EC3 and
Rockstar Spud. In May, Angle underwent ACL surgery and was sidelined. While still not medically cleared to wrestle, on June 20, 2014, Angle was appointed (kayfabe) Executive Director of Wrestling Operations by TNA's board. During this time, he reinstated Bobby Roode, who had been indefinitely suspended by
MVP, and officially retired the inactive
TNA Television Championship. On October 29 (taped September 18), he served as special referee for the TNA World Championship match between Roode and Lashley. Around the expiration of his TNA contract in September 2014, Angle reached out to WWE about a return, but was reportedly turned down. He later re-signed with TNA on a part-time deal, before being offered and signing a full-time contract.
Final feuds and departure (2015–2016) in October 2015 Angle returned to in-ring action on January 7, 2015, during TNA’s debut on
Destination America. On March 20 (taped January 31), he defeated
Lashley to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for a record sixth time. He successfully defended the title against Eric Young, Lashley, Rockstar Spud, and Austin Aries, before losing it to EC3 on the July 1 episode (taped June 25) of
Impact Wrestling. He failed to regain the title in a rematch on the July 8 of
Impact Wrestling. At
Bound for Glory on October 4, Angle defeated Eric Young. The following month, he announced his departure from TNA after the upcoming UK tour in early 2016. Angle’s "Farewell Tour" included matches against TNA 's top stars. He defeated
Drew Galloway on January 12, 2016, but lost to
Matt Hardy in a title match on February 2 and to Galloway in a rematch on February 9. After defeating Bobby Roode on March 1, Angle wrestled his final TNA match on March 8, 2016, losing to Lashley.
Japanese promotions (2007–2009) On February 18, 2007, Angle made his debut in
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), teaming with former
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata to defeat fellow TNA wrestler
Travis Tomko and fellow
WWE alumnus Giant Bernard. Angle was booked to face
Brock Lesnar in a champion-versus-champion match for the
Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) on June 29, 2007, and defeated him by submission to win the
IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Angle then challenged Lesnar to an
MMA fight. On December 19, 2007, Angle defended the IWGP title successfully against
Kendo Kashin. On January 4, 2008, Angle made his third successful IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense when he defeated Yuji Nagata at the
NJPW supershow Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome by forcing Nagata to submit to the ankle lock. On February 17, 2008, Angle lost the IWGP title to the NJPW-recognized champion
Shinsuke Nakamura in a unification match. He returned in August during the
G1 Climax, in two special tag matches with A.J. Styles as his main opponent. In those matches Shinsuke Nakamura and
Masahiro Chono became Angle's partners while
Hiroshi Tanahashi and
Shinjiro Otani became Styles' partners. Angle's team won both matches. He returned on January 4, 2009, at
Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome in a special eight-man tag match, where he, Kevin Nash, Chono, and
Riki Choshu faced
Great Bash Heel (Giant Bernard,
Karl Anderson,
Takashi Iizuka, and
Tomohiro Ishii), with Angle getting the win for his team. Angle then went on to defeat Bernard in a singles match at New Japan's ISM tour on February 15. Tanahashi defeated Angle on April 5 at New Japan's
Resolution '09 to retain the title.
Mexico (2012) Angle made his debut for Mexican promotion company
AAA on August 5, 2012, at
Triplemanía XX, where he teamed up with Jeff Jarrett as Team Dorian Roldán in a hair-vs.-hair match, where they faced Team Joaquín Roldán (
Electroshock and
L.A. Park), with the Roldáns' hairs on the line. Electroshock won the match for his team by pinning Angle, forcing Dorian to have his head shaved bald. However, after the match, Angle, Jarrett, and Dorian overpowered the winners and shaved Joaquín bald.
Independent circuit (2016–2017) On March 20, 2016, Angle competed for URFight, going against former rival and fellow WWE alumnus
Rey Mysterio in a losing effort in a two-falls match that saw Angle as a
heel. Angle wrestled for
Revolution Pro Wrestling on June 12, where he defeated
Zack Sabre Jr. On August 27, Angle lost to
Cody Rhodes at Northeast Wrestling's Wrestling Under the Stars in Wappingers Falls, New York. Angle defeated
Joe Hendry at the October 6 What Culture Pro Wrestling video tapings. On November 20, 2016, Angle lost to
Joe Coffey at
Insane Championship Wrestling's
Fear & Loathing IX. On February 12, 2017, Angle defeated
Alberto el Patrón at WCPW True Destiny in his final match in the United Kingdom. On March 3, 2017, Angle appeared for
Northeast Wrestling in Connecticut, where he was defeated by Cody Rhodes in a steel cage match. This was his last match on the independent circuit.
