Kurt Angle admits he tried to get John Cena to blow up during his WWE debut in 2002.
Cena debuted on a June 27 episode of SmackDown, answering an open challenge from Angle at the time. Just days before the episode, Vince McMahon said on RAW that he wanted to see "ruthless aggression."
When Angle asked what Cena possesses that makes him think he can get into the ring with an Olympic Gold Medalist, Cena answered by saying "ruthless aggression," and smacking Angle before starting their match.
Angle ultimately wound up winning the match, but Cena certainly put up a great fight, impressing many in his debut.
Recently, Angle reflected on the moment during an episode of his podcast, "The Kurt Angle Show."
Prior to their matchup, after finding out they'd be working together that night, Angle said Cena was very respectful towards him. He then noted he wanted to give him the "Angle test" inside the ring.
Angle admitted he wanted to make the match non-stop action, in an attempt to "blow up" Cena, or get him tired. However, Angle says that never happened, and Cena passed the test with flying colors.
“They told me the day of the show I was gonna wrestle John Cena. He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, Mr. Angle, I’m John Cena.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, and I’m gonna be working you tonight. It’s gonna be an honor to get in the ring with you.’ He was very respectful. You know what I tried to do with John?
"I really wanted him to take the test – the Angle test. I tried to blow him up and get him tired. I put the match together, and it was only 11 minutes.
"I made sure it was nonstop action and I wanted John to blow up. I wanted to take this monster-looking character, this Greek god, and show everybody how tired I could make him.
"And he didn’t get tired. The son of a bitch passed the test with flying colors. It was crazy.”
While Cena certainly impressed Angle inside the ring, his performance wasn't completely flawless. Angle said he didn't move as fluid as other wrestlers inside the ring, but made up for it with hard work.
“His moveset in the ring was awesome. He had a great moveset. He worked really hard – good-looking kid, great build.
"His only downfall was, you could tell the way he moved around that he’s not quite as fluid as other wrestlers.
"He’s more choppy and a little bit more uncoordinated, but he makes up for that with hard work. Being able to do what he does – nobody knew at this time how good a promo he cut.
"So, this was kind of a pleasant surprise when he eventually started doing it.”
Quotes via 411Mania
