The career of Kurt Angle has seen him find success in just about every possible role in wrestling. Angle is one of the top-level stars who, depending on the situation, could be portrayed as the most intense serious in-ring competitor or a hilarious comedy personality. His matches always delivered no matter what his role was. Angle’s long career saw him have strong runs as both a face and a heel.
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We will look back at the stints on each side to figure out which one worked better for him. Angle shined as a face when forming a connection with the wrestling audience. Conversely, as a heel, he knew how to make everyone hate him with ease. These are five reasons Kurt Angle is a better babyface and five reasons he was a better heel.
10 Face: Milk truck moment
Every great face character needs at least one iconic moment that captivated the audience in the role. Kurt Angle accomplished this in 2001 during the Invasion storyline. The Alliance celebrated Steve Austin with members of WCW and ECW showing their appreciation.
Angle interrupted them by coming to the ringside area driving a milk truck. The moment would see him stand on the truck and use a giant hose to soak everyone in the ring with cold milk. It was a hilarious segment that still gains attention today when discussing the best moments in Raw history.
9 Heel: One WrestleMania main event came as a heel
The peak of any wrestler’s career will come in the main event of WrestleMania. Every talent has the dream of getting to the main event at some point in their careers. Kurt Angle did it once in 2003 when main eventing WrestleMania 19 against Brock Lesnar.
The match came with the storyline of Lesnar playing the face, as he won the Royal Rumble to earn a title shot against the heel Angle. They found success with a great match that closed arguably the best WrestleMania event of all-time.
8 Face: TNA debut
Kurt Angle’s TNA reveal was one of the best moments in company history. The end of a PPV would see a mysterious video package playing on the screen. Fans in the audience reacted with huge cheers when Angle was shown as the person coming to TNA.
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This was the biggest realistic signing TNA could have made at the time. Angle joined the company as a hero looking to take them to the next level. Even though it didn’t work, Angle did great work for TNA with his peak coming as a face in the early months.
7 Heel: Getting embarrassed in comedic segments
The comedic side of Kurt Angle’s character was great in both the face and heel roles. However, fans will react more positively when a heel comedically makes a fool of themselves. Angle was the king of that when playing a relatively dorky comedic character.
Memorable moments included Edge having Angle hold photos up with insulting messages on the back and even shaving his head at one point. Angle was great about committing to whatever he did on screen. If WWE wanted comedic moments, Angle made sure we laughed.
6 Face: Mixed tag match with Ronda Rousey
Kurt Angle's return to WWE would see him try to add more memorable matches to his legacy. Angle did a great job in one specific huge opportunity, teaming up with Ronda Rousey against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34.
WWE fans got to see Angle have another outstanding match on the big stage. The mixed tag match stole the show despite having one non-wrestler, one wrestler having their first match, and two-part time legends. Angle turned back the clock for another classic.
5 Heel: "You Suck" chants
New fans are still confused about why people chant “You suck” at Kurt Angle despite loving him. The chant started as the ultimate troll move by the audience looking to annoy Angle before he even enters the ring.
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WWE did not expect the tradition to grow as strongly as it did, but the results were clearly positive. Any heel would trade it all for the ability to get such loud chanting towards them in a negative fashion every night. Angle was such a good heel that something that began out of hate turned into love as the chant is beloved today.
4 Face: Feud with Steve Austin
Many fans were unsure about the move to turn Kurt Angle face in 2001. The emergence of Angle as a face saw him defending WWE against Steve Austin and The Alliance. Angle was known for being an amazing heel, but the face turn worked out as well.
The feud between Austin and Angle showcased Angle's vicious side, matching the intensity of Austin. Angle earned more respect from the WWE fans by showing his likable side. One of the best visuals from Angle’s career was him holding the WWE Championship at Unforgiven 2001 with his family in the ring after defeating Austin.
3 Heel: Matches with Shawn Michaels
The biggest dream match featuring Kurt Angle came in 2005 when the Olympic gold medalist feuded with Shawn Michaels. WWE saved their first-ever match for WrestleMania 21. Michaels was already a legend, with Angle getting close to that territory.
Angle reached the legendary status shortly after the series of matches with Michaels. The first one was a classic that ranks among the best WrestleMania matches of all time. Their other matches also found outstanding results. Angle played the heel obsessed with proving he was better than Michaels for the great story.
2 Face: Last World Championship reign in WWE
2006 saw Kurt Angle unexpectedly turn face and move to SmackDown following an injury to Batista. Angle won the vacated World Championship and had arguably the greatest run of his entire career. The great matches and intense persona made Angle the most beloved star on SmackDown.
Fans even booed the underdog Rey Mysterio for winning the title at WrestleMania 22 because they were upset at seeing Angle lose the belt. Angle proved that he could be the face of a brand as a main event face character.
1 Heel: All-time great first year in wrestling
Kurt Angle’s most impressive accomplishment was the speed at which he picked up the wrestling business. WWE debuted Angle in the heel role and he instantly found a way to make the audience hate him with each promo.
Angle’s matches still entertained the audience despite conditioning them to hate him. Angle's first year saw him feud with the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker, and The Rock. Angle won his first WWE Championship within his inaugural year as a heel during the most stacked time in company history.
