Original subtitles

- When I was in the ring, I took a lot of pride

In what I did.

- Angle slam!

- And I always wanted to be the best.

I was always the best.

- No! - Ah!

- Angle's done it!

Kurt angle is the wwe champion!

- God put me on this earth to be a professional wrestler.

- Look at this monster!

[dramatic music]

- Brock lesnar is champion!

I think kurt angle wanted to know

Just how good he really was,

And no one could push him to find out,

Like brock lesnar could push him,

And I know brock was curious as to how good he really was,

And no one could push him like kurt angle.

- I was having a lot of difficulty

With my body functioning.

I was in trouble.

- Being in front of all those people, having the anxiety--

♪ ♪

All these things racing through my head.

I second-guessed myself.

- What the hell is this?

- This rivalry has just escalated into a war!

- When two legends collide,

Their rivalry stays pinned in our minds forever.

♪ ♪

This is where we break down the legendary stories

Behind the greatest rivalries of all time.

I'm freddie prinze jr.

[audience gasps]

And this is "wwe rivals."

♪ ♪

I'm gonna take you back 20 years to 2002.

We're gonna talk about the rivalry

Between kurt angle, olympic gold medalist,

And brock lesnar, ncaa heavyweight champion.

This was insane, that the stars could align for these two men

To be in the same place at the same time.

But they did.

What does this mean to the business?

- We wanted to see these guys go at it.

Brock lesnar's the biggest freak I've ever seen

On any level in any sport.

♪ ♪

- Brock was what I tried to model myself after--

A superstar like that just kind of fit a different pocket

As an athlete, and also this inhuman strength.

Now the difference between me and brock is--

I'm a strong woman, don't get me wrong--

But with brock, there was just no denying it.

He was undeniable.

- Look at this!

- The--ah! F5!

That's 350 pounds!

- Then you've got a guy who wasn't just good.

He was, out of 8 billion people,

He was the best in the world at what he did.

He was a gold medalist.

- In 1996,

The olympics, they came to atlanta.

I got to be there, and kurt angle wins a gold medal,

Which is a big moment. You want usa to win in that.

- [chuckling] I mean, the man won

A gold medal with a broken neck.

Where most people draw the line,

Those men haven't even gotten started yet.

There--or, there is no line, period.

- And from athlete to pro-wrestling athlete--

Two of the quickest ever to pick it up.

- [yells]

♪ ♪

- When I got to the wwe, vince mcmahon said,

"hey, I'm giving you an opportunity.

You either sink or swim," and I had to swim,

And I did. [laughing] thank god.

[yells] - whoa.

- I want to enter the wwe.

I am the world's best wrestler,

But I have to take that here, and I have to prove to everyone

That I can win in here too.

[yelling]

There were a lot of big names,

Especially when I came into the company--

Stone cold steve austin, the rock, triple h,

Undertaker-- and it was very competitive.

I came in here with my eyes wide open,

And all I did was do the best I possibly could.

♪ ♪

- He was a prodigy.

It was like one of these stories

That you hear about a five-year-old

That has never been at a piano before and sits there,

Hears music, and then just does chopin perfectly.

There was nothing that kurt could not do inside the ring.

- Making his

World wrestling entertainment debut,

The most celebrated real athlete in wwe history,

Kurt angle!

["medal (kurt angle)" by wwe & jim johnston]

- What you have to understand about kurt angle

Is kurt angle is a world-class athlete.

- [yells]

- Kurt took everything that he did inside the ring

And outside the ring very seriously

And looked at it as he had to be the best.

Kurt angle had to be the best at whatever he did.

- Kurt angle has won the european championship!

- I knew it!

- This one could be over!

- Two! Three!

- Look at that! - There it is!

We got a new intercontinental champion!

- The winner of this bout--

- My rookie year was my favorite year,

Because I was improving every week.

[dramatic music]

- Kurt is a machine, and the mentality that he had

For, you know, anything athletic, it seemed,

Translated to pro wrestling.

- Wait a minute, the olympic slam on the rock!

[crowd cheering]

- What is kurt angle doing?

- No! No!

- Ah! - Angle has done it!

Kurt angle is the wwe champion!

- I don't think he treated it any differently.

I think he came at it with the same bulldog mentality.

- Kurt angle goin' to meet the rattlesnake!

This match, one fall for the wwe title!

- A lot of the athletes at wwe had a lot of respect for me,

Because I won a gold medal at the olympics,

And they saw the raw talent that I had.

