The legendary Kurt Angle recently called time on his in-ring wrestling career, bowing out with a (somewhat controversial) loss to Baron Corbin at Wrestlemania 35. Kurt was one of the best to ever lace up a pair of boots, which is why WWE then quickly signed him to a five-year deal as a producer. According to Kurt, he will be helping superstars with structuring their matches and advising them on technique. If the need arises, he could still be used as on-screen managerial talent.
In his glittering career, Kurt got the 1-2-3 on pretty much every legend the wrestling business had to offer: Hulk Hogan, Sting, John Cena, Ric Flair, The Rock, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and The Undertaker, to name but a few. But there will still some performers from his time in WWE and TNA that Kurt didn't manage to defeat. And some of them are pretty random, in comparison to the aforementioned Hall Of Famers!
In order to make this list fair, we're only including superstars who took part in significant one-on-one encounters, multi-person matches, or tag team bouts against Kurt. We've decided to exclude superstars who only ever encountered Kurt in Battle Royals or Royal Rumbles.
10 Bram
Bram is best known for his time in TNA between 2014 and 2017, where he was a one-time King Of The Mountain champion. He was also one of the original members of The Ascension when he wrestled in NXT as Kenneth Cameron, and he was once married to Charlotte Flair.
Bram and Kurt Angle's paths only crossed twice (and once was in a 20 person gauntlet match, so we're not counting it). Their important encounter was during a 10-person tag team match on an Impact! taping in May 2015; Bram's team (which included Eric Young, Low Ki, MVP, and Kenny King) defeated Kurt's (who was teaming with Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway, Chris Melendez, and Micah). Tenuous? Maybe, but we're counting it!
9 Chris Masters
In a weird twist of fate, Kurt Angle has been on the same team as 'The Masterpiece' Chris Masters three times but has only been his opponent twice (and he failed to pick up the win on both of those occasions).
On a Monday Night Raw in November 2005, Kurt, John Cena, and Masters took part in a Triple Threat No Disqualification submission match, which Cena won, and in January 2006, Kurt teamed up with Shawn Michaels to lose to, of all teams, Carlito...and Chris Masters! How bizarre.
8 Crimson
It may seem like the very distant past at this point, but there was a time (2010 to 2011, to be exact) in which Crimson was a big enough deal in the wrestling business that he enjoyed a 470-day undefeated streak in TNA. Before getting into the wrestling business, he had served five years in the United States Army, which included two tours of Iraq.
He was in the same ring as Kurt Angle twice, with their first encounter being a team-up in a Handicap Tag Team match against seven dastardly heels. They lost that one. They then faced off one-on-one on an August 2011 Impact! taping, and Crimson defeated the Olympic Gold Medalist! Via disqualification, of course. But it's in the record books nonetheless!
7 Dolph Ziggler
The bizarre and ill-advised WWE Crown Jewel event, which emanated from Saudi Arabia in November 2018, was one of the worst-received super-shows in WWE's history. Even ignoring the political and social controversy surrounding the show, the WWE took their opportunity to crown Shane McMahon the 'Best In The World' on that night after he defeated Dolph Ziggler in the finals of the WWE World Cup tournament. Fans were understandably aghast.
That decision was bad enough on its own, but it's made even worse when you consider that Ziggler beat none-other-than Kurt freakin' Angle on his way to the final. In their only singles encounter. Ever. Not good, WWE. Not good.
6 Gunner
Another opponent from his TNA days, Gunner was someone with whom Kurt appeared in five matches, four of which ended with the Olympic Gold Medalist on the losing side. Kurt lost to teams including Gunner in two Handicap tag matches in 2011, and they were the only occasions in which Kurt was opposing Gunner.
He then teamed with the former Marine Corps machine gunner twice in 2013 and still lost before they finally secured a win together in a Lethal Lockdown match in 2015. Either way, the fact Kurt faced someone like Gunner twice and didn't pick up a single victory is pretty weird.
5 Mr. McMahon
On the December 18th, 2000 episode of Monday Night Raw, Kurt Angle (who was WWF Champion at the time) faced Mr. McMahon in a non-title match. For...some reason. The match ended in a no-contest when Commissioner Mick Foley interfered and attacked both men due to a feud he'd been engaged in with Vince. Sadly for Mrs. Foley's baby boy, his actions resulted in both Vince and Kurt putting the boots to him, and he was then fired on the spot by Vince.
When all was said and done, though, this was the one-and-only time that Angle and Vincent Kennedy McMahon locked horns in a WWE ring, and it somehow ended with Kurt failing to beat the old man!
4 Owen Hart
Kurt Angle had only been in the wrestling business for six months when Owen Hart tragically died at the Over The Edge PPV in May 1999. However, a very green Kurt did face Owen in a dark match taped for Shotgun Saturday Night on May 10th, only 13 days before Owen passed away.
Kurt lost to Hart, of course, but would find out many years later that Owen had been so impressed with his performance that he told people backstage that Angle would surely go on to become a World Champion and a Hall Of Famer! We sincerely doubt that anyone could ever be annoyed that Kurt never defeated this particular superstar.
3 R-Truth
R-Truth (as K-Kwik) was in WWE from 2000 to 2002, and so was Kurt Angle. R-Truth (as Ron Killings) and Angle's paths then crossed again in TNA for around a year between 2006 and 2007. Then, whenever Kurt returned to WWE in 2017, R-Truth was waiting for him again.
Despite all this, the two men only ever appeared in one match together: a TNA World Tag Team Title match at TNA No Surrender '07. It saw champions Kurt Angle and the 'Icon' Sting lose their straps to Killings and his partner, NFL cornerback Adam 'Pacman' Jones. It sounds like a pretty insane booking decision to us, but what do we know?
2 Sabu
Kurt Angle has only been in the same ring with Sabu twice. The 'Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Death-Defying Maniac' was one of 28 (yes, 28) performers who faced Angle in a Gauntlet match at TNA Bound For Glory in 2010, but we're not counting that one. It sounds ludicrous.
Their only other match was a one-on-one encounter on a WWE ECW taping in August 2006, and it ended in a no contest. This match has more significance than you may think, however, because it wound up being Kurt's last match in WWE before his big return in 2017. A mere 17 days after the match, Kurt requested early release from his WWE contract due to health reasons, and it was granted.
1 Al Snow
In 2002, Kurt Angle and Al Snow were both in the Royal Rumble match and a massive Smackdown Battle Royal. They were also both in a 2006 WWE vs ECW Battle Royal as well. But these unwieldy behemoths aren't taken into account in our list!
The only other match in which Snow and Angle faced off was when they were part of a Smackdown tag team encounter in 2000. Snow teamed with Steve Blackman to defeat Angle and The British Bulldog, which is another one of those results that would make most wrestling fans say 'Wha? Huh?!' in hindsight.