Return to WWE Hall of Famer and Raw General Manager (2017–2018) On January 16, 2017, WWE announced that Angle would be inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame. On March 16, WWE revealed that his long-time rival
John Cena would induct Angle at the Hall of Fame ceremony. On the April 3 episode of
Raw after
WrestleMania 33, Angle made his first WWE appearance in nearly 11 years, after
Mr. McMahon appointed Angle as the new general manager of Raw. He was included into a storyline where
Jason Jordan was his son. with
Ronda Rousey At
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Angle has his first match with WWE in 11 years when he teamed with The Shield (Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins) to defeat the team of Braun Strowman, Kane, The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro in a TLC match. On the October 30 episode of
Raw, while addressing the fans, commissioner
Stephanie McMahon confronted Angle, announcing that Angle would be the team captain of Team Raw at
Survivor Series, adding that if Team Raw would lose, Angle would be fired. At the event, Angle's teammate
Triple H attacked him, leading to his elimination by
Shane McMahon; however, Team Raw still went on to win the match. At the
Elimination Chamber, Angle, along with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, was present when
Ronda Rousey signed her
Raw contract, where Angle brought up the confrontation that Stephanie McMahon and Triple H had with Rousey and
The Rock at
WrestleMania 31 and that they both want to manipulate her. This caused Rousey to put Triple H through a table and be slapped by Stephanie McMahon before signing her contract. The following night on
Raw, Angle claimed the allegations he made were false, to keep his job, before being attacked by Triple H. As a result, the following week, Angle scheduled himself to team with Rousey against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a mixed tag team match at
WrestleMania 34, which Angle and Rousey won. Angle participated in the 50-man Royal Rumble match at the
Greatest Royal Rumble event later that month. He entered at number 16 and eliminated
Bo Dallas,
Primo Colón, and
Dolph Ziggler before being eliminated by
Elias. Following WrestleMania, Angle found himself in a power struggle over control of
Raw, when the McMahon family appointed
Baron Corbin as the constable of
Monday Nights on the June 4 episode of
Raw. This continued until the August 20 episode, when Stephanie McMahon sent Angle on "vacation" before announcing that Corbin would be acting general manager in Angle's absence.
Final matches and retirement (2018–2019) On the October 8, 2018, episode of
Raw, Angle made a surprise return, disguised as "
The Conquistador", winning a battle royal after last eliminating Baron Corbin to qualify for the
WWE World Cup at
Crown Jewel. At the event, Angle was defeated by Dolph Ziggler in the first round of the WWE World Cup Tournament. On November 5, Angle competed in his first match on
Raw since 2006, for a spot in the
Survivor Series men's tag team match, losing to
Drew McIntyre, with McIntyre using Angle's own ankle lock finishing maneuver to make him submit. Angle returned at
TLC on December 16 to help Braun Strowman, along with
Apollo Crews,
Finn Bálor,
Bobby Roode,
Chad Gable, defeat Baron Corbin to strip him of authoritative power. The next night on
Raw, Angle, along with Crews, Roode, and Gable, easily defeated Corbin in a no-disqualification handicap match to prevent him from being the permanent general manager of Raw. At the
2019 Royal Rumble on January 27, 2019, Angle entered the match at number four but was eliminated by
Shinsuke Nakamura. On the March 11, 2019, episode of
Raw, Angle announced he would retire at
WrestleMania 35 and chose Baron Corbin as his final opponent at the event. Over the following weeks, Angle embarked on a "Farewell Tour", facing several handpicked opponents, including Apollo Crews,
Samoa Joe, and
AJ Styles. At WrestleMania 35, Angle lost to Corbin in his final match. Afterwards, Angle transitioned to a backstage role as a producer. Despite working with Corbin, Angle asked Vince McMahon to wrestle John Cena in his retirement match, but McMahon declined his petition. Angle also pointed that he decided to stay retired after he watched his last matches with WWE and saw his decreasing mobility and athleticism.
Sporadic appearances (2019–present) Raleigh in 2024 Since 2019, Angle has made appearances on WWE programs, like
Raw Reunion or the August 5 episode of
Raw in his hometown of Pittsburgh, where he was the special guest referee for a match between Drew McIntyre and
Cedric Alexander. On April 15, 2020, Angle was released from his WWE contract as part of budget cuts stemming from the
COVID-19 pandemic. On the May 27, 2020, episode of
NXT, Angle served as the special guest referee in a steel cage match between
Matt Riddle and
Timothy Thatcher. He appeared again two days later on the May 29 episode of
SmackDown to announce the arrival of Matt Riddle to the brand. In an interview with CBR.com, Angle revealed that WWE offered him a new deal to come back under the role of Matt Riddle's manager, but he turned it down in order to focus on his health and his nutrition business. Angle would appear on the August 29, 2022 episode of
Raw, which took place in his hometown of Pittsburgh, on the December 9 episode of
SmackDown, where he celebrated his 54th birthday, After the show went off the air, Rey Mysterio led the superstars and audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to Angle. or the
Raw is XXX on January 23, 2023, in a segment with
D-Generation X. == Professional wrestling style and persona ==