10 Best Matches In Kurt Angle's Career, Ranked

The spectacular career of Kurt Angle in the ring appears to be over. Angle had his retirement match at WrestleMania 35 losing to Baron Corbin. Despite that match not providing much excitement, Angle was known for being one of the all-time great in-ring performers. The skills of Angle allowed him to have countless outstanding matches throughout his entire career.

We will look back at the best overall matches to come from the Olympic gold medalist. Now that he’s officially done, these are the bouts that fans will always look back on when wanting to remember the best times of Angle. All the matches selected played a huge role in his success as a Hall of Fame performer. Find out just where your favorite one ranks with the top ten matches of Kurt Angle’s career officially ranked.

10 Kurt Angle vs The Rock vs The Undertaker (Vengeance 2002)

The main event of Vengeance 2002 placed three of the most popular wrestlers of the time against each other in a triple threat match. Kurt Angle and The Rock challenged The Undertaker for the Undisputed Championship. The winner would defend against Brock Lesnar at Summerslam 2002 after he earned his title shot earlier.

Angle had a tremendous performance as all three legends left it all in the ring. The match went back and forth with each talent made to look strong. Rock eventually pulled off the victory to win the title, but Angle was the base of that match to make it such a classic.

9 Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon (King of the Ring 2001)

Kurt Angle’s match with Shane McMahon at King of the Ring 2001 was impressive for many reasons. Firstly, it was the third match Angle wrestled in the night after facing Edge and Christian each in the King of the Ring tournament with Edge beating him in the finals.

Despite wrestling two prior matches, Angle was still at the top of his game here. The hardcore wrestling style of Shane allowed Angle to showcase another side of his game. Angle was known for his technical wrestling, but this vicious win showed that he could get violent when the situation called for it.

8 Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio (Summerslam 2002)

The opening match for Summerslam 2002 had the crowd extremely invested due to the outstanding results. Kurt Angle faced off against newcomer Rey Mysterio in Rey’s first-ever WWE PPV match. Both men did everything possible in under 10 minutes proving match length wasn’t important.

Mysterio had a star-making performance that proved he could hang with a legitimate WWE main eventer. Angle was at his peak delivering another masterpiece here. Both men had impeccable chemistry in this classic with Angle pulling out the victory.

7 Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit (Royal Rumble 2003)

The rivalry between Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit always created spectacular matches between the two. Angle and Benoit had similar wrestling styles with their submission moves and general intensity always turning their bouts into an intense chess match.

Royal Rumble 2003 would see their best match come on a major PPV for the WWE Championship. The crowd was completely invested in every second as they exchanged holds back and forth. Angle ultimately pulled out the win via submission to retain the title.

6 Kurt Angle vs Steve Austin (Summerslam 2001)

Kurt Angle’s face turn in 2001 was a bit surprising given how hated he was for the first chapter of his career. Not many would have expected to ever cheer Angle over Steve Austin, but that was the fan dynamic during their feud.

Austin joined WCW and ECW’s Alliance leading to a feud with the now face Angle representing WWE. Both men had a classic match at the Summerslam 2001 event for the WWE Championship. The only negative was that Austin got DQ’d to end the match in a disappointment, but Angle won the title on the following Unforgiven PPV in front of his hometown crowd.

5 Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero (WrestleMania 20)

The rise of Eddie Guerrero into the main event picture gave Kurt Angle another tremendous performer to have a big feud with. Guerrero was the WWE Champion heading into WrestleMania 20 for a showdown against Angle.

The two technical wrestling masters had a classic in front of the appreciate Madison Square Garden crowd. Guerrero pulled off one of his hilarious tricks by fooling Angle into removing his boot during the Ankle Lock submission. The finish saw Eddie win with a roll-up to end the superb match in entertaining fashion.

4 Kurt Angle vs The Undertaker (No Way Out 2006)

Kurt Angle started portraying a more intense character tapping into his MMA side for his 2006 World Championship reign. The Undertaker would challenge Angle for the title at No Way Out 2006 just one month before the massive WrestleMania 22 event.

Both legends performed as if they were on the biggest show of the year with an absolute classic. This was considered the best match of Undertaker’s career at the time as it had everything from story to action to drama. Angle scored the win after 30 minutes of tremendous wrestling.

3 Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar (Smackdown Iron Man Match - September 18, 2003)

The rivalry between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar dominated Smackdown throughout 2003. Both men would see the WWE Championship go back and forth as they portrayed different characters. Angle was the defending champion as the face here against the heel Lesnar in an Iron Man match.

Fans were treated to a must-see match on free television during the September 18, 2003 edition of Smackdown. A change of pace from most Iron Man match stories saw Brock get intentionally disqualified to gain an advantage with more pins. Lesnar held on late in the exciting match to take back the WWE Championship from his rival.

2 Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit vs Rey Mysterio and Edge (No Mercy 2002)

The brand split in 2002 would see Raw and Smackdown each needing their own titles. Raw renamed the established belts the World Tag Team Championship. Smackdown would run a tournament ending at No Mercy 2002 to crown their WWE Tag Team Champions.

The submission-based rivals of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit defeated the fast-paced friends Rey Mysterio and Edge. All four men put on dazzling performances in a match that featured one of the first-ever standing ovations in WWE. This match proved that the future of WWE was in good hands as Steve Austin and The Rock were phasing away from wrestling.

1 Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 21)

The dream match between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels was billed as such when the two icons faced off at WrestleMania 21. Michaels was back in his groove after coming out of retirement three years prior and was better than ever. Angle also appeared to be at his peak entering the match.

Both wrestlers went back and forth with one of the best performances of each of their careers. Angle and Michaels stole the show on this night showing just why fans badly wanted this dream match. The win was one of the most important in Angle’s career and is still his best match today.

NEXT: The 5 Best Feuds Of Shawn Michaels' Career (& The 5 Worst)