[crowd cheering]

So it wasn't hard for me to come in.

- Kurt came in, and the progression was phenomenal.

I think it put more of a target on kurt

For being an olympic gold medalist

Because, hey, you're the best in the world.

Everybody wants to try you.

- Wes hand drops down to the leg.

Both: And that's it. - That's it.

He slipped out of it,

And brock lesnar from minnesota

Is your heavyweight champion in the year 2000.

- I worked hard. Wes is a competitor,

But I know I deserve it more than he did.

- Brock lesnar was immediately recruited by wwe

And signed, what was at the time,

The biggest developmental contract

In sports entertainment history--

And deservedly so.

- Shelton, out of the ring--

Brock lesnar on the top rope-- my god!

Shooting star press!

- If you were to pray to the heavens and say,

"please give me the perfect athlete.

Please give me what I want to present to the world

As a wwe superstar,"

I give you brock lesnar.

♪ ♪

- He's a guy, you put him in any era, and it's gonna work.

See that rather large individual over there?

See him? That's brock lesnar.

He's a once-in-a-lifetime athlete.

- Brock is a freak of nature,

And there's no other way to describe him.

♪ ♪

He's the most talented, most gifted athlete

I've ever seen in my life.

- I look like a killer machine though--

Born to fight, fight to kill,

But ready to die, but I never will.

♪ ♪

There are some nights I lay in bed and really believe

That god put me on this earth to be a professional wrestler.

♪ ♪

- First time I met him, what happened was

The brooklyn brawler went up to brock and said,

"hey, how would you do against kurt angle

In a wrestling match?"

Brock said, "he's too small. I'd kill him."

So I walked up to brock. It's the first time I met him.

"hey, brock. How ya doing?

"kurt angle. Nice to meet you.

"by the way, you said you could whoop my butt.

Let's get in the ring."

[laughter]

- I just remember them messing with each other,

And also thinking to myself,

"well, who's gonna break this one up

If it starts going sideways?"

♪ ♪

- And I'm sitting there-- I'm going, and I'm meeting

With vince, and all of a sudden, somebody hollered,

"brisco, you better get out to the ring.

Your boys are goin' at it."

They're both in the ring, and they were gettin' ready

To square off against each other,

And of course, every talent in the building

Is out at ringside there. So they go after it.

♪ ♪

- I beat him, but it was a very, very tough battle.

Brock is the real deal.

We actually got along even better afterward.

♪ ♪

- I have great respect for kurt angle.

Put it this way--in 1996, when he won the gold medal,

I was graduating high school.

I mean, he was the best of the best

As an amateur wrestler, and he was a guy I wanted to be like,

But also wanted to wrestle and also wanted to beat.

♪ ♪

Just to see if I could hang with him, you know?

[crowd shouting]

- Wait a minute. Who the hell is that?

King, that's-- that's the hottest free agent.

That's--ooh! Brock lesnar!

♪ ♪

- Brock and kurt got it, and they understood.

Kurt could out-wrestle the entire world.

Brock could beat up the entire world.

[crowd shouting]

They're both very smart guys who understood the business,

And that's what made the difference

With those two guys.

- Lock under! - Brock lesnar,

He countered! - Fireman's carry!

Aw, man! F5!

- Look out! F5!

Brock lesnar is champion!

♪ ♪

- I got a rocket strapped to my ass.

"now let's send this kid to the moon

And see if he can survive."

- [yells] - there's been no one

In the history of the wwe that has been on a roll

Like brock lesnar has. - Oh, my god.

Brock lesnar has buzzed through the wwe roster.

[crowd shouting]

- There was nowhere left to go with brock lesnar at that time.

He had steamrolled over everyone.

The most natural matchup for brock lesnar,

Ncaa division I heavyweight champion,

Was to face kurt angle, an olympic gold medalist--

The one honor bigger than the ncaa division I

Heavyweight champion.

♪ ♪

- These two will meet at "wrestlemania"

For the wwe championship.

It is perhaps the most anticipated matchup

In history.

- I want you, kurt!

- I think kurt finally found

The guy that he could dip into,

What he probably always wanted his character to be,

Which was that wrestling machine,

And a guy who could hang with him, and a guy who could

Physically be a match, and it took his intensity

Into a really, really aggressive direction.

- Kurt angle taking brock out at the knee!

- It probably helped brock gain even more legitimacy,

And from workin' kurt,

Realized, "okay, this is what being at the top is."

They're pushing each other. That can make

For some really compelling television.

