We all know that Kurt Angle went to a few ECW shows after winning the Gold Medal in 96, before coming to the WWF towards the fall of 98' and while backstage during one of the events he was appaled at Raven's crusifixion of Sandman and decided that he wasn't going to ever apear on that show.
Paul E. told Kurt that he knew nothing about that before it happened and ECW is more of a freelance promotion other than the WWF/E & WCW at that time. But Kurt Angle told Paul E. that if his name or face is somehow attached to the crucifix angle. That Heymen would receive a call from Angle's lawyer. Nothing bad came out of what had happened. Raven apologized to the ECW crowd later on that night.
What would have happened if during that time Kurt signed with ECW, would ECW have had a chance to stay afloat maybe a bit longer? Of course there was the problem with money but with Kurt's name value and Gold Medal, it could have given them some more "exposure" to the mainstream crowd, for sure it woudl have been in the papers or on the sports channels, that Kurt Angle transpired into Wrestling and maybe they could have put up more PPV's, Sales and cash.
would they captivate the world with feuds such as Kurt / Taz, Kurt / Lynn, Kurt / Rhyno, Kurt / others. How different would it have been for the WWF at that time, Kurt was a huge player during 2000-2004 face or heel.
I forget what year it was when Kurt Angle was going to join ECW but i can tell you now that had Kurt Angle have joined ECW then he wouldn't be wrestling today because he can't help himself but to try and outperform everyone else so with the style that the original ECW had added to Kurt Angle's style and at times complete recklessness would have seen him be retired probably by around 2002/2003 in my opinion.
Think how many serious injuries Kurt Angle had in WWE in a much safer working enviroment and with better in ring workers who were much safer to work with so you can imagine how many serious injuries Kurt Angle would have had in the original ECW. The other problem with Kurt Angle outside of him having to outperform everyone is he just doesn't know when to quit with him working WrestleMania 19 against Brock Lesnar with a broken neck just as he did when he won Gold Medal at the Olympics so he would have kept coming back from genuine Harcore matches, Flaming Table matches and whatever else they used to call matches back then in ECW.
I'm happy he didn't go to ECW just because he got work the career he had in WWE and then the career he's still having in TNA as well which has seen him become one of the greatest in ring performers of all time. I'm happy that i got to see Kurt Angle work some of the greatest matches ever seen against Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Chris Benoit, Brock Lesnar and Triple H in WWE before providing TNA with some of the greatest matches the company has ever seen with Sting, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Desmond Wolfe, Ken Anderson and Frankie Kazarian.
i think Kurt's the greatest wrester ever but he wouldn't have saved ECW, and even if he did sign with them, i dont think he would have lasted long before wwe signed him up.
the feuds you said would have been great to see though, i would also have added rvd when he was at his best to that list, and him and sabu would have been amazing
The thought of Kurt Angle being in the real ECW, the hardcore ECW, is kind of weird to think about. Could have made for some very interesting angles and it could have changed the history of WWE and ECW.
I agree that lots of feuds could have been made with Angle in the original ECW, Raven, Sandman, RVD, Lynn, Rhyno, Taz and more. But what I am wondering is if you guys think ECW could have lasted longer on air and stayed afloat longer if Angle was on the roster?
The thing is if Angle joined the company at the time, sports channels and the papers would be all over it, him being an Olympic Gold Medalist and a huge asset to the company, someone transfering over to Pro Wrestling and choosing ECW over the two mega-promotions at the time, WWF and WCW.
It would have given ECW a lot more exposure to fans that weren't familiar with it, maybe gotten it more airtime, more publicity, sales, merch and who knows there are an endless list of things that could have happened but as a whole Angle would have rolled in the cash which we all knew was missing in ECW's dying years.
Kurt is a very skilled wrestler, he's a machine and it would've been pretty cool to see him in some matches with ECW stars but I honestly doubt if he could've saved the company.
For those who don't know, Kurt did actually appear on an ECW show and it would seem was being built towards a feud with Taz. I don't think you would have seen Kurt in too many extreme matches, ECW displayed all kind of styles and I can't see them exactly putting their star man, a former Olympian into matches against New Jack somehow, it just wouldn't have worked. You'd have seen him in more MMA style matches I think against the likes of Taz and Guido, people that could genuinely wrestle until he had become a solid professional wrestler then he would have probably moved on to the likes of Rob Van Dam, Jerry Lynn etc.
Kurt would of still probably signed with the WWF, even if he stayed with ECW. He would of probably had some feuds with guys like Taz, Little Guido and Lance Storm. By the time late 1998, early 1999 rolled around. If he was still apart of ECW, I'm sure either the WWF or WCW would of showed some interest in signing him. Even if the crucifix angle never happened, he wouldn't of stayed 'til the very end of the company.
Have a hard time thinging about what Angle would be like in the old ECW. I watched Rise and Fall and was shocked about the Angle situation. I can only imagine the problems he'd be going through now.
He might have wrestled 2 or 3 matches but he would have quickly figured out what kind of promotion ECW was, and he would have left for the WWF. He was an Olympic "hero" and one with a lot of potential for pro wrestling so ECW just wasn't the right fit for him.
Even if he had joined ECW, I think he still would have signed with WWE when he did.
I don't really see what he could have added to ECW. Keep in mind this is in 1996, so we're not talking about the same Kurt that became a star in WWE. Sure, he had an olympic gold medal but I don't think mattered much in ECW. Kurt might have stayed for a year, involved in the Taz/Sabu but I can't help but think that it might have altered things. Fonzie might not have turned on Taz at Barely Legal, potentially preventing the rise of Rob Van Dam or the Jerry Lawler invasion, 2 key moments of ECW history.
Kurt himself wouldn't have saved ECW, he wouldn't have been a draw there. Despite him being an Olympic gold medalist it was the WWF that made him a draw, I don't believe that ECW could have accomplished with him very well. He'd have put on some great matches but he wouldn't have kept ECW afloat any longer, he'd have been another talented wrestler they'd have struggled to pay. And with Angle its possible that it would have prevented others from shining i.e RVD.
He wouldn't have saved the company unless he suddenly became Heyman's financial adviser but he would have pulled off some great matches in an ECW environment.
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