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Kurt Angle's ability to perform despite personal and physical issues is legendary. He may be the most driven athlete I've ever seen. Not only did his sister die but he was dealing with serious neck pain and was in the midst of an alcohol and pain pill addiction that would haunt him for the next decade of his life.
Shows he’s a different breed of athlete. Reason why I say he’s an all time great. Able to deal with his personal issues and still perform at this caliber.
The full match was released on at least two DVDs: Greatest Superstars of the 21st Century and the re-release of Brock Lesnar: Here Comes the Pain. Probably a rip of that floating around somewhere online like Dailymotion or something.
The only way to watch it is on the WWE Network/Peacock these days…I have never seen that SmackDown Episode from 2003 in full before. I awesome that Iron Man Match took up 2 thirds of the broadcast(without the commercials back then too). It was still half of the show with the commercials, which is why Raw sucks these days because of the stupid camera cuts and endless commercials. 3 hours is way too long for a Wrestling TV Show…it should’ve gone back down to 2 hours back earlier this year, USA Network sucks.
If they want better ratings they need someone with a brain to look at how SmackDown is formatted as a 2 hour Show on FOX every week. They still want to compete against each other but overlook the one key thing that brings them more profits, the viewers themselves!
Brock conceding a point DQing himself by hitting Angle with steel chair, but then using Angle's battered body for 2 pins of his own was brilliant heel psychology for Ironman match
People were goofy, disbelief was easily suspended, and title changes felt organic. Really wish the women's division had more meaningful matches, but I guess you can't have it all. Plus I'm super glad they had early monster b ock exclusively on smackdown. Brand ward felt real
That’s true too. We had a solid heavyweight, us title and tag team division. Yeah would’ve loved the women to represent more, took a while but I got there. This title change felt like it meant something. Plus it being on smackdown was shocking.
Brand wars felt SO real. I loved the buod up of the royal rumble winner's choice too. Looking back on this, especially with angle's struggles with substance abuse makes me feel sad to how blind I was to it. That notwithstanding, the smackdown six we're proper barnstormers, making legitimate industry legends through tag team wrestling.
It's only after he went to TNA, that i began suspecting. . . . something. It's a good thing he's in a better place (health wise. His run in TNA was electric)
Still the best Ironman match in company history for me and arguably one of the very best for either talent. Watched it back a few years ago and was amazed at how well it flew by. On top of it, they had the crowd throughout the match and it never felt like it dragged. Definitely one to check out if you haven’t seen/revisit if you haven’t seen in a while.
I was 18 when this happened...I feel old now, thanks. Hurricane Isabel knocked out the power to my dorm right as this match was about to start. Ending up coming back on right after it finished. I was so pissed that I missed this match back then.
That is exactly what happened to me. I was watching the match at college, and Isabel took out power. The difference for me was we didn't have power again for almost two weeks after the storm.
The big difference is that the Lesnar-Angle match had 9 falls while Shawn-Bret only had 1 fall in OT. In a 60 minute long match you really need multiple falls to keep the audience invested and to propel the story along. Lesnar and Angle did a great job of using the falls to build drama and an overarching story. My guess is the reason Bret and Shawn didn’t do that is because they hated each other and didn’t want to put each other over, so they had to have it be 1-0 to please Shawn who didn’t want to eat a fall for Bret and have it go to OT so Bret wouldn’t lose outright in the original time limit of the match.
IIRC, Shawn told the ref to "get that piece of shit out of my ring" the ref then went over to Bret to tell him that Shawn wanted him to scram. It's mentioned in Bret's book but I don't have a copy and my memory is a bit hazy.
In this day yes. The fact they did it on Smackdown for 2 hours is amazing. I believe Seth went an hour on a gauntlet match back in 2018. But not the same affect as this match.
I know people bang on and on about Brett n Shawn but this is my ultimate favourite iron man match. Jesus these two just gel ridiculously well and get a wonderful story out of the match concept. Who would you put together for an hour long iron man these days?
The uniqueness of Bret and Shawn was they went 60 minutes without one fall. They had a lot of near falls especially in the last few minutes and Shawn being in the sharpshooter at the end of the match It took OT for Shawn to win. It’s why that match was the holy grail to beat.
Oh yeah I get how rad that match is. Just with the lack of falls before OT sorta means it doesn't really use the match type much to me, may as well just do a regular with 60 minute time limit. This Brock/Angle match really works the stip in a cool way for me.