- [yelling]

[crowd cheering]

- Oh, it's time to buckle up!

The road to "wrestlemania" starts tonight!

Welcome everybody to "no way out"!

♪ ♪

- Brock lesnar wants kurt angle.

- Of course he does.

He's gonna get him at "wrestlemania,"

But he'd love to kick the hell

Out of him right here tonight--

- Right. - In that six-man

Tag team matchup.

- At "no way out," brock and I were wrestling

In the ring, and I had a chokehold on him.

♪ ♪

And he lifted me up on his back.

He was so damn strong, and he was on one side of the ring

In the corner, and he charged the other corner.

♪ ♪

- As lesnar breaks the hold--

- When he went to turn, I hit sideways,

And my neck whiplashed sideways.

Two vertebrae cracked in my neck.

Two disks slid directly into my spinal cord.

I couldn't lift my left arm, was having a lot of difficulty

With my body functioning, and I didn't think I was gonna

Go to "wrestlemania" that year.

I was in trouble.

[dramatic music]

- After brock injured my neck,

I had pain stemming from my neck down my arms.

You know, I was getting headaches from my neck.

It was pretty brutal.

- Brock lesnar put kurt angle on notice

For when lesnar and angle meet at "wrestlemania."

- Brock felt very badly. It was a freak accident.

It wasn't like he did some kind of dangerous move.

It was just something that just happens

Every once in a while,

And there's nothing you can do about it.

- I thought we were gonna have to change

The main event of "wrestlemania."

I didn't think kurt should step into the ring with a feather,

Let alone brock lesnar.

- I came home, and I saw a doctor,

And he told me, "your neck's broken.

You can't wrestle."

I knew that the surgery was serious.

I knew I had to have it done.

So I called vince mcmahon and I told him,

"I'm not gonna be able to main event 'wrestlemania.'"

He said, "okay, well, what we're gonna do is,

"next week, we're gonna have you drop the title to brock

"on tv, so he can wrestle

Somebody else at 'wrestlemania,'"

And I was like, "gosh, that sucks."

[chuckles]

- Really ask yourself--

Kurt angle's got a broken neck.

He's already won a gold medal with a broken neck.

Do you think kurt angle's gonna no-show "wrestlemania xix"?

He's not gonna miss that. He could have no legs.

Like, this is a big deal.

He's not missing that moment.

- Would it hurt me if I wrestle one more match?

My doctor, he said, "no, you might as well

"just wait till after 'wrestlemania'

To have the surgery."

So I call vince, and I said, "vince, I'm back in the game."

♪ ♪

- So without further ado,

Allow me to introduce you to the biggest thing

In sports entertainment today--

The man who claims he will take the wwe title from kurt angle.

- Brock! - Ladies and gentlemen,

Brock lesnar. [all cheering]

♪ ♪

- To tell you the truth, I was worried just touching the guy.

[chuckles]

I'm gonna bring the pain. [all cheering]

- His neck could have snapped at any second, you know?

So I mean, I was really worried

On everything I did with him.

- Brock, you're not taking this from me at "wrestlemania."

My mindset was I wanted to get it over with.

It's a very nerve-racking time for me.

You know, all morning, all I could think about was--

Was what if I hurt my neck?

What if I don't put on the performance I want to?

This is a big day for me.

[all cheering]

I was in a lot of pain.

But whenever I go out with injury, I was always

Thinkin' about, "how am I gonna get back?

How quickly can I get back?"

'cause I never wanted to lose my spot on the card.

I always wanted to be the top guy and stay there.

♪ ♪

- That's one thing that me and kurt have inside of us--

Is to be the best that we can be.

Regardless of what happens, we both wrestled with injuries.

You know, he won the olympics with a broken neck.

I mean, that's not some [bleep] story.

It's the truth.

- I was set on the match,

And I wanted to entertain the fans the best way I could.

- Now the grand stage at "wrestlemania"

Turns to the wwe championship--

Kurt angle and brock lesnar.

- Once you walk through that curtain,

Your adrenaline's pumpin'.

You know what you have to do.

You know what you have to accomplish,

And you're doing something you love.

- Here comes the pain!

- For brock lesnar,

It is his first "wrestlemania."

- At the time, I didn't wanna convince myself,

But now I know I was scared [bleep].

[laughs]

But I didn't wanna present that

To any of the guys in the locker room

Or even to kurt.

[crowd shouting]

- Right when I tied up with him,

My hamstring popped, and I was like, "oh, no.

