Kurt Angle Vs Brock Lesnar Is The Best Iron Man Match In WWE History
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Throughout the history of WWE, there have been a multitude of iron man matches. It is a stipulation based on drive, endurance, and willpower. In this type of match, wrestlers must be able to win the most victories over their opponent in a set amount of time. Some of WWE’s most classic matches have been iron man matches, such as Bayley versus Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Respect for the NXT Women’s Championship, and Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 12 for the WWE Championship. However,Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle delivered a phenomenal iron man match for the WWE Championship on the September 18, 2003, edition of SmackDown.
Brock Lesnar And Kurt Angle's Rivalry Brought Them To This Point
The match featured heavy advertisement throughout the show, which was the season premiere of SmackDown. It was the very first time on network television that a one-hour match had been stipulated on WWE television and was the third overall iron man match in WWE history. It was built up as a pay-per-view level match up. This was not the first time that Lesnar and Angle were going to compete against one another. Before this, they competed one-on-one at SummerSlam and WrestleMania 19 the same year. Even WWE competitors were betting on who would win the match.
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The first to make their entrance was Brock Lesnar. At this point, “The Next Big Thing”, had already built an accomplished career in WWE. He had already won the 2002 King of the Ring, defeated The Rock to become the youngest WWE Champion at that time, and was the 2003 Royal Rumble winner. Next came Kurt Angle, who has a resume that speaks for itself as well, having held numerous championships in WWE, including world titles. He was also an Olympic gold medalist. As Michael Cole mentioned, this was the rubber match between the two competitors, as both had one win over each other. It was now time to see who was going to win the series.
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Two Of The Ruthless Aggression Era's Biggest Names Go To War On SmackDown
In the start off to the match, Angle and Lesnar stared each other down. Lesnar began dominantly, kicking and ramming Angle in the corner of the ring. The question throughout the match was who would have the endurance to take it all the way to the end in order to win. Throughout the early stages of the match, Angle was able to out wrestle Lesnar easily, injuring his knee at one point. Lesnar left the ring at points to scout Angle. Eventually, the two brawled on the outside before re-entering. Lesnar struck Angle with a chair, giving the latter the first fall. An F5 then gave Lesnar a fall, tying the two. He also gained a second fall by making Angle tap out to his own move, the Ankle Lock.
Lesnar kept on the offensive, but Angle was able to build a comeback. Lesnar, however, kept using underhanded tactics to stop Angle. After an F5 on the outside, Lesnar got his third fall by getting a count out victory. But, once the action got back in the ring, Angle was successfully able to hit an Angle Slam and gain his second fall. Angle needed to mount a strong offense in order to stay in the match. Thirty minutes had already passed and Angle brought the straps down. Lesnar then stopped everything by taking out the referee. Angle did deliver the Angle Slam, but no one could count the pin. Lesnar also went on to hit Angle with the WWE Championship, which allowed for a fourth fall for Lesnar.
The SmackDown Iron Man Match Came Down To The Wire
Angle was now in a dire situation, pulling out whatever he could to try and win. The match was physical, with powerful moves exchanged between the two and many kick outs. During the commercial break, a superplex allowed Lesnar to pick up his fifth fall. With less than fifteen minutes left, the match seemed firmly in Lesnar’s favor. Angle tried his best, including an F5 to Lesnar into the ring post. Angle did get another pin, thanks to a top rope belly to belly suplex. He also gained another fall due to an Ankle Lock.
They continued to fight, with the score 4-5 in favor of Lesnar. With fifteen seconds remaining, Angle put on another ankle lock, but it did not matter. Lesnar was able to hold on and became the new WWE Champion. The match was physical and grueling, with Angle himself saying it was the most intense match he had been involved in during his career. It was a phenomenal showcase of both Lesnar and Angle’s abilities