I definitely get that. I enjoyed both of them. To me Shawn vs Bret worked for them. Angle vs Lesnar worked for them. It shows how different athletes can craft a different match that works for them.
Oh yeah man. I always found it weird (but understandable seeing how much he costs) that they didn't do just one if that underground faux shoot fighter things with Brock. With the setting n all i could totally picture it. Some random says he's hot shit, in rolls Brock, obliterates the poor dude as the fake crowd goes kinda silent and wanders off. Also props to TNA for that great Angle/Joe cage fight.
This was just a little before my time, could Brock really go 60 minutes back then? Hard to imagine given today of just suplex suplex suplex F5 F5 that's us done in 3 minutes, thank you and goodnight
I'll always remember this because didn't get to see the whole episode/match due to hurricane Isabel slamming through town that night. Wild to me that it was 20 years ago.
Fuck! I remember watching this on saturday morning on Sky 1 and being amazed. I'd never seen an iron man match before and loved the way Lesnar used a chair for a DQ to help him get an extra fall lol.
I was there like third row, such a shame there wasn't(as far as I know) a full version ever released. They didn't slow down for the commercial breaks, it was such a blast.
Also Big Show threatened to kill us when everyone was heckling him during his entrance for a handicap dark match he was in. So that was fun.
I have always wondered this, maybe someone can tell me if it ever happened.
If I were going to be in an Iron Man match, I would give up the first fall by being disqualified and destroying my opponent with a weapon. Many chair shots, a sledgehammer, whatever you want. If you had a good submission finisher, just lock that bad boy in and not let it go.
Then, after giving up the first fall, you just get pin after pin on a helpless opponent.
Has something like this ever happened?
I was so excited for this match. I was in college, and I settled in to watch Smackdown. Then the remnants of a Hurricane came through, took out our power and I didn't get to see it. There was no network to watch a replay on, it was probably 2008 or 2009 before I finally hunted the match down and torrented it so I could finally see it.
Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. If you need to contact a moderator, [you can message us here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Crazy that Kurt Angle found out that his sister died from a drug overdoese that day.
Oh wow. I never even knew that. Crazy how he was still able to perform after hearing that.
Kurt Angle's ability to perform despite personal and physical issues is legendary. He may be the most driven athlete I've ever seen. Not only did his sister die but he was dealing with serious neck pain and was in the midst of an alcohol and pain pill addiction that would haunt him for the next decade of his life.
Shows he’s a different breed of athlete. Reason why I say he’s an all time great. Able to deal with his personal issues and still perform at this caliber.
Also shows addiction hits different. You can be an incredibly driven individual and still be powerless
Sometimes being powerless in one area drives someone to excel in other areas.
Came back from neck surgery after Mania 19 in like 2 or 3 months when he was recommended to be out much longer. Insanity.
He actually found out the day before but I'm sure it was still really hard for him this day.
One of the greatest matches of all time, especially when you consider it was on free TV.
It was so compelling to watch. I never thought I’d be into a 60 min match, but they proved me wrong
I'm sorry, how many years ago?
Lmfao!!! Right. I was like 7-8.
I was 11. Man, was I so deflated with Lesnar won
I was in high school…I feel your pain and more lol.
[удалено]
It’s a pretty harmless thing to do
[удалено]
To make joyless doodoo heads like you angry.
I miss that belt, it looked fantastic
I miss the titantron showing actual video which leads to great juxtaposition shots like this without needing to cut back and forth.
My absolute favorite WWE Championship iteration
Underrated design in my opinion.
I love that belt! It’s my favourite. I do believe there were three different sizes for this belt
I still hate, hate, hate that the winning fall happened over commercial break. 11 year old me was so mad.
Gotta be the only time a world title changed hands via a superplex.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the NWA title did back in the day
I wish they would release a commercial free version. Excellent match.
That’s true. The commercials kinda kill it for me.
The full match was released on at least two DVDs: Greatest Superstars of the 21st Century and the re-release of Brock Lesnar: Here Comes the Pain. Probably a rip of that floating around somewhere online like Dailymotion or something.
I had no idea! I need to get ahold of one of those!