Not only do I have a broken neck,

But now I have a torn hamstring,

And I didn't know what the hell to do from there on in.

So I limited my running in the match.

- Both men trading holds right now.

- [yells] - powerslam!

- Wow, what a slam by lesnar.

- Every time I took a bump,

You could see the pain I was in.

- Big knockdown by lesnar.

- It's like running into a mack truck.

- That's something that you can't work around.

I mean, you're gonna have to bump at "wrestlemania."

- Oh, boy! - German suplex!

- Whoo!

- Oh, my! - Oh, man!

The wwe title is on the line

On the greatest stage of them all--

- Uh-oh! - "wrestlemania"!

And what a throw by angle.

[crowd cheering]

- This is "wrestlemania,"

And it's the main event.

[crowd cheering]

- You know, you don't very often get wrestlers

That lay it on the line like that.

- Here comes kurt! - Oh, my!

- Two of the greatest amateur wrestlers

To come out of the united states

Giving this kind of a performance

In front of the "wrestlemania" crowd.

- What a damn match!

- I had to stand and applaud them.

That's what I miss and love about wrestling.

- What is brock doing?

- The coolest moment was brock's dumbest moment.

- Being in front of all those people,

Having the anxiety and the 25-minute match,

All these things racing through my head--

- He's climbing to the top rope.

What the hell is this?

- I was sweaty. My hands were all sweaty,

And I second-guessed myself.

But then once you're up there, you know, you're up there.

So I just went with it anyways.

I figured, "well, you know, here it is."

[chuckles]

- Oh, my god!

- Brock lesnar went for the shooting star press!

- And lesnar landed on the back of his head.

That's 290 pounds comin' down on your neck.

- When I watched brock land on that,

I thought I just watched somebody die.

All: Yeah.

- There was this, like, vacuum of just like--

♪ ♪

- I was pretty much knocked silly.

I saw the people. I saw the top of the arena.

I saw the mat comin',

And then I saw kurt's singlet, you know?

And the referee asked if I was okay, and I guess I said yes.

You know, any normal person-- I don't think--

I think it would've snapped in two.

But I'm very lucky, very lucky.

- Here, I'm sitting there saying, "brock,

Get your ass up, because I'm not doin' this anymore,"

And I didn't know what to do, so I covered him.

- He got it! - No!

- Lesnar just got the shoulder up.

- I don't remember doing that--

Just out of instinct, I guess.

I grabbed kurt and f5'd him one more time.

- Wow, another f5 connects!

The cover! - One, two--

- We have a new champion!

["next big thing" by wwe & jim johnston]

- Thank god. [chuckles]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Coming back from the match,

Everyone was concerned for brock,

And everyone was crowding-- "I wanna help."

"oh, my god, brock, you gotta go see the doctor."

"you gotta do this. You gotta do that."

So the frustration, I think, in brock's mind of,

"wow, I hit my head, could've broken my neck"--

Probably was feeling it, and then everyone on top of him,

I think there was a lot of frustration there.

- And now all these people surrounding me.

You know, people are grabbing me and doing this, doing that,

Wanted me on a stretcher, wanted me in the ambulance,

And I wasn't having any of that.

Get the [bleep] off me! - Brock.

- [chuckles] everybody said that I was hard to handle,

And I can imagine I was, probably.

- He's in that survival mode, that defense mode,

And I gotta tell you, it scared my socks off of me.

Okay, just calm down. Let's get the medical people.

So I walk him on to the ambulance.

I get in the ambulance with him.

Usually, they don't let passengers go

In the ambulance, but that night,

Because of who they had in there,

They didn't wanna be in there by theirself.

♪ ♪

- I knew I was fine. They needed me to get x-rayed

And whatnot, so I did all that,

And I walked out of the hospital that night,

And--which is pretty amazing.

- Vince flew me home on his jet that night,

And I went to the doctor the next day, to the hospital,

To have my neck surgery.

So it was literally the next day after "wrestlemania."

- Kurt, first question-- can you kind of explain

The night before your surgery? You know, how you're feeling,

You know, physically and mentally.

♪ ♪

I guess I've been waiting for this for the past month.

Going into "wrestlemania" unsure if I was even gonna

Finish the match.

I've had so much pain in my neck that I'm hoping--

I pray to god, tomorrow when this surgery's over with,

I'll be pain-free,

And I'll have that relief from the pain.

♪ ♪

[machinery beeping]

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

- There are a lot of things wrong with my neck,

And what I'm gonna have done is called "neck repair."

