Watch the Throne: Ranking Every King of the Ring Winner

#5 Kurt Angle, 2000 King of the Ring

The WWF's newest king celebrates his conquest

Kurt Angle's rookie year, not just in WWE but as a professional wrestler in general, was a sight to behold; debuting on the WWF roster in late 1999 with little to no developmental experience, Angle took to the business faster than anyone his trainers had ever seen. Coming from his amateur wrestling background, trainers worried that Angle would be reticent to take both bumps and losses, but proved them wrong immediately by attacking the mat with reckless abandon.

Within months of his debut, Angle was a double midcard champion, having acquired both the European and Intercontinental Championships (rebranded by the Olympian as the EuroContinental Championship) in January and February of 2000. He was freed of those belts at WrestleMania 2000, and allowed to expand his character and flex his acting chops through partnerships with Edge and Christian, as well as a tumultuous partnership/feud with the McMahon-Helmsley Era.

Angle's first King of the Ring tournament run was a rocky one, as the absolute best match on the entire show was his opening round match with the flashy and cocky Chris Jericho, although on a card where Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco in a Hardcore Evening Gown Match is the semi-main event, Angle vs. Jericho absolutely should shine (and, possibly, should have been the tournament final).

From there, the Olympian cruised through Crash Holly, then survived a bevy of power moves from Rikishi in the finals to best the Samoan with meticulous limb work and an array of suplexes; neither match could quite live up to Angle's opener against Jericho which, it bears repeating, should have been the tournament final.

His Career After King of the Ring

Within months of his coronation, Angle was truly king

Angle was on a meteoric rise here, continuing the summer of 2000 with a feud against The Undertaker, as well as a love triangle with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon; this rise took him all the way to a WWF championship that fall, which he would hold until February of 2001. In a single year in the company, Angle managed to accomplish every feat but one (a Royal Rumble win) that a male competitor could achieve in the World Wrestling Federation at that time.

Angle completed his Grand Slam in 2002, in addition to some WCW gold while the brand was under WWF control; personal problems and backstage issues led to his exit in 2006, where he established his dominance over the closest WWE has to an American competitor, TNA.

Since then, Angle has earned a well-deserved WWE Hall of Fame spot, in addition to an onscreen role as RAW General Manager, and shocked the world by helping make Ronda Rousey's sports entertainment debut a watchable, and even enjoyable, affair.