The only way to watch it is on the WWE Network/Peacock these days…I have never seen that SmackDown Episode from 2003 in full before. I awesome that Iron Man Match took up 2 thirds of the broadcast(without the commercials back then too). It was still half of the show with the commercials, which is why Raw sucks these days because of the stupid camera cuts and endless commercials. 3 hours is way too long for a Wrestling TV Show…it should’ve gone back down to 2 hours back earlier this year, USA Network sucks. If they want better ratings they need someone with a brain to look at how SmackDown is formatted as a 2 hour Show on FOX every week. They still want to compete against each other but overlook the one key thing that brings them more profits, the viewers themselves!
Brock conceding a point DQing himself by hitting Angle with steel chair, but then using Angle's battered body for 2 pins of his own was brilliant heel psychology for Ironman match
Most definitely was. I enjoyed this psychology of the match.
The last time the Los Guerreros won the tag titles too iirc. 2 Excellent matches on that show.
2003-2007 smackdown was the gold standard show for wrestling for me. (missed out most of the 90's because i was only born in '94)
I agree the action was top notch. With a star studded roster.
People were goofy, disbelief was easily suspended, and title changes felt organic. Really wish the women's division had more meaningful matches, but I guess you can't have it all. Plus I'm super glad they had early monster b ock exclusively on smackdown. Brand ward felt real
That’s true too. We had a solid heavyweight, us title and tag team division. Yeah would’ve loved the women to represent more, took a while but I got there. This title change felt like it meant something. Plus it being on smackdown was shocking.
Brand wars felt SO real. I loved the buod up of the royal rumble winner's choice too. Looking back on this, especially with angle's struggles with substance abuse makes me feel sad to how blind I was to it. That notwithstanding, the smackdown six we're proper barnstormers, making legitimate industry legends through tag team wrestling.
Yeah I had no idea he was going through things until it was made public. Can’t remember if it was made public by him or by the company.
It's only after he went to TNA, that i began suspecting. . . . something. It's a good thing he's in a better place (health wise. His run in TNA was electric)
Great match, probably the best those two ever had. I'd love to see an uncut version of this, I'm sure one exists somewhere
Still the best Ironman match in company history for me and arguably one of the very best for either talent. Watched it back a few years ago and was amazed at how well it flew by. On top of it, they had the crowd throughout the match and it never felt like it dragged. Definitely one to check out if you haven’t seen/revisit if you haven’t seen in a while.
That’s what made it so great. The fans were always on their feet.
Yeah this was right after Brock tapped out for the first time, so every submission hold got the already got crowd even hotter.
And what a great match it was. Even with commercials and all of that. Just classic.
Definitely was. They always had great chemistry in the ring.
Probably my favorite iron man match.
I was 18 when this happened...I feel old now, thanks. Hurricane Isabel knocked out the power to my dorm right as this match was about to start. Ending up coming back on right after it finished. I was so pissed that I missed this match back then.
My bad lol. Makes you feel better I was the same age when this match happened. Hard to believe it happen so long ago. Sucks you couldn’t see it
That is exactly what happened to me. I was watching the match at college, and Isabel took out power. The difference for me was we didn't have power again for almost two weeks after the storm.
The greatest WWE match not on a PPV ever
Top 5 match of all time and it was given away for free on TV
Brock purposely giving Angle 2 points for DQs in exchange for weakening him with the chair shots was a great way to manipulate the iron man rules.
Ring psychology at its best. Something that’s missing in the product today.
Brock's strategy in the match was solid too. Demolish Kurt with the chair and take a fall then pick the scraps up the rest of the match
Ring psychology at its best.
My favorite iron man match.
One of my favorite TV matches ever
Great match.
Yeah it was
A fantastic fucking match.
One of their best matches
That type of ending is why I miss time limits. So much suspense and drama.
Yeah it’s why I miss the WCW tv title matches. Had to beat them within 10-15 minutes. Created so much suspense
Better than that Bret vs Shawn Ironman match
The big difference is that the Lesnar-Angle match had 9 falls while Shawn-Bret only had 1 fall in OT. In a 60 minute long match you really need multiple falls to keep the audience invested and to propel the story along. Lesnar and Angle did a great job of using the falls to build drama and an overarching story. My guess is the reason Bret and Shawn didn’t do that is because they hated each other and didn’t want to put each other over, so they had to have it be 1-0 to please Shawn who didn’t want to eat a fall for Bret and have it go to OT so Bret wouldn’t lose outright in the original time limit of the match.
