Kurt Angle - Wrestlers, Timeline and Family

Kurt Angle was born on December 9, 1968, in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon Township, Pennsylvania. He is the youngest son of Jackie and Dave Angle. He has four older brothers, Eric, Mark, David, and Johnny and a sister Le'Anne, who passed away in 2003. The siblings lost their father in 1984. Kurt was 16 then and the loss would deeply affect him. He would later dedicate both his career and his autobiography, ‘It’s True! It’s True!’ (published in 2001) to his father.

While studying at Mt. Lebanon High School, in Pittsburgh, Kurt Angle started wrestling at the age of seven. He was also playing football simultaneously and earned varsity letters in both sports. He later enrolled at the Clarion University of Pennsylvania to study Education and keep on wrestling at the amateur level.

After graduating college in 1993, he began to train for the 1996 Summer Olympics under coach Dave Schultz at the Pennsylvanian Foxcatcher Club. While participating in the Olympic trials, he severely injured his neck. It was revealed that he had fractured two of his cervical vertebrae, herniated two discs, and pulled four muscles. Despite this, he won the trial, and after a five-month rehabilitation, went on a successful campaign at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

In 1996, Kurt Angle met WWF chairman Vince McMahon who offered him a ten-year contract. Angle agreed to sign it under the condition that he would never lose. McMahon did not call him back after that.

He was invited to an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) event in October 1996 but was horrified seeing one professional wrestler “crucifying” another with barbed wire. He competed in a battle royal at the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) 50th Anniversary Show. Eventually, however, he found his way back into WWF.

After spending months in training, he debuted in a match against Shawn Stasiak at the 1999 Survivor Series. Throughout his first tenure with WWE, Angle received a major push, virtually winning every championship there was. He had memorable matches against Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Brock Lesnar and others. His mic skills were among the best at a time when there was no dearth of talent in that department and he was equally at ease being a heel and a face.

By 2006, he was feeling restive with his circumstances. His relationship with McMahon was gradually deteriorating, he was in severe pain, and he desperately needed a break. WWE ultimately released him. He had his last match against Sabu on August 8. Angle has since stated that he has come to regret the decision.

He joined TNA following his departure from WWE. In those years, TNA was the only worthwhile competitor of Angle’s former promotion, who had all but monopolized the industry. He was their biggest star and the most hard-working performer. He left TNA in 2016, after being defeated by Bobby Lashley in his last match.

Besides the two major American promotions, he has also wrestled for the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) (2007–2009), Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (2012), and various promotions in the independent circuit.

On March 31, 2017, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by John Cena. On the April 3 episode of Raw, Angle became the new general manager of the brand. After 11 years, he wrestled inside a WWE ring for the first time in a five-on-three handicap Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event. He is set to lead the Team Raw at the 2017 Survivor Series.

In 1997, following his Olympic triumph, he was employed as a sportscaster for a year at Pittsburgh's local Fox affiliate WPGH-TV.

He made his acting debut in the 2009 film ‘End Game’. He has also appeared in movies, such as horror fantasy ‘River of Darkness’ (2011), Gavin O'Connor’s ‘Warrior’ (2011), Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson starrer ‘Pain & Gain’ (2013), critically acclaimed ‘Sharknado 2: The Second One’ (2013), and dark fantasy ‘The Last Witch Hunter’.

For his accomplishments in amateur wrestling, Kurt Angle has been inducted into the National Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2001), USA Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2001), and the International Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 2016).

He was picked as the greatest shoot wrestler by USA Wrestling in 2006.

He is among the four individuals to complete amateur wrestling Grand Slam (Junior Nationals, NCAA, World Championships, and Olympics).

As a WWF/WWE talent, he has won, among other accolades, WWF/WWE Championship four times (2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003), World Heavyweight Championship one time (2006), and WCW World Heavyweight Championship one time (2001).

During his time in TNA, he was the TNA World Heavyweight Champion six times (thrice in 2007, once in 2009, once in 2011, and once in 2015).

He was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame (class of 2013).

On December 19, 1998, Kurt Angle married his girlfriend Karen Smedley. She gave birth to their daughter Kyra on December 2, 2002 and son Kody on October 26, 2006. Smedley filed for divorce in September 2008 after almost 10 years of marriage.

He met his second wife actress Giovanna Yannotti on the set of ‘End Game’. According to several reports, they got engaged in 2010. Their first child, a daughter named Giuliana Marie, was born on January 22, 2011. The couple married on July 20, 2012. They have two more daughters together, Sophia Laine (born December 31, 2012) and Nikoletta Sky (November 5, 2016).

Despite allegations from multiple third parties, especially news outlets such as Sports Illustrated, Angle never failed a drug test for pain pills. He did, however, not pass a test for steroid under WWE’s Wellness Policy in 2006, but that was only due to the expiration of his prescription for nandrolone.

Angle has had a few run-ins with the law over the years, mostly because of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was first charged in 2008, then twice in 2011, and then once more in 2013. He has paid fines for those and even served a ten-day suspended sentence. After the 2013 incident he checked into a rehabilitation centre.

He was arrested in August 2009 after his then girlfriend model Trenesha Biggers filed a protection from abuse order against him. The charges that he faced were "driving while operating privilege is suspended, prohibited acts-possession, harassment and prohibited acts". Eventually those charges were dropped and he and Biggers came to an agreement of never contacting each other.

Angle is a devout Christian and a Republican.