Doctor jho's just gonna scrape the bone spurs off my neck,

Open up the passageways for my nerves to flow,

So I can get the feeling back

And also the size and strength back that I don't have,

And I think that when he does these things,

I get the feeling that I should be back

In the lineup in no time.

♪ ♪

Well, the first two weeks, I was relaxing.

I didn't watch wrestling. I was trying to spend time

With my family, but after two weeks, I got restless.

[toy beeps and squeals]

- [barks] - "e"--elephant.

- I wanted to be back.

[chuckles] I was dying to go back.

That's probably why I went back so quickly.

♪ ♪

["medal (kurt angle)" by wwe & jim johnston]

[crowd cheers]

- There's only one kurt angle,

Ladies and gentlemen-- only one olympic gold medalist

In wwe history, and he returns tonight.

♪ ♪

- Coming back in June of 2003 after I had my neck surgery

Was one of the most exciting moments of my life.

Fans, the way they reacted, I wasn't much of a baby face.

[chuckles] I was pretty much a heel,

And when I came back, they welcomed me as a baby face,

And it showed me how much the fans appreciated my work.

And I'm back for one reason and one reason only--

'cause kurt angle is a champion.

[crowd cheers]

And I wanna become champion again!

- Kurt should've taken the year off after that surgery,

And instead, he just came right back to perform,

And the audience was quite appreciative of that.

You know, when I was laid up in the hospital,

And I didn't know if I was gonna wrestle again,

There's someone that became a genuine friend.

All the phone calls from you,

All the personal concern

When I didn't know I was gonna wrestle again...

[dramatic music]

I just wanna say one thing.

Thank you.

♪ ♪

Brock was my best friend in wwe.

You know, every week, we would meet up at the airport,

Get a car--rental car--and we'd drive to the next city,

And you know, talk about wrestling

And talk about our personal lives.

We had a great relationship.

You're rude. - Hey, champ.

Both: Hey, how ya doin'?

- She was talkin' to me. - She was talkin' to me.

- No, she wasn't.

- [gasps]

- Good luck, champ.

♪ ♪

- I think there's a lot of things

That are underrated about brock,

That--that he doesn't get the credit for

Because of his appearance.

- Well, since I can't kick your butt till "vengeance,"

How 'bout we have a little competition right here tonight?

- Well, name the game. - [mockingly] name the game.

How 'bout pushups?

- So this is what it's like at your level.

- [laughs]

- You wouldn't think he could work as a baby face.

Man, he can make it work, and that doesn't make sense.

- Brock, at "vengeance," we ain't gonna happen.

It's me against you against big show.

- The following contest

Is the triple threat match for the wwe championship.

[bell rings]

- Lesnar and kurt angle--

- What the hell? Chokeslam?

- A chokeslam from lesnar and angle!

Look at this! - Angle slam!

- Angle slam through the announce table!

Lesnar and angle have done what they wanted to do.

Big show's been eliminated. It's down to these

Two great wrestlers with amateur backgrounds.

Here we go, reversal.

Irish whipped into the corner

For kurt angle. Nobody home for lesnar!

- Oof. - And look

At kurt angle, measuring

Brock lesnar. - Another one!

- An angle slam to the champion!

Can kurt angle do it?

Kurt angle hooks the leg. - He got him!

- Shoulders down! Both: He got it!

- Kurt angle wins the title!

♪ ♪

- Every rivalry needs a good guy and a bad guy,

Or a baby face and a heel.

Well, kurt angle coming back from neck surgery

As our american hero is the biggest baby face

We could possibly have, which meant brock lesnar

Had to be the baddest heel there was.

[crowd cheering]

- I remember the night that he turned heel.

It was a cage match against vince mcmahon.

I was the special guest referee.

When brock turns into bully mode--

- What the hell? What the hell is goin' on?

- An f5 to kurt angle!

- This guy can do damage like no other.

♪ ♪

- Brock lesnar's such an effective monster

Because he's a real monster. [laughs]

He was a guy that would walk in a room

That everybody in that room

Knew that they weren't the best guy in the room.

- Pressing-- oh, my god, look at this!

♪ ♪

- Brock lesnar wants to be the best

And not just be another guy.

Brock wants to be the guy that everyone is talking about,

And that everyone wants to be.

- It's lesnar, angle for the wwe title

At "summerslam!"

- [panting]

[dramatic music]

[grunting]

♪ ♪

To have the wwe championship,

There's nothing else bigger or better in this business.

All the way up to "summerslam,"

I had to prepare myself

Like I was going into a regular amateur match.

