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Thoughts on Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 21?

10K views 31 replies 28 participants last post by  jonoaries 
#1 ·
Whats the general consensus for this match? Did it live up to the expectations? What would you rate the match? I'm watching it right now again. The match never really did captivate me.
 
#5 ·
It was a great match and BY FAR Angle's best at Wrestlemania.


At the time (not so much anymore) people had put Angle up there as one of the Wrestlemania icons. He had so many matches that were deemed Wrestlemania classics and I just had to sit back and go "Really?".


Match with Jericho & Benoit for the European & Intercontinental Titles at Mania 2000 was good. It was one of the only matches from this show I enjoyed, but I would never say it was a classic.

Match with Benoit at X-Seven is massively overrated. I heard people at the time try to argue it was Match of the Night, and WWE even ranked it as the 10th Best Match in Wrestlemania History for their Top 10 Special before Mania XX. Sorry, but I don't see it. To me, it was a good match on par with other midcard Mania matches like HHH Vs. Owen at XIV, Jericho Vs. Christian at XX, Jake Vs. DiBiase at VI, and the like. But in no means was it a classic. I thought Austin Vs. Rock, HHH Vs. Taker, and even Vince Vs. Shane from this same show far outshined it.

His match with Kane at X-8 was forggetable and had a botched finished. Next.

His match with Lesnar at XIX is another very overrated one in my eyes. It is a GOOD solid match, but once again, it was being hailed as an all time classic bout, and I still don't see it. To me, it is an ordinary wrestling match that is only remember because Lesnar almost killed himself botching the finish. Not saying it is a bad match, but come on. Once again, looking at this same card, HBK Vs. Jericho, Austin Vs. Rock III, and even Vince Vs. Hogan far surpassed it in terms of excitement and just being memorable. Hell, I would say it was on par with HHH Vs. Booker, which nobody seems to remember.

People seem to have forgotten his match with Eddie at XX, but at the time, it was getting 5 star ratings and MOTY nominations. I'll be honest, I was never a huge fan of Eddie & Angle's matches. Their best outing was a match they had on Smackdown in 2005 (which I believe was included on an Eddie Guerrero DVD). As it stands with this match, I'm sorry, but once again, I didn't think it was anything special. It was a good match with kind of a hokey finish, and that's it. The main event far surpassed anything in this match.

So prior to the match with Michaels, I had never been truly blown away by any of Angle's Mania performances. He always showed great effort. That was never a question. Angle is the type of guy that if he flipped burgers for a living, he would bust his ass to flip five times as many burgers as everyone else. It is just that I never felt like Angle had truly had that one very special Mania match.

Then he gets into his feud with Shawn Michaels, which was awesome. It was some of Angle's best stuff leading up to it, showing off both his comedic skills and his ruthless side. And the match itself was a wonderful showcase of clashing styles. Angle's mat wrestling combined with Shawn's high flying skills was a match made in heaven and delivered a truly great match. I loved it.

And for the sake of completion, I didn't think Angle's 3 way with Rey & Orton for the title at 22 was that memorable either. It was a good & solid match, but Angle felt like he didn't belong in it. He was there just to hold and lose the belt and that was it.
 
#12 ·
It's a great match but not the five star classic many hail it as. ★★★★¼ for me. Very good back and forth action with a split crowd and some awesome nearfalls towards the end. Enjoyed it a lot.

People seem to have forgotten his match with Eddie at XX, but at the time, it was getting 5 star ratings and MOTY nominations. I'll be honest, I was never a huge fan of Eddie & Angle's matches. Their best outing was a match they had on Smackdown in 2005 (which I believe was included on an Eddie Guerrero DVD). As it stands with this match, I'm sorry, but once again, I didn't think it was anything special. It was a good match with kind of a hokey finish, and that's it. The main event far surpassed anything in this match.
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that. Their 2004 matches were so dull and boring. Then they go at it one last time weeks after WM21 and that match blew away everything they did before.
 
#13 ·
It's an epic match, and one of my favorites. There's a reason it won MOTY for PWI.

Would you expect anything less from either Shawn or Kurt?
 
#15 ·
**** 1/2. Great match, just doesn't get my MOTY nod due to a few superior matches in 2005 such as HHH-Batista and Elimination Chamber III (which technically doesn't exist now).

When I do my Wrestlemania rewatches for Wrestlemania system, I'll see which I love more ; MITB I or Angle-HBK.
 
#16 ·
It's my personal #1 Wrestlemania match of all time, just baaarely edging out Austin vs Hart "I Quit."

It was a no-gimmick, no-stipulation match, just "who's the better of the best?" And it had everything I loved about a wrestling match: great storyline heading in, good pacing, storytelling, a few big spots/bumps, stiffness, various counters and finishers, and a fantastic, nail-biting ending.

The ONLY major complaint is a personal one: I wish it had taken place in one of the "larger arena" Wrestlemanias, just to give it that REALLY big-time feel.
 
#20 ·
It's the 2nd best match I've ever seen live (first being the Austin-HHH 3 stages of hell match). Definitely the best crowd reaction of any match I've seen, lost my voice by the end but it was worth it. I LOVED how HBK went a bit heel-ish halfway through the match when he knew the crowd was split 50-50. It's definitely a 'Mania classic and I do agree with the other poster that said it'd be even better if it were at one of the larger arenas.
 
#26 ·
I enjoyed it. :)
 
#29 ·
That's how I recall it. Most saw Angle as more deserving of the win and many did not want HBK to win this. I think some still slightly resent HBK sometimes for some of his misdeeds of the pasts and whenever a match like this comes up, a lot tend to rally against him. And of course, we all knew HBK would win a rematch. He wouldn't dare let Angle get the upper hand without getting the win back.
 
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