Kurt Angle is revered for his in-ring talents and having a resilient tolerance to pain. He spent much of his career working with and through numerous injuries to entertain the fans in classic match after classic match. This was especially noticeable throughout the 2000s. Angle spent 2000 to 2009 wrestling for two different major companies, while also making sporadic appearances in some other companies in-between.
Regardless of where he wrestled, Angle selflessly sacrificed his own body to give fans his best in the ring against a variety of opponents. Certain storylines he worked in were poorly designed, but overall, he is an established legend.
9 2005
Angle spent the first part of 2005 in SmackDown's WWE Championship picture, then transitioned to a feud against Shawn Michaels for WrestleMania 21. Their match at 'Mania was a classic, as were their rematches at Vengeance that summer and the RAW Homecoming episode in the fall.
Angle also feuded with John Cena on RAW over the WWE Championship, which he was unsuccessful in. The two feuds he was part of that made 2005 his worst year were with Eugene and Booker T, the latter being booked in an uncomfortable and inappropriate scenario involving Booker T's wife, Sharmell.
8 2004
Angle feuded with Eddie Guerrero throughout 2004, having a classic match at WrestleMania 20 and a decent match at SummerSlam months later. There was also a storyline with The Big Show where Kurt needed to stop wrestling for a while due to injuries, so a segment on SmackDown saw Big Show throw Angle off of a platform in an arena parking lot to give an excuse for Kurt's lack of wrestling.
Kurt was SmackDown's General Manager during his recovery and continued his feud with Big Show when he was fully healed. 2004 was an unimpressive year in Kurt's otherwise great career for reasons out of his control.
7 2003
2003 saw Kurt have a classic match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 19, where Kurt put Brock over as WWE Champion so Kurt could get surgery on his badly injured neck. Upon Kurt's return in the summer, he and Brock continued their feud for a while longer, which saw Kurt regain the WWE Title at Vengeance from Lesnar.
Angle also feuded with a young John Cena in the fall, carrying Cena to a great match at No Mercy. Angle had a lot of good matches in 2003, but the neck injury halted what could have been an even better year for him otherwise.
6 2008
Kurt was in TNA by 2008, feuding with Christian Cage as the World Champion to begin the year. By April, he was putting over Samoa Joe and losing the World Title at Lockdown in a match that combined professional wrestling with mixed martial arts style fighting.
In the summer, Angle feuded with AJ Styles, doing the favors for him at both Slammiversary and Hard Justice. After that came Angle's feud with Jeff Jarrett, with Kurt losing to Double J at Bound For Glory. The end of 2008 saw Angle in short feuds with Abyss and Rhino. Angle's matches in 2008 were good considering his physical pain, especially versus Samoa Joe.
5 2009
Kurt's 2009 saw him earn the TNA World Title at June's Slammiversary in the King Of The Mountain match, with help from Samoa Joe, who turned heel in the process. Angle also feuded with some new rivals in the fall and winter, a star on the rise at the time in Matt Morgan and the debuting Desmond Wolfe.
Angle carried Morgan to a good match at Bound For Glory and then came Wolfe, better known by his real name of Nigel McGuiness. Angle and Wolfe had some good matches to end the year, with Kurt coming out on top both times.
4 2001
Angle began 2001 as WWE Champion, defeating Triple H at the Royal Rumble to retain. He later feuded with Shane McMahon, with their classic at King Of The Ring being known for the botched suplexes through the glass panes on the entrance stage. Kurt worked through a broken tailbone following a suplex from Shane on the ramp, so both men were resilient that night.
Angle then feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin over the WWE Title, winning by disqualification at SummerSlam and winning the title at Unforgiven with the Ankle Lock. 2001 saw Angle come into his own as a wrestler by showing the ability to put on great matches with almost anyone.
3 2007
Angle wrestled his first full year in TNA in 2007, having good matches with Samoa Joe and Christian Cage to start the year. He also won his first of multiple TNA World Titles at June's Slammiversary in the King Of The Mountain match and followed that up with the TNA World Tag Team Titles partnered with Samoa Joe at August's Hard Justice.
September's No Surrender saw Angle pull triple duty, wrestling three times to defend three different titles. He lost twice and won in the main event that night. He lost the TNA World Title to Sting at Bound For Glory in a match that saw him do a 450 Splash, unusual for Kurt's offense.
2 2006
Kurt's 2006 began in WWE, where he began the "Wrestling Machine" persona that saw him defeat Mark Henry at the Royal Rumble in a decent World Title match. Angle then feuded with Undertaker, having a classic at No Way Out and then losing to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 22 and a subsequent episode of SmackDown.
Angle ended his first WWE run feuding with Randy Orton, and by the fall, he was in TNA. He ended 2006 with his first TNA feud against Samoa Joe, having good matches at Genesis and Turning Point.
1 2002
Kurt's best year, in WWE and in general, was 2002 because he feuded with both veterans and rising stars while winning titles and having great matches throughout the year. He provided Edge with Edge's first big feud to establish his name as a big-time wrestler and carried Hulk Hogan to a good match at King Of The Ring.
Kurt was a Tag Team Champion, and by the end of 2002, WWE Champion. He was at his physical peak and used that to entertain in matches remembered fondly 20 years later.