I treat this business as I treated my business

In college and in high school--

One day at a time and one match at a time.

So I mean, I prepared myself no different.

♪ ♪

- There's a lot of testosterone

In the locker room.

You wanna see who really is the king of the hill.

♪ ♪

Kurt angle's an olympic gold medalist.

If I'm brock lesnar--

"I'm bigger than him, I think I can take him."

- [yells]

- There's just a natural competitiveness,

And if you don't have a natural competitiveness,

Then you don't belong in the wwe.

You just don't.

[rock music]

[crowd cheering]

- This is the rematch

From "wrestlemania."

Lesnar and angle squaring off in phoenix tonight.

[bell rings]

[dramatic music]

- My memories of that match,

Especially wrestling brock at any time,

But particularly, "summerslam,"

Was how we added in a lot of the college wrestling moves.

- Kurt used to wrestlin' up in weight

When he was an amateur.

- There's the quickness of angle.

- "summerslam," this is where I actually got to see

What made kurt an olympic champion.

What he was doing to brock, as far as moving brock around,

I look at that and I go, "that's the difference

Between an ncaa champion and an olympic champion."

- Brock lesnar,

Beginning to become frustrated.

If lesnar becomes frustrated,

Kurt angle is gonna pick him apart.

- How good is angle?

- I think kurt angle wanted to know

Just how good he really was,

And no one could push him to find out

Like brock lesnar could push him,

And I know brock was curious as to how good he really was,

And no one could push him like kurt angle.

- Here we go!

- Angle slam!

Can angle take advantage?

There's one-- - there's the belt!

He kept it! - And brock lesnar

Kicks out of the angle slam! - Wow!

- [grunts] - oh, what a shot!

- A shot again, lesnar knocked back!

- Brock and I are both stiff as hell.

♪ ♪

When you hear that somebody's light...

- Wow!

- That means you barely feel anything.

If they throw a punch or a kick, it's not as brutal

As a person who is stiff.

Brock and I are the two stiffest guys in the business.

There were times when brock would yell at me,

"what did I do to you?" that was his line.

"what did I do to you?" [laughs]

- Oh, my god! - Ankle lock!

- Lesnar's gonna tap! Is he gonna tap?

- Brock lesnar taps out!

[bell rings]

Kurt angle is the champion!

- Lesnar and angle, it always felt special.

- I'm sure a lot guys were salivating at the idea

That they're gonna do some stuff

That hasn't been seen in a while.

What's old is new.

♪ ♪

- You can't just leave it up in the air.

This guy's gotta win, and this guy's gotta win.

Trilogies are kind of the way to answer the question,

Like, "okay, who's really the best?"

- Two weeks from tonight,

Kurt angle will be defending the title against brock lesnar.

This will be a one-hour iron man match.

Whoever scores the most falls in one hour

Will undoubtedly be the champion.

- I thought, "this is perfect.

"this is a great opportunity for me to show everybody

That I can go 60 minutes, and it's the perfect opponent."

That is the match that will-- if you're not good,

It will expose you.

If you are good, it'll make you look even better.

I wanted to show how good of a wrestler I was.

- You mentioned that iron man match.

There's a lot of pieces that came together

To make that magic.

- That's a prizefight, yeah.

That looks like a prizefight that is a prizefight.

I will watch this match.

- Those guys were freaking ali and frazier, man.

- Like, there's no way I'm missing this.

[indistinct chatter]

- We had just finished a production meeting.

Talent had reported.

You know, I think I was even with kurt

When the call came in on that, so you never wanna hear that.

♪ ♪

My brother eric called me,

And he said "le'anne's dead."

♪ ♪

My sister, she overdosed.

♪ ♪

And vince mcmahon met with me

And said, "what do you wanna do?"

♪ ♪

- I thought that there was just absolutely no way

We're gonna get to the match.

No way.

♪ ♪

- [sighs]

Vince mcmahon said, "what do you wanna do?"

I told him I wanted to wrestle,

'cause I wanted to do it for my sister.

I knew I had to compete that night.

You know, a lot of people would say,

"does he care, or doesn't he care?

"if he's wrestling that night,

"and his sister died the night before,

He doesn't care."

But that's the whole reason why I wrestled--

Was for my sister.

That was my way of showing her,

'cause that's what we did in my family.

We showed each other love by doing actions,

And doing things for people,

And this match was literally for my sister.

[somber music]

- One great thing about our business

Is they all rally around you, and including brock.

