WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle recently looked back at working as the General Manager of Smackdown. Angle was one of the best heels of WWE during his time and when he played the role of Smackdown General Manager back in 2004, he was one of the most hated wrestlers of the time.
Kurt Angle became the General Manager of the blue brand after the previous General Manager Paul Heyman stepped down from his role as he was not happy for being drafted to RAW. Kurt Angle was given the role of the General Manager which was pretty shocking.
Behind the Scenes: WWE Hall of Famer’s Insider Account of Being SmackDown General Manager And How Much He Earned
Throughout this time, Kurt Angle mostly focused on his feud with Eddie Guerrero and he also faked a leg injury. She had been the General Manager of the blue brand of WWE for four long months and he had been one of the most evil General Managers in the history of the blue brand. But honestly he was really fun to watch.
He kept on making Eddie Guerrero’s life miserable and the overall feud was really excellent between the duo. In an episode of the blue brand, Eddie challenged JBL for the WWE championship in a steel cage match. A masked appeared during it and cost Eddie his opportunity to win back the WWE title. Eddie pulled off his mask and it was revealed that the masked man is none other than Kurt Angle.
Kurt Angle Had Been The General Manager Of Smackdown In 2004
It clearly showed that Kurt was faking his injury throughout the time. By the end of July, Vince McMahon personally came out and fired him from his role of General Manager. Angle kept on working as a regular wrestler after that and continued his feud with Eddie.
Overall, this was an excellent run and in this four months, Kurt Angle generated a lot of heat and he proved to the entire world why he was one of the best in the business. On the latest episode of his “The Kurt Angle Show” podcast, he looked back at playing this role, and shared his experience about it. He also revealed how much he earned. Here is what the Olympic gold medallist had to say;
On his reasoning behind becoming the SmackDown GM: “It was me. I said, ‘I’ve been home sitting at home,’ resting the healing of my neck the past year on and off. I said, ‘I don’t want to sit at home again because all I’m going to do is go crazy. You gotta put me to work, give me something.’ He said, ‘I have an idea’ and that’s what he came up with. He decided to replace Paul Heyman with me as the general manager of SmackDown and I thought it was a great idea.”
On his pay as General Manager: “I wasn’t exactly crazy about the general manager spot. I’d much rather wrestle than be general manager, but at least they kept me on the road where I was making money. But you know you still get paid. You still get paid more than what you would on your guarantee. So as long as you’re working, whether you’re general manager or wrestler, you’re going to get more than what you’re guarantee is.”
H/T – eWrestlingNews.com