Kurt Angle has revealed that he thought a 2002 pay-per-view bout between him and Triple H was a “creative mess”.
The match in question took place at the 2002 edition of No Way Out. At the event, Kurt Angle and Triple H clashed to determine the number one contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 18. ‘The King of Kings’ had not long returned from an eight-month absence following a quadriceps tear.
While Triple H had originally secured his place in the WrestleMania main event by winning that year’s Royal Rumble, Kurt Angle persuaded him to put that spot on the line. Another wrinkle to the story was added when Triple H’s soon-to-be on-screen ex-wife Stephanie McMahon made herself the special referee for the bout.
Discussing the match on his podcast, The Kurt Angle Show (available from AdFreeShows) the Olympic gold Medallist said that, while he was generally happy with the match, he thought the creative for it was a mess.
“Yeah, I was happy with the match. I just hated the ref bumps. There were four referee bumps. It was absolutely way too much.”
“I don’t think [Stephanie] helped or hurt. I don’t think it was really much of a difference, really, whether we had her or not. I think the problem is we had way too many ref bumps. When you have a special guest referee, it can get a little difficult.”
“I’d say this, she should’ve done a fast count, both times, on the count on Hunter. It wasn’t her fault. That was a creative mess. I think the creative dropped the ball on that. I would’ve gotten more heat if it was a fast count.”
Back in 2000, Kurt Angle had been involved in a love triangle storyline with Triple H and Stephanie, and he believes the company was trying to breathe new life into that story, something he found uncomfortable.
“I don’t know what they thought was, you know, the love triangle wasn’t long before this, and Triple H was out for almost a year.”
“So, him coming back and me having a program with him, I felt they wanted to rejuvenate the love triangle and have Stephanie involved in the show, in our program, which I didn’t mind at all. It’s a little bit uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, I’m doing what I can do to have the best possible program.”
H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the above transcription.