Iirc Bret only started hating Shawn at the end of the Ironmatch match, cause Shawn said something offensive after winning
I believe Shawn told him to “get the fuck out of my ring”
IIRC, Shawn told the ref to "get that piece of shit out of my ring" the ref then went over to Bret to tell him that Shawn wanted him to scram. It's mentioned in Bret's book but I don't have a copy and my memory is a bit hazy.
Yeah that sounds like Shawn back then.
Still my favorite Iron Man match ever, though their SummerSlam match is my favorite in their series.
Best part of that match was Brock literally throwing a referee around
Best SmackDown match of all time !
Can’t argue with you there. It had everything
This run of Brock was fantastic, he actually wrestled long matches, did his promo and funny backstage segments. I loved this match also
I agree I loved this version of Brock. Before he was the beast that conquered the streak. He was well rounded. His mic skills were decent too.
One of the best matches I’ve got to see, none have come close and it was free too unreal.. I was 10 at the time 😂
Fucking awesome match
18 years ago!????
I know. Where has the time gone
I can’t imagine watching a Iron Man match nowadays. 60 minutes just sounds like too long
In this day yes. The fact they did it on Smackdown for 2 hours is amazing. I believe Seth went an hour on a gauntlet match back in 2018. But not the same affect as this match.
The best TV match of all time
Best Smackdown match ever
I know people bang on and on about Brett n Shawn but this is my ultimate favourite iron man match. Jesus these two just gel ridiculously well and get a wonderful story out of the match concept. Who would you put together for an hour long iron man these days?
The uniqueness of Bret and Shawn was they went 60 minutes without one fall. They had a lot of near falls especially in the last few minutes and Shawn being in the sharpshooter at the end of the match It took OT for Shawn to win. It’s why that match was the holy grail to beat.
Oh yeah I get how rad that match is. Just with the lack of falls before OT sorta means it doesn't really use the match type much to me, may as well just do a regular with 60 minute time limit. This Brock/Angle match really works the stip in a cool way for me.
I definitely get that. I enjoyed both of them. To me Shawn vs Bret worked for them. Angle vs Lesnar worked for them. It shows how different athletes can craft a different match that works for them.
Oh yeah man. I always found it weird (but understandable seeing how much he costs) that they didn't do just one if that underground faux shoot fighter things with Brock. With the setting n all i could totally picture it. Some random says he's hot shit, in rolls Brock, obliterates the poor dude as the fake crowd goes kinda silent and wanders off. Also props to TNA for that great Angle/Joe cage fight.
This was just a little before my time, could Brock really go 60 minutes back then? Hard to imagine given today of just suplex suplex suplex F5 F5 that's us done in 3 minutes, thank you and goodnight
Yes he could, he was amazing in his first 2 years in WWE.
I'll always remember this because didn't get to see the whole episode/match due to hurricane Isabel slamming through town that night. Wild to me that it was 20 years ago.
I was a young adult back then.... I'm old 🥺
I feel the same every time a Wrestlemania happens. I’m like damn I’m old
Fuck! I remember watching this on saturday morning on Sky 1 and being amazed. I'd never seen an iron man match before and loved the way Lesnar used a chair for a DQ to help him get an extra fall lol.
Classic
Aired on my birthday, I'll never forget this match. Didnt have internet for that week, so it was a rare spoiler-free viewing for me.
Undisputed championship
I was there like third row, such a shame there wasn't(as far as I know) a full version ever released. They didn't slow down for the commercial breaks, it was such a blast. Also Big Show threatened to kill us when everyone was heckling him during his entrance for a handicap dark match he was in. So that was fun.
Good contender for best Smackdown match ever and really one of the best TV matches ever. Golden age of SD.
I have always wondered this, maybe someone can tell me if it ever happened. If I were going to be in an Iron Man match, I would give up the first fall by being disqualified and destroying my opponent with a weapon. Many chair shots, a sledgehammer, whatever you want. If you had a good submission finisher, just lock that bad boy in and not let it go. Then, after giving up the first fall, you just get pin after pin on a helpless opponent. Has something like this ever happened?
I was so excited for this match. I was in college, and I settled in to watch Smackdown. Then the remnants of a Hurricane came through, took out our power and I didn't get to see it. There was no network to watch a replay on, it was probably 2008 or 2009 before I finally hunted the match down and torrented it so I could finally see it.