Sometimes, you feel a match needs to take place at WrestleMania to capitalize on how great a match can be, but more often than not, it just doesn’t happen. This was the case in 2006, but there was a good case for the dream match not to happen. There’s no doubt that The Undertaker vs Kurt Angle could have headlined WrestleMania at any given point during their time.
There was one major issue – Rey Mysterio was the guy that WWE needed to pull the trigger on. After Eddie Guerrero had tragically passed away in 2005, fans became even more sympathetic towards Mysterio and felt that the story should be him winning the World Heavyweight Championship at the grandest stage of them all.
This left WWE with no choice but to have Angle defend the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker at No Way Out, the final PPV before WrestleMania 22. The angle that led to this match was quite interesting. Mysterio had won the 2006 Royal Rumble match entering second and lasting for over an hour, creating a record at the time for having lasted in the Rumble the longest.
Unlike most Rumble PPVs, it wasn’t the main event, surprisingly. The main event happened to be none other than Kurt Angle defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Mark Henry. But why would that main event over The Rumble? Simply put, it was for the post-match angle.
The Undertaker had been on a small hiatus after finishing his feud against Randy Orton the prior month inside Hell in a Cell. After Kurt Angle defeated Mark Henry in the main event, he was confronted by The Undertaker, who did a bit of “magic”, breaking the ring and indicating that he was next in line for a championship opportunity.
The date was set for No Way Out and little did people realize what a classic it would turn out to be. It’s important to note that in-ring-wise, The Undertaker was very different from pre-2004. He would begin to utilize more striking-based techniques and submissions. The influence from MMA was evident, and he had only developed in the craft further.
We probably don’t need to emphasize on just how good Angle was in the ring at this point. Even if his body was taking a toll on him, he was arguably among the best performers in the world, in the ring and out of it. As it is, there was no one at that point who picked up the wrestling business faster than Kurt Angle did.
So you can imagine what happened when The Phenom and Kurt Angle went head-to-head in their respective primes. It was the culmination of two elite-level athletes who mastered their craft over the course of years. While Angle had picked it up faster, The Undertaker was anything but a slouch. The two proved to have incredible chemistry, and despite crossing paths in the past, what they created that night in the ring was nothing short of magical.
The Undertaker brought it to Angle, and the World Heavyweight Champion at the time would prove to be more than just an equal. It’s important to know that Angle too, was a babyface at this time despite spending almost the entire previous year being a heel. The match had major WrestleMania implications, as the winner would go on to face either Randy Orton or Rey Mysterio. The latter two had a match where Mysterio put his WrestleMania opportunity on the line. Orton would win via dirty tactics.
Angle proved to be a true fighting champion, as he refused to take a countout victory when he had the option. Beating The Undertaker clean was important to him. And the fact of the matter was that the match wasn’t without its hiccups. If you notice, there was more than one spot where it clearly didn’t go as planned, but both men were quick on their feet and experienced enough to improvise.
At the end, Kurt Angle would win by the skin of his teeth with a roll-up victory. You’d think that would be underwhelming, but it was anything but that. They ended up going on 30 minutes, and even the finish of the match told the story that any man could have won at any given point of time. It was more that Angle capitalized on the small window of opportunity that he had.
Their feud wasn’t over. The Undertaker vowed to beat him in his second attempt, and they faced off on Friday Night SmackDown. Many believe that the match was almost as good as their No Way Out contest, if not equal. Unfortunately, that match saw Mark Henry interfere and cost The Undertaker the bout, setting up their WrestleMania casket match in the process.
As for Angle, he ended up facing Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat Match. Mysterio won in an amazing feel-good moment. Angle would leave WWE not too long after that year and return only 11 years later.
