Kurt Angle is one of the greatest World Champions of all time, and he has won multiple World Championships across multiple promotions, but who was the best of a good bunch to beat him to kickstart their World Championship run? Starting out as an amateur wrestler, Kurt Angle picked up professional wrestling quickly. The Olympic Gold Medalist has a staggering 13 World Championships in his cabinet. He won six world titles in WWE with four of those being for the coveted WWE Championship.He won the Big Gold Belt twice with one reign as WCW Champion and a lone World Heavyweight Championship reign. Angle won the TNA World Championship a record six times, and he won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship once during his time in Japan. Angle enhanced his in-ring skills, and he became a wrestling machine by consistently putting on instant classics. Angle cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats, and dethroning him for a World Championship is a big deal.
11 Ethan Carter III
Ethan Carter III's first run in WWE was underwhelming as he went under the name Derrick Bateman and he wasn't taken seriously. However, that all changed when he joined Impact Wrestling in 2013. EC3 was booked into a program with Kurt Angle, who was in his sixth and final run as Impact World Heavyweight Champion.
EC3 was billed as the on-screen nephew of TNA President Dixie Carter. On the July 1, 2015, edition of Impact, EC3 ended Angle's Impact World Championship reign to kickstart his first run as Impact World Champion. It was a significant moment in his career, and he went on to hold the title for 101 days.
10 James Storm
Kurt Angle was amid his fifth TNA World Heavyweight Championship reign after he beat Sting for the title at Hardcore Justice 2011. The Olympic Gold Medalist was dealing with injuries, but he still soldiered on during his championship reign.
After successfully defending the title against Bobby Roode at Bound for Glory, Angle defended the title against TNA stalwart James Storm on the October 20, 2011, edition of Impact. Within a matter of seconds, James Storm ended Angle's TNA World Heavyweight Championship reign to win the title for the first time. It's a shame that Storm's reign barely gained any traction as Roode beat him for the title a week later.
9 Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe was one of Kurt Angle's major rivals in TNA, and they produced barnburner matches against one another. Angle was the top heel in the company, and he was enjoying his third reign as TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
At Lockdown 2008, Angle defended his championship against Samoa Joe in a Steel Cage match. There was a caveat as The Samoan Submission Machine would be forced into retirement if he lost to Angle. It was a close encounter with Joe capturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career.
8 Rey Mysterio
Kurt Angle moved back to SmackDown in January 2006, and he captured the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in a Battle Royal. Angle did a remarkable job as champion, but he had a stern title defense at WrestleMania 22 against 2006 Royal Rumble winner Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat match.
The match only lasted a little over nine minutes, and Angle wasn't even involved in the decision when Mysterio pinned Orton to become World Champion. Unfortunately, Mysterio's World Championship reign was lackluster, but it was a feel-good moment when he prevailed.
7 Shinsuke Nakamura
In June 2007, Kurt Angle beat Brock Lesnar for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The Olympic Gold Medalist defended the gold during his time in TNA, which brought more prestige to the championship.
Angle traveled to Tokyo, Japan and he collided with Shinsuke Nakamura in a title unification match. Nakamura held the NJPW version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and he defeated Angle to unify the two titles.
6 Booker T
Kurt Angle made history as the first man to win the WCW Championship on WWE television when he ended Booker T's WCW Championship reign on the July 26, 2001 edition of SmackDown. Four days later, Booker was hellbent on regaining the title on an episode of Raw.
Booker and Angle have always had good chemistry together over the years. Ultimately, Booker regained the title to become a five-time WCW Champion all thanks to interference from Steve Austin and Shane McMahon.
5 Brock Lesnar
The rivalry between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar was one of the top rivalries in 2003. At WrestleMania 19, the duo headlined the show with Angle's WWE Championship on the line. This was an outstanding wrestling match, and Lesnar dethroned Angle to kickstart his second run as WWE Champion.
Their feud didn't end there as Angle recaptured the WWE Championship from Lesnar in a Triple Threat match at Vengeance. The score was finally settled in a 60-Minute Iron Man match with Brock besting Angle in one of the best matches SmackDown has ever seen.
4 AJ Styles
AJ Styles had been a stalwart in TNA for many years as a fan favorite, and he was out of World Championship contention. However, that all changed when The Phenomenal One was part of a five-way match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
Kurt Angle's championship was at stake, and Matt Morgan, Hernandez, and Sting were also involved in the match. Styles triumphed at No Surrender 2009 and he went on to hold the gold for seven months.
3 The Rock
The rivalry between Kurt Angle and The Rock is an underrated feud OF the Attitude Era. Angle capped off a remarkable debut year in 2000 by defeating The Rock for the WWE Championship at No Mercy.
At No Way Out 2001, The Rock and Angle engaged in a rematch with the winner going on to defend the WWE Championship against Steve Austin at WrestleMania 17. They produced another remarkable contest with The Rock ending Angle's four-month reign as WWE Champion to become a six-time WWE Champion himself.
2 Sting
Sting is another iconic legend that had a great run with TNA. At Bound for Glory 2007, Sting challenged Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Bound for Glory is TNA's biggest pay-per-view, and it was a competitive match between the pair.
The first two TNA World Heavyweight Championship runs belonged to Kurt Angle, but Sting ended his remarkable reign at Bound for Glory. Sting's championship reign was poor for a man of his standards as Angle reclaimed the title two nights later on Impact.
1 Steve Austin
Kurt Angle became one of the biggest stars in 2001 alongside Steve Austin. The Olympic Gold Medalist beat Austin for the WWE Championship in front of his hometown fans in Pittsburgh at Unforgiven.
It was a feel-good moment but The Texas Rattlesnake was furious and wanted his WWE Championship back. All thanks to William Regal, who turned his back on WWE and joined The Alliance, Austin won the WWE Championship for a sixth and final time on the October 8, 2001, episode of Raw.