“Vince Would Have Bought Into It.”- Despite Major Success, Kurt Angle Failed to Capitalize on One Major Opportunity That Stars Like Steve Austin & John Cena Did

Kurt Angle has emerged as one of the most gifted athletes in the wrestling industry. But was there any place where Angle was not at the top of his game? The Olympic Hero had the size, strength, athleticism, and charisma to captivate the audience each time. Indeed, Angle’s immense talent led to some of the most notable matches and memorable segments.

So what was that one area that Angle did not excel in? It was the same aspect that was integral in becoming the absolute top guy of the global juggernaut back then and even now.

Where did Kurt Angle lack, despite being the total package of a WWE superstar?

Kurt Angle debuted in WWE at the 1999 Survivor Series pay-per-view event. He was promoted through his incredible accomplishment of winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Angle continued to honor his craft and background as a technical wrestler. He even adapted himself to the WWE style of portraying characters, cutting good promos and keeping the audience invested in him.

But Angle never decided to market himself in terms of being a merchandise mover. As history has shown, every marquee superstar of a particular generation has been a top merchandise seller, namely John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Roman Reigns. However, Angle never found himself in that column.

Paul Bromwell and Kurt Angle recently discussed the matter in the latest edition of The Kurt Angle Show. Kurt went on to claim that he was not a merchandise guy and wished that he could have become one.

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Angle stated, “I just …I wasn’t a merchandise guy … and I wish I would have pushed the merchandise harder, you know early on … I did not have a business mind when I got into the business.”

The former WWE Champion concluded by stating that he was heavily involved in the wrestling side of things and never thought of it from a business standpoint.

What led to the build-up of Kurt Angle making such a bold proclamation?

The interesting matter of Kurt Angle not crediting himself as a top merchandise mover was the initial conversation with his co-host. The topic surrounded the spinner WWE United States title introduced for John Cena. This led to Angle being asked about wanting to have his own custom-made title.

“I just never thought of it … John Cena did … Stone Cold Steve Austin did … I never did and I could have had a really cool Olympic belt … and I believe Vince would have bought into it.”

While Angle did state that he never thought of the idea of his own championship, that prompted him to acknowledge that he was never a big “merchandise guy.”

But Kurt Angle did have some good merchandise to his name back in the day such as the classic Team Angle t-shirts. So that leaves us with one question. Was Kurt Angle really not a top merch seller?