Brock was a gentle giant that day.

- Me and kurt have a relationship

That I don't have

With a lot of other guys in the locker room,

Just because of our roots and what we've done.

We respect each other a lot.

I mean, people don't understand what it's like

To compete at our level, how you gotta make yourself go.

- That's what you do-- you show up.

You're a team. You say you're gonna

Do somethin', you do somethin'.

- I want people to understand

How amazing this philosophy y'all have,

'cause I don't think you guys even recognize it,

Because you're in it. The show must go on,

And it's so impressive, and I still believe to this day,

It's why fans still hold on so tight.

♪ ♪

- They know that there's a lot of families that are depending

On them showing up to do their job,

And sometimes, we have to do it under circumstances

That are really difficult. It can be almost cathartic

To get out and do something that you love.

["next big thing" by wwe & jim johnston]

♪ ♪

- This is a 60-minute iron man match--

Lesnar vs. Angle for the title!

[dramatic music]

The first superstar to gain the most falls

In a one-hour time limit will become champion!

- And falls are scored by pinfall, submission,

Disqualification, or a count out.

- The greatest insult you can levy against kurt angle

Would be to take it easy on him.

Kurt angle doesn't want you to feel sorry for him.

Kurt angle wants you to bring it,

Because he's going to bring it.

- This is a humongous matchup for brock lesnar here

And kurt angle--oh! - And brock lesnar

Wasting little time. [bell rings]

- You just get in the ring,

And you understand

This is gonna be interesting,

To say the least. - Look at that!

- And look at this. - Whoo, what a shot!

Both these athletes have never been in

A 60-minute iron man matchup.

Most pro wrestlers haven't.

- The iron man match was a really intense match,

And it was my favorite match that I had with him.

- Brock, you're gonna get disqualified!

- Brock lesnar using the steel chair--

[bell rings] kurt angle's up one fall

To nothin'. Why the hell did brock lesnar

Do that?

- What we were able to do in that hour

Was pretty incredible.

- Kurt can hardly stand up.

Whoa! - Brock lesnar--

- There goes angle!

[bell rings] - and brock lesnar

Has evened this at a fall apiece.

- Brock wanted to injure kurt angle.

- Make it easier to pick up falls.

This is kurt angle's signature maneuver.

Kurt taps! - Tappin'.

Wow. - I don't know

How much the champion has left,

And he still has over 45 minutes to go.

- If anyone would get in the ring and try to wrestle

A one-minute match,

Most people would be sucking wind

Probably after about 30, 45 seconds.

You take someone that runs on a treadmill

For 30 minutes every day. - [chuckles] man.

- Now go run on that treadmill at full speed

And have someone taking you down

And throwing you down on the mat for 30 minutes.

- There it is. [bell rings]

He got a count out on him.

- Double it.

♪ ♪

- And he connects! Hookin' the leg.

There's two! - G--got it!

- Got it! [bell rings]

- Kurt, now, can get the upper hand

On brock lesnar. Whoa, whoa.

Oh, my god! - And lesnar just

Cleaned the clock of referee brian hebner,

And now with that title in his hand--

- Oh, my god, wow!

Lesnar, in complete control.

- Brock lesnar's now up, four to two.

- I don't understand how the two of them did it.

We've all talked about how unique and special they are.

They both had gas tanks that went for days,

And it's my favorite non-pay-per-view story

That they ever told in the ring together.

- Brock lesnar rolled out of the way!

- And the whole story for the match is kurt being down--

- Man, lesnar just lookin' unstoppable here.

- Oh, wow! Five falls to two,

Lesnar leads! We've talked a lot

About the heart of kurt angle.

The wwe champion, though, has to show that heart right now.

[crowd shouting]

- Here comes kurt! Whoa!

Belly-to-belly! - Suplex!

Angle, cover! Angle got it!

[bell rings] - whoa!

- And slowly getting one victory after another,

Ugh, I believed in kurt so-- you said "hope"--

That's what he gave you in that match.

- Time is ticking away

On kurt angle's title reign. Wow!

- Watching it, you can really tell

That kurt had stepped into the shoes of being a real leader.

- The champion's in control!

- He looked like a real champion to me.

- Lesnar taps! [bell rings]

It's five to four!

- I felt like I showed a lot of people

That I had character.

When I was in the ring, I took

A lot of pride in what I did,

And I always wanted to be the best.

I was always the best. I was national champion,

Olympic gold medalist. I wanted to be the best

At this craft too, and I think

At a particular time, I was the best in the world.

