Kurt Angle to headline WWE's 2017 Hall of Fame class
Kurt Angle is headed to the Hall of Fame.
WWE introduced Angle as the first confirmed inductee and headliner of its Hall of Fame class of 2017 on Monday night. The induction ceremony will take place March 31 at Amway Center in Orlando as part of the WrestleMania 33 festivities.
I've never seen an individual adapt and succeed in this industry so naturally. Proud to welcome @RealKurtAngle into the #WWEHOF. pic.twitter.com/7ERnuVvC4M
— Triple H (@TripleH) January 16, 2017
Angle, 48, won a gold medal for the United States in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He signed with WWE in 1998, and made his on-screen debut a year later at Survivor Series, defeating Shawn Stasiak.
IT'S TRUE! IT'S DAMN TRUE! @RealKurtAngle is our first inductee into the @WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017! #RAW #WWEHOF pic.twitter.com/QRaoPDD6T1
— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2017
During his tenure with the company, Angle was crowned a WWE Champion four times and won both the World Heavyweight Championship and WCW Championship. He also won the 2000 King of the Ring tournament and served as general manager of SmackDown in 2004.
"I was shocked. I've been out of WWE for a long time and out of touch with them so I didn't really expect this," Angle told ESPN's Brian Campbell. "It's a huge honor. This is the only Hall of Fame that I'm not in and probably (the one) I want to be in the most. This is the one that means the most for me. I had a lot of fun entertaining the fans for seven years with WWE, and I'm glad that my hard work paid off."