Kurt Angle Dubs WWE Personality ‘Best Heel In The Business’

During his early days in the professional wrestling landscape, Kurt Angle quickly embraced the heat he attracted from WWE fans, leading him to pivot towards more heelish tendencies, and often flaunting his Olympic gold medals.

In December 2002, the “Olympic Hero” captured the WWE Championship, and his reign would be accompanied by a man Angle considers to be the greatest heel in the game. Following his major win at Armageddon, Angle revealed Paul Heyman as the new manager for himself and Team Angle — Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin. 

On the most recent episode of “The Kurt Angle Show,” Angle stated that he was informed about the change a week before it was officially announced.

“I thought it was a great idea,” Angle said. “It’s not that I needed Paul (Heyman) to speak for me, but he draws a lot of heat. At this particular time, I was kind of a babyface, so having Paul on my side would draw a little bit more heat for me.” Angle continued, deeming Heyman as “the best heel in the business.”

“He draws a lot of heat. He’s the best promo guy I’ve ever been around. When you’re around him you learn a lot, so I was really happy to have Paul as my manager.”

Less than a year after his television debut, Angle won the company’s biggest prize, the WWE Championship, after soaring to the top of the card. In October 2000, Angle went on to defeat Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to capture his first world title at the No Mercy pay-per-view. It wasn’t until his third run with the title, though, that Angle perhaps got to truly master his heel capabilities.