#FiftyMatches: The Summer Of Austin And Angle

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin v. Kurt Angle

WWF Championship

SummerSlam 2001
August 19, 2001

"Austin must be thinking, 'What in the hell must I do to beat this man?'" -Jim Ross

For all its faults, The Invasion story line did do some good. Perhaps no one benefited more from it than Kurt Angle. After injury put Triple H out of action, it was Angle who was chosen to fill the opening as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's partner in crime. In the summer of 2001, Kurt Angle's star was on the rise like never before in the World Wrestling Federation. Before it was over, his position as a career main event performer would be secure.


As allies, Steve Austin and Kurt Angle (along with Vince McMahon and Austin's criminally underrated wife at the time, Debra) elevated the art of the backstage segment to levels of entertainment it had rarely achieved in the past. Suddenly, it seemed impossible to have SmackDown! without them. They practically had their own sitcom.

It was fun and games for the most part, but Austin and Angle's new twist on the Two Man Power Trip didn't last long. It disintegrated in spectacular fashion in July 2001, during the "Inaugural Brawl", the main event of the Invasion pay per view.

All the laughs generated by Austin and Angle competing for hugs from Vince McMahon had served a purpose. Austin twisted the battle for attention into the motive for his betrayal of the WWF. The night after Austin joined The Alliance, the time for jokes between he and Kurt