Eric Angle | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S. [1] | August 8, 1967
Alma mater | Waynesburg University |
Family | Kurt Angle (brother) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Eric Angle [1] |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [1] |
Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) [1] |
Billed from | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [1] |
Trained by | Dangerous Danny Davis [1] Kurt Angle [1] Ohio Valley Wrestling [1] |
Debut | November 2000 |
Retired | December 2003 |
Eric Angle (born August 8, 1967) is an American former amateur and professional wrestler, [1] better known to be the older brother of professional wrestler Kurt Angle with whom he worked in occasional storylines in World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE). [2]
Angle participated in amateur wrestling in his high school, Mt. Lebanon High School, where he weighed in at 167 pounds in 1985. [3] He wrestled at Waynesburg University after high school.
Angle debuted in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) at the 2000 Survivor Series pay-per-view as a heel to help his then-heel brother Kurt retain the WWF Championship against The Undertaker by wearing the same wrestling tights and switching places. [2] He returned the next night on Raw Is War only to be attacked by The Undertaker. After these two appearances, the WWF signed Angle to a developmental contract and he was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to sharpen his skills. During his time in OVW, he tore a ligament in his arm and went through nine surgeries to help correct his biceps problems. He returned to OVW in October 2002 and wrestled on a few of their television tapings. In November 2002, Angle appeared in a few house shows for WWE. [4] Angle returned to WWE television on an episode of SmackDown! in March 2003 to aid in a storyline between his brother and then-babyface Brock Lesnar, leading to a match at WrestleMania XIX between Lesnar and Kurt. [5] Angle switched places with Kurt to help him defeat Lesnar and retain his WWE Championship. He then appeared on an episode of SmackDown! the following week at his brother's side and was attacked by Lesnar. This was the last time Angle was seen in WWE as he was released from his developmental contract in 2003. In August 2003, Angle returned to wrestling in a local Pittsburgh independent promotion, International Wrestling Cartel (IWC). He wrestled for the promotion on three occasions. [6] He was injured in his last match for the company and during his rehabilitation, decided to quit wrestling.
In March 2019, he was arrested for assault after video surfaced showing him choking and tossing a twelve-year-old boy by the neck at a wrestling tournament. [7] In September 2019, Angle was indicted for distributing anabolic steroids. [8] As a member of the "qu4ntum" drug trafficking organization, Angle sold anabolic steroids and other controlled substances, paid for using cryptocurrency and cash, on the dark web. [9] In 2022, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. [10]
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and professional American football player. As a professional wrestler, he is currently signed to WWE, where in storyline, he is designated a "free agent", allowing him to appear on both the Raw and SmackDown brands; however, as of August 2023, he is on hiatus. Often regarded as one of the most prolific combat sport athletes in the world, Lesnar is the only person to have won the primary heavyweight championships of WWE, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Mark William Calaway, better known by his ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority of his career wrestling for WWE and in 2022 was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Kurt Steven Angle is an American retired professional wrestler and former collegiate wrestler who became a gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games. He is currently signed to WWE on a Legends contract. He is also known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
WrestleMania XX was the 20th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It featured professional wrestlers from both of the promotion's two brand divisions – Raw and SmackDown!. The event took place on March 14, 2004, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the third WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden and the fourth of six WrestleManias in the New York metropolitan area. To this date it is the last WrestleMania to have been held at the Garden. Its calendar date of March 14 also stands as the earliest that WrestleMania has ever been held in any year.
Paul Heyman is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, where he appears on the SmackDown brand as the "Wise Man" for Roman Reigns.
WrestleMania XIX was the 19th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It featured wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place at Safeco Field in Seattle on March 30, 2003, becoming the first WrestleMania held in the state of Washington. A record-breaking 54,097 fans from all 50 states and numerous countries around the world at Safeco Field resulted in ticket earnings of $2.76 million.
Charles Shane Robinson is an American professional wrestling senior referee and former professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE on the SmackDown brand.
The 2003 Royal Rumble was the 16th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on January 19, 2003, at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first Royal Rumble event produced under the WWE name after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002. It was also the first Royal Rumble to occur under the first brand split.
The 2002 SummerSlam was the 15th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on August 25, 2002, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. With this event, SummerSlam became the first pay-per-view to have events in the three major indoor venues in the New York metropolitan area. Madison Square Garden hosted the event in 1988, 1991, and 1998, and the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey hosted the event in 1989, 1997, and later in 2007. This was also the first SummerSlam held under the WWE name, after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May, and the first SummerSlam held following the introduction of the brand extension in March.
The 2002 Survivor Series was the 16th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on November 17, 2002, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The official theme song was "Always" by Saliva, who performed the song and Chris Jericho's entrance music live from The World. This was the first Survivor Series held under the WWE name, after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May, and also the first Survivor Series held under the first brand split.
The 2003 Vengeance was the third annual Vengeance professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown! brand division. The event took place on July 27, 2003, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
The 2002 No Mercy was the fifth No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on October 20, 2002, at the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the first No Mercy held following the introduction of the brand extension, as well as the first No Mercy held under the WWE name after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May. To date, it is the only WWE pay-per-view event ever held in the state of Arkansas.
The 2002 Vengeance was the second annual Vengeance professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on July 21, 2002, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was the first Vengeance event held under the WWE name, after the company had been renamed from World Wrestling Federation to WWE in May that year, as well as the first Vengeance held under the first brand extension.
The 2003 No Way Out was the fifth No Way Out professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on February 23, 2003, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the first No Way Out produced under the WWE name, after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002, as well as the first held under the first brand extension that began in March 2002. This was also the first WWE pay-per-view held in Montreal since the infamous Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series in 1997.
The 2003 No Mercy was the sixth No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown! brand division. The event took place on October 19, 2003, at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
The 2002 Unforgiven was the fifth annual Unforgiven professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on September 22, 2002, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It was the first Unforgiven held under the WWE name, after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE earlier that year in May, as well as the first Unforgiven held during the first brand extension that began in March.
The 2002 Backlash was the fourth Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on April 21, 2002, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri—it was the first PPV event to be held at Kemper Arena since Over the Edge in May 1999, in which Owen Hart, competing as The Blue Blazer, died after falling 78 feet from a harness to the ring. It was the company's very first PPV held following the introduction of the brand split. It was the fourth consecutive Backlash presented by Castrol GTX and the final Backlash held under the WWF name as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) the following month. Thus, it was the last WWF PPV of the Attitude Era. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WrestleMania X8.
The 2002 Judgment Day was the fourth Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. It took place on May 19, 2002, at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee. This event was the promotion's very first pay-per-view held under the WWE name after the change from its previous name, World Wrestling Federation (WWF), two weeks prior to the event, although promotional materials produced before May 10, 2002, still bore the WWF logo. Thus, it was the first WWE PPV to take place after the end of the Attitude Era. The theme song for this event was the song “Broken” by the hard rock band 12 Stones.
The 2002 King of the Ring was the 10th annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that featured the 16th King of the Ring tournament. It took place on June 23, 2002, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It was the only King of the Ring PPV and the first King of the Ring tournament held under the WWE name after the promotion had been renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE the previous month. It was also the final King of the Ring pay-per-view event and the only King of the Ring pay-per-view to feature the Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions following the introduction of the brand extension in March. It was also the final King of the Ring event to be produced as a pay-per-view, although the King of the Ring tournament has continued to be held periodically. The King of the Ring's June PPV slot was replaced by Bad Blood in 2003. One further King of the Ring event was held in 2015, but not on PPV.
SmackDown is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to SmackDown primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Friday Night SmackDown, also referred to simply as SmackDown. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with Raw, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)