Another time Angle’s career was elevated by a legendary figure in the business was at No Mercy in 2000 when he won his first WWE Championship by defeating The Rock in a No Disqualification match. And as Angle recalls, he had no idea that was to be the case until he was told as much by The Rock himself. “Nobody told me until The Rock,” Angle said. “Rock came to me and he said, ‘Listen, Kurt, I’m gonna put you over tonight,’ and I was like, ‘Holy crap!'” Widely regarded as one of the quickest to ever pick up the pro wrestling business at the highest level, maybe it wasn’t a surprise to many that he would reach the pinnacle of professional wrestling at some point, but even for Angle himself, the quickness with which he did so came as a shock.

“You have to remember, I was [already] wrestling main events,” he said, “[but] I was [only] in the business for 10 months.” With then-CEO Vince McMahon wanting to keep the title switch a surprise, even to Angle, it was up to his opponent to break the news to the upstart. “All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Vince McMahon decides to make me champion against The Rock and so when I showed up at the arena, The Rock pulled me aside and said, ‘Listen, you’re going over tonight, brother. This is your chance.'”

Ever thankful, Angle says he showed his appreciation right away, paying respect to another surefire Hall of Famer for what would become his first of six world championships while in WWE. “I hugged him [and said,] ‘Dwayne, thank you so much, man. I have so much respect for you. You’re one of the greatest of all time and to be able to take the title from you is gonna be an honor.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Ariel Helwani Show” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.