Classic WrestleMania Match: Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania XIX

RondaRousey.com’s Classic Match series takes a closer look at significant and super cool matches from wrestling history. For WrestleMania Week, the RondaRousey.com staff is covering an entire week of some of our favorite WrestleMania matches.

The main event of WrestleMania XIX in 2003 featured two of the most accomplished athletes to ever join WWE: Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. With a heated feud between them and the WWE Championship on the line, they delivered one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history.

There are clear parallels to be made between Angle and Lesnar’s pre-WWE athletic careers. Angle had been an amateur wrestler since childhood and had won NCAA Division I All-American three times, but his most impressive wrestling accomplishment was later turned into a catchphrase: He won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics with “a broken freakin’ neck.”

Angle was a quick study when it came to professional wrestling, and his technical skill was apparent when he made his in-ring debut at Survivor Series 1999. However, his character, an American hero who followed “the three I’s: Intensity, Integrity, and Intelligence,” wasn’t one the Attitude Era audience wanted to root for. After Angle turned on them—leaning into the boos he was already receiving—he started winning pro wrestling gold. He held both the European and Intercontinental Championships simultaneously and by the time he first crossed paths with Lesnar in 2002, he was a two-time world champion.

Though Brock Lesnar had yet to achieve the most impressive accomplishments of his combat sports career when he first joined WWE, he was already a decorated athlete. His collegiate wrestling accomplishments had made turning pro a natural choice. After he debuted on WWF television in March 2002 with Paul Heyman as his agent, he began to rise straight to the top of the promotion. He won the 2002 King of the Ring tournament and, after some unsuccessful shots at titles, defeated The Rock at SummerSlam to become—at the time—the youngest WWE Champion in history.

Lesnar debuted as a monster, to say the least, and has been one for most of his pro wrestling career, but the feud leading to his first WrestleMania saw him in a rare good guy role. After Big Show—helped by a treacherous Heyman—won the WWE Championship from Lesnar, Lesnar helped Angle win it from Show. But though Angle had promised Lesnar a championship match in return for his help, it turned out there was no honor among those who steal wins.

In order to get another chance at the WWE Championship, Lesnar defeated Big Show one-on-one to win a place in the 2003 Royal Rumble. He won the Rumble, but Angle didn’t make his road to Mania easy. He used every underhanded tactic he could think of to get out of facing Lesnar one-on-one during this feud, getting Team Angle and his own brother involved and eventually seriously injuring Lesnar’s ribs through various attacks.

Stephanie McMahon ultimately announced that Angle vs. Lesnar at WrestleMania would include the stipulation that Angle could lose his title if he was counted out, disqualified, or got anyone to interfere on his behalf, but it looked like the tactics Angle had used leading up to the match might have already done all the damage he needed to make sure he retained the WWE Championship.

By the time Angle and Lesnar got into the ring at WrestleMania XIX, it looked like Lesnar’s rib injury may have cut him down to Angle’s size—which was billed at a full 65 pounds lighter. They looked evenly-matched during the chain wrestling that opened the bout, a display of strength, speed, and Greco Roman-style wrestling skill.

Though he stayed within the rules just enough not to be disqualified or counted out, Angle use of underhanded tactics soon gained him the advantage over Lesnar. He rolled out of the ring to seemingly recover from a suplex—but really, it was to lure Lesnar to follow him out so he could kick his injured midsection right as he got back into the ring. Angle then brilliantly used the ring as a weapon, German suplexing Lesnar so his rib area hit the top turnbuckle.

After using the barricade and the ring apron to do more damage to those bandaged ribs, Angle began working to wear down Lesnar with submissions, with a freestyle bow and arrow that transitioned into a rear naked choke. As he stretched Lesnar’s neck while pressing a knee into his back, it looked like the challenger might actually tap out. But Lesnar managed to his use size and nearly superhuman power to stand and free himself from the hold.

Though Angle continued to dominate, now using high-impact moves, Lesnar managed to shift into another, terrifying gear after a spinebuster. Both men were able to damage each other with massive suplexes, and it looked like Lesnar might even be able to hit the F-5… but Angle again used his brilliant strategic mind to gain control of the match, countering it into an ankle lock.

Lesnar was able to escape to the ropes and buy himself recovery time by sending Angle out of the ring, but once back inside, Angle was on a roll. He delivered a huge release German suplex for a two-count, then looked like he had the match won with the Angle Slam. But Lesnar kicked out after this move as well, the surprising first time anyone had kicked out of the Angle Slam. The Olympian had a little tantrum at this, but soon got a manner of revenge when he became the first person to kick out of the F-5!

But what followed Lesnar’s next F-5 attempt would be the match’s most shocking moment. Rather than cover his opponent, Lesnar unexpectedly climbed to the top rope to attempt a Shooting Star Press. He just barely missed and landed directly on his head and neck, suffering what would be diagnosed after the match (and what is apparent during this point in the match) as a concussion. Angle took advantage of the miss and covered Lesnar, but the larger man was able to instinctually kick out.

Another F-5 followed by an exhausted pin won Brock Lesnar the WWE Championship for the second time. He and Angle had both truly left it all in the ring. Despite their rivalry, the two competitors hugged after the match in a display of mutual respect.

As Kurt Angle retires at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday and Lesnar defends his Universal Championship, this match is just one example of why these men are so highly-esteemed in WWE.

You can go back and revisit this match (and the entirety of WrestleMania XIX) on the WWE Network.

And don’t forget: You’ve got until April 10th to cop this new LIMITED EDITION Ronda Rousey shirt.