User blog:Michael McKay/The only olympic gold medalist in professional wrestling history

Kurt Angle Oct. 22, 2001 - Nov. 12, 2001

Kurt Angle challenged Rhyno for the United States Championship on an edition of Raw. The Olympic hero absorbed two Gores during the match, but would not stay down. He kicked out of the second Gore and slapped on the ankle lock, making Rhyno submit. It was Angle's first United States Championship. It was Angle's sixth different singles title, as he had already held the Intercontinental, Hardcore, European, WCW and WWE Championships.

Kurt Angle Feb. 27, 2000 - April 2, 2000

Chris Jericho had to put the his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Kurt Angle at No Way Out. This match featured several momentum shifts, and in the end, it was Chyna who played the biggest role. Chyna got wiped out on the outside, which distracted the referee. Angle, noticing the ref wasn’t paying attention, grabbed the belt, and when Jericho went for his patented Lionsault, Angle nailed him with the hardware. The referee came back in and Angle got the pin and his first Intercontinental Championship.

Kurt Angle Feb. 10, 2000 - April 2, 2000

Many consider Kurt Angle's rookie year to be the best in the history of sports-entertainment. His first major championship of that year came in February when he defeated Val Venis for the European Championship on SmackDown!

Kurt Angle Jan. 10, 2006 - April 2, 2006

After a nine-month reign as World Heavyweight Champion, Batista was forced to surrender his title after tearing his right biceps in a match against Mark Henry.

Immediately after The Animal relinquished the championship, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long declared that there would be a Battle Royal to determine the new World Heavyweight Champion.

In one of the most shocking moments in SmackDown history, RAW's Angle walked out from the locker room area and into the SmackDown ring to compete in the Battle Royal ordered by General Manager Theodore Long.

The addition of Angle to the Battle Royal clearly caught many Superstars off guard, and he became an immediate target of the SmackDown roster. In fact, Mark Henry even threw Angle through the announce table at ringside. Angle was able to withstand the attack, however, and in the end Angle last eliminated Henry to be crowned the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Afterwards, Angle celebrated in the ring while the audience in Philadelphia looked on in total amazement.

Kurt Angle Oct. 22, 2000 - Feb. 25, 2001

Capping an amazing rookie campaign, Kurt Angle upset The Rock at the No Mercy pay-per-view to capture his first WWE Championship. Angle's reign lasted four months. Over those four months, Angle proved his worth as WWE Champion by beating the likes of Triple H and the Undertaker, live on pay-per-view. Angle even successfully defended his championship in a six-man Hell in a Cell Match at Armageddon 2000 that also featured Stone Cold, The Rock, Undertaker, Rikishi and Triple H.

Kurt Angle Sept. 23, 2001 - Nov. 8, 2001

Love him or hate him, you cannot deny Kurt Angle's patriotism. With heavy hearts, American fans tuned in to Unforgiven in September 2001 to watch Angle win the match of his career, defeating Stone Cold for the WWE Championship. It was Angle's second reign as WWE Champion.

Kurt Angle Dec. 15, 2002 - March 30, 2003

Kurt Angle's third WWE Championship reign did not come easy, as he was not only up against the 500-pound Big Show, but interference from Paul Heyman and A-Train, as well. Luckily for Angle, Brock Lesnar found his way down to the ring for this Armageddon match. Lesnar delivered the F5 to Show, enabling Angle to go for the cover and the win.

Kurt Angle July 27, 2003 - Sept. 18, 2003

The Vengeance pay-per-view in July 2003 was the site of Kurt Angle's fourth WWE Championship victory. In the main event, Angle bested Big Show and then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a Triple Threat Match to capture the title. Unfortunately for Angle,his reign never reached the two-month mark, as he lost the championship back to Brock Lesnar in September.