7 Things Fans Should Know About The Kurt Angle Vs. Brock Lesnar Rivalry

Throughout the illustrious history of WWE rivalries, few have been as technically sound as Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar. On paper, a matchup between an Olympic gold medalist and an NCAA Division I champion was a tasty prospect. When Angle and Lesnar did lock up in front of sold out crowds, the athletic display between

Throughout the illustrious history of WWE rivalries, few have been as technically sound as Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar. On paper, a matchup between an Olympic gold medalist and an NCAA Division I champion was a tasty prospect. When Angle and Lesnar did lock up in front of sold out crowds, the athletic display between both wrestling savants was a sight to behold.

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While the elite grappling in Angle-Lesnar matches is enough to satisfy any wrestling fan's appetite, there are several morsels about their rivalry that are worth dissecting. The colorful anecdotes about these two men include some interesting numbers, real-life bouts, and episodes of supreme competitiveness.

7 Lesnar Broke Angle's Neck Twice

The Beast Knew Not His Own Strength

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WWE Record

Wins

Losses

Draws

Kurt Angle

461

478

30

Brock Lesnar

288

109

8

Injuries are part and parcel of pro wrestling, but when you're dealing with the freakish strength of The Beast Incarnate, the risk factor apparently goes up. To be fair to Brock Lesnar, he's never had any intent of seriously injuring his good friend Kurt Angle. It just so happened that Lesnar's execution of some moves led to Angle's neck being broken twice.

The first instance happened at No Way Out 2003 in a handicap tag team match involving both superstars. During the match, Angle had a chokehold on Lesnar, who was then supposed to run backwards and ram Angle's back into a turnbuckle. This move, however, was performed incorrectly and Angle's neck ended up sustaining severe damage. Later that year, Lesnar swung an overhead chair shot on Angle's head. If Lesnar had inflicted the chair shot sideways, it might have been a different story. As it turned out, the overhead shot caused three vertebrae in Angle's neck to break.

6 How Many Men Have Submitted Lesnar? Just Two

One Of Them Is An Olympic Gold Medalist

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WWE Superstar

Cumulative Time as World Champion in WWE

Kurt Angle

385

Brock Lesnar

1,511

The mystique of Brock Lesnar can be attributed to the careful way that he's been presented in his two WWE stints. Throughout the course of Lesnar's WWE career, not a lot of Superstars have claimed a victory over him in singles competition. As a matter of fact, when it comes to submission wins, only two men can claim to have won a match after making Lesnar tap out.

RELATED: 10 Most Effective Submission Finishers In Wrestling History, Ranked

One of these men is Kurt Angle, who accomplished the feat at SummerSlam 2003. Despite outside interference by Mr. McMahon, Angle was able to secure the Ankle Lock and get the rare submission win over Lesnar to retain the WWE Title.

5 The Infamous Shoot Fight

In Angle's Mind, He Won This One

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Amateur Wrestling Record

Wins

Losses

Draws

Kurt Angle

116

10

2

Brock Lesnar

106

5

0

While wrestling outcomes are predetermined, the competitors' desire to be the best in the industry is 100% genuine. During Lesnar's rookie year, Angle—who admitted to being prodded by some folks in the locker room—decided to challenge the newcomer to a shoot fight. Confident in his grappling skills, Angle believed that he could prevail if he and Lesnar ever wrestled for real.

Though Lesnar turned down the initial challenge, the shoot fight was on a week later after Angle hijacked a sparring session between Lesnar and Big Show. So, who won this 'match' between the two wrestling icons? "I beat him," claimed Angle on The Joe Rogan Experience. "I took him down twice, he didn't take me down at all...it wasn't like a dominating performance."

4 The WrestleMania 19 Intensity Continued After The Bell Rang

Angle And Lesnar Are So Competitive

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WrestleMania Record

Wins

Losses

Draws

Kurt Angle

4

6

0

Brock Lesnar

6

6

0

Notwithstanding the botched Shooting Star Press in the end, Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XIX was a timeless masterpiece. From the chain wrestling to the masterful throws to the passionately fought endgame, both men put on a fantastic showcase worthy of the WrestleMania main event. The match concluded when Lesnar pinned Angle, but their competitive juices were still in overdrive even after the referee called for the bell.

