WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle Addresses Leaving Gimmicks On The Table In His Career

When Kurt Angle came into the wrestling industry, he had a ready-made gimmick to tap into due to his background as a successful amateur wrestler. That led Angle to push his Olympic background as a vital element of his on-screen persona — something that lasted his entire career. But did he ever have any others up his sleeve?

"I never thought of doing any gimmick," he admitted on the latest "Kurt Angle Show." "My gimmick was the Olympic gold medalist."

A lot of wrestlers who have been around as long as Angle typically ended up tapping into a wide variety of different variations of themselves in order to stay fresh. However, that wasn't something that Angle truly ever seemed to explore. 

While he was involved in the Main Event Mafia for a period in TNA and briefly became the "Wrestling Machine" during his short stint in WWE's version of ECW, the focus of Angle's character and personality still remained his Olympic background. Even when he eventually re-entered WWE, it was with the identity of the Olympic gold medalist, which stayed in place up to his last match in a WWE ring.

Even though his Olympic success was something serious — which meant that his in-ring style was presented as such — Angle was never afraid to add some comedy to his storylines. Whether it was driving around with a milk truck, wearing a tiny cowboy hat with Steve Austin, or singing Shawn Michaels' theme song, he created some of the funniest moments in WWE history, adding different layers to his character overall.