- You can see kurt angle peeking up at the clock

Here on the big titantron.

- Kurt needs one more fall to tie it up.

- And look at this! Brock lesnar made a mistake!

Kurt-- both: Got the ankle lock!

- 15 seconds left!

- I remember at the end, having him in the ankle lock.

- Ten seconds left!

- Nine, eight!

Will brock tap? - And what it did show

The fans was that I had the ability to never give up,

That I was gonna keep going no matter what.

- There's four seconds--three!

- Three seconds! - Two!

- Brock has to tap for kurt angle to tie!

- There's four seconds--three!

- Three seconds! - Two!

Is he gonna tap? - Will brock lesnar

Tap out? [bell rings]

[crowd roaring] and it's over!

The time limit has expired!

Brock lesnar did not tap!

Brock lesnar is the new champion!

[heartbeat thumping]

- After the match with brock, the iron man match, you know,

Vince, he came to me and gave me a big hug

And said, "I'm so proud of you.

Let's get you home for your sister."

[dramatic music]

And brock came back, and he said,

"hey, I can't thank you enough."

♪ ♪

"what you did for me tonight was incredible.

You didn't have to do it, but you did it."

If it weren't for fans like you,

I would've never made it back here

After I broke my freakin' neck. Thank you!

[crowd cheers] I love you!

Thank you!

- As far as me and kurt having anything to prove,

I don't think we have anything to prove.

[crowd shouting]

Our stat books and accolades that we've accomplished

Speak for themselves, but I'm glad to this day

That I was able to go through and be put in those situations

With kurt angle.

♪ ♪

- These guys were the greatest combat athletes

This business has ever seen,

And they were the right people at the right time

And both in the prime of their life to do this.

This was an amazing time.

- The iron man match, I feel like, to me,

Encapsulates what that story ultimately was,

And also created one of the best monsters

This sport has ever seen and still is seeing today.

[crowd shouting]

- Have you got a problem with me?

- What's it like when I see brock now?

[laughs]

It brings back a lot of good memories.

- Oh, no! - Oh, my god!

Oh, my god, lesnar with an f5 to our general manager!

- Seeing brock and how he's doing in his life,

And you know, he's had a lot of different things going on--

Ufc champion, you know, he got married and has kids,

And he can do whatever he sets his mind to,

And I think his legacy will be his talent,

What he was able to contribute,

Not only to amateur wrestling and pro wrestling and mma,

But you know, to the world.

He's entertained fans for years.

Fans adore brock lesnar.

- Ready? One, two, three.

- Brock lesnar and kurt angle created an atmosphere

That would be conducive to each of them breaking through

To new heights

That they couldn't achieve against anyone else

Because no one else was capable of hanging

With either one of 'em.

- The angle slam connects!

- My rivalry with brock lesnar

Shaped my career in a very positive way.

It made me a better wrestler,

And knowing I could go toe-to-toe with brock lesnar

Gave me confidence.

You know, as amateur wrestlers, we have a bond,

And it has a lot to do with work ethic.

We're the hardest working athletes in the world.

And knowing I'm in the ring with brock lesnar

And doing what I do,

Made me feel like I could beat anybody.

- [yelling] is he gonna tap?

- Brock lesnar taps out!

- This is brock freakin' lesnar.

And he's the most dominant guy

I've ever been in the ring with,

And I'm beatin' this guy. I can beat anybody.

♪ ♪

- For kurt, it was that transition

Into a ruthless wrestling machine.

- Oh, the angle slam off the top!

- Black mouth guard-- there was a different

Aggression and tenacity to his stuff, and brock can still be

Considered, you know, the most dangerous competitor now

At 44 or 45 years old.

- F5 by brock!

- Bringing it back to the focus on real athletes,

And showing what they could do, but then blurring the line,

Like, getting you to a point where you can't really decide

On one side or the other who's gonna take this,

And really being invested in the story because I don't know

Who's gonna be the winner in this, 'cause you have these two

Outrageously talented alpha males,

And every step of the journey was just awesome to watch.

- But which one is better?

And that's the question--

Who's better, brock lesnar or kurt angle?

That is a question that people will ask forever

And never really gonna find out,

And I don't know the answer to that.

- You're damn right, kurt, we're gonna raise the standard.

We're gonna raise the bar.

- I want my legacy to be known

As one of the greatest of all time.

Kurt angle vs. Brock lesnar, the rivalry--

I wish I would've won the third match.

[laughing]

That's my final thought.