In the WrestleMania XIX episode of Something to Wrestle With Bruce Prichard, Bruce Prichard recounted how both Angle and Lesnar refused to go to a medical facility after their hellacious match. Then, upon finding out that a banged up Angle wanted to go to Vince McMahon's WrestleMania after-party, a concussed Lesnar decided that he would be going to the party too. Neither man had any business partying in the wee hours of that morning, but there was simply no way that Angle or Lesnar would give up any sort of moral victory to the other.

3 Their SmackDown Iron Man Match Was In Serious Jeopardy

Tragic Events Nearly Prevented The Match From Happening

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Iron Man Match Outcome

Score

Lesnar is disqualified

Angle leads 1-0

Lesnar pins Angle

Score tied at 1-1

Lesnar submits Angle

Lesnar leads 2-1

Angle gets counted out of the ring

Lesnar leads 3-1

Angle pins Lesnar

Lesnar leads 3-2

Lesnar pins Angle

Lesnar leads 4-2

Lesnar pins Angle

Lesnar leads 5-2

Angle pins Lesnar

Lesnar leads 5-3

Angle submits Lesnar

Lesnar leads 5-4

In September 2003, after having wrestled two incredible PPV matches, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle were set to lock horns once again on SmackDown. Their Iron Man Match for the WWE Championship had all the makings of another instant classic. That SmackDown episode, however, was close to taking a very different turn.

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Tragically, Angle's sister had died the night before. Wrecked by grief, Angle took 20 Vicodin and did not wake up till 5:00 PM the next day. He hightailed it to the arena and somehow put on another excellent performance with Lesnar.

2 The Rivalry Spilled Over To Japan

Outside The WWE, These Two Were Still Going At It

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NJPW Record

Wins

Losses

Draws

Kurt Angle

6

2

0

Brock Lesnar

6

0

0

By 2007, neither Brock Lesnar nor Kurt Angle was a WWE employee. Despite this, their in-ring careers would collide once more, this time in the Land of the Rising Sun.

How did this come about? Lesnar had taken his talents to New Japan Pro Wrestling and captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The Beast Incarnate, however, allegedly ran into visa issues that prevented him from continuing his NJPW stint. Lesnar ended up competing for Antonio Inoki's new promotion called Inoki Genome Federation, and at IGF Toukon Bom-Ba-Ye 2007, he lost the IWGP Heavyweight Title after tapping out to—who else?—his rival Kurt Angle.

1 Angle Has The Upper Hand In High-Profile, 1-on-1 Matches

Can Brock Ever Pull Ahead In This Series?

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Date of Angle-Lesnar Match

Result

Notes

June 29, 2007

Kurt Angle def. Brock Lesnar

Angle won the IWGP Heavyweight Title at IGF Toukon Bom-Ba-Ye

September 16, 2003

Brock Lesnar def. Kurt Angle

Lesnar won the WWE Title in an Iron Man Match on SmackDown

August 24, 2003

Kurt Angle def. Brock Lesnar

Angle retained the WWE Title at SummerSlam

March 30, 2003

Brock Lesnar def. Kurt Angle

Lesnar won the WWE Title at WrestleMania XIX

March 11, 2003

Kurt Angle def. Brock Lesnar

Angle retained the WWE Title after outside interference from Eric Angle

All told, which competitor leads the series in televised one-on-one encounters? That would be Kurt Angle, who has a slim 3-2 lead over Brock Lesnar in five matches that were either on pay-per-view or primetime TV.

While Brock Lesnar continues to work a limited schedule these days, his dance partner hung up his boots after WrestleMania 35. It appears, then, that Kurt Angle has claimed victory in their series of high-profile, one-on-one encounters.

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