Kurt Angle was one of the few wrestlers who superseded his potential as a superstar. In both the WWE and TNA, Angle became a top player in the company and carried both through highs and lows. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer who will always be respected for his in-ring skills, but he also had plenty of talent on the microphone.
Kurt Angle competed in many tag team bouts. He was such a great compliment to anyone in the ring that it made sense to use Kurt as a competitor to help put talent over and as a tag team partner to help raise the profile of potential stars. Not every partner of Angle's was great and this list examines the best and worst partnerships of Kurt Angle's career.
10 Best: Sting
One of the most exciting aspects of Angle's arrival to TNA was the idea of putting him and Sting in the ring in any capacity. The two had great matches and some of the more memorable feuds of the peak television days of the company. The two had outstanding matches as partners and put over a ton of talent even though they were clearly superior to most, if not all, the wrestlers they competed against. Angle's time in TNA was riddled with highs and lows, but his moments with Sting overshadow many of the down times for Angle and TNA.
9 Worst: Rockstar Spud
Before he was Drake Maverick in the WWE competing for the 24/7 title, he was Rockstar Spud in TNA X-Division. He did receive a push in TNA and became the X-Champion on two occasions, but Spudd was never truly a master performer in the ring or on the microphone. He also never gelled well with Angle as a tag partner.
The two competed in a below-average tag team match before they competed for the TNA World Heavyweight Title in a much better match. Their feud ended really quickly, likely for a lack of chemistry among the two, and the two never teamed up and only competed with each other a few other times in TNA.
8 Best: AJ Styles
AJ Styles and Kurt Angle are both responsible for a new jolt of energy to TNA in the late 2000s. The high level of performance between the two stood out in the sea of tag team matches that existed in TNA at the time. The two had one of the best wrestling feuds of 2008 that included a "No Ropes Gold Medal Challenge." The two would team up a few years later, even becoming TNA tag champs through the summer of 2012, setting up Styles for his future TNA World Heavyweight Title run.
7 Worst: Garett Bischoff
Maybe expectations for Garett Bischoff were too high because his father was such a huge force in the wrestling world, but no one can argue he never caught on as a wrestling star in TNA. Although he did win a few matches, it was never clear who he was supposed to be as a performer. He and Angle teamed up for a match in 2012, but other than that, Garett is mostly forgotten in the career of Angle and as a performer in TNA overall.
6 Best: Shawn Michaels
Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21 was one of the best matches of 2005. The two are both massive stars because they had both insane talent as wrestlers but also were great at working audiences.
The generational superstars only teamed up for one televised match and the bout was great. Although they were much better as foes, the dream tag team unit of Michaels and Angle could dominate any era of wrestling.
5 Worst: Stephanie McMahon
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are one of the top wrestling couples and have been for decades. In hindsight, it's a little cringeworthy to look back at the love triangle between Angle, Triple H, and Stephanie. During that feud, Stephanie competed in one of the early matches of her career with Angle. Stephanie found her niche as a GM, but she is the worst wrestler in the McMahon family and one of the worst teammates of Angle's career.
4 Best: Eddie Guerrero
Eddie and Angle were crucial in establishing SmackDown as a premier wrestling program. They had some of the greatest matches in the history of SmackDown. A match where the two stars would team up seemed inevitable and it happened a few times. Whether the duo was in a regular tag match or a six-man matchup, they always shined above their allies and foes. The two had talent that was equaled by a few people on the roster and that made them the ultimate combination as partners.
3 Worst: Matt Morgan
Matt Morgan received a huge push in TNA, but he never became a big-time star. He also failed to ever become anything more than an average performer on the mat. Morgan and Angle teamed up against Team 3D in a tables match that should have been an easy sell for all parties, but the bout was "okay" at best. The two teamed up again a few years later and the outcome was similar. Like Morgan's career, Angle's tag matches with "the blueprint" had huge potential and never delivered.
2 Best: Stone Cold Steve Austin
When Angle arrived in the WWE, Stone Cold Steve Austin was still the king of wrestling. The two were destined to cross paths, considering how successful Angle was early on in his career. Austin helped put Angle over, even losing to him in a world title match at Unforgiven 2001. The two couldn't have been more different as wrestlers, but their tag matches delivered much more than expected. They were ironically not often victorious, but the partnership with Austin and Angle was much more than "tag matches." They were "passing of the torch bouts" among two of the best to ever do it.
1 Worst: Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon is immortalized as a wrestling icon, but no one mentions his performances as an actual wrestler when they recount his legacy. He and Angle wrestled in a few tag team matches in the early 2000s and they were as poor as expected. Considering the insane list of amazing stars Angle has had the pleasure of sharing the ring with, it is easy to see why Mr. McMahon is one of the worst. The tag matches were as bumpy as the relationship between McMahon and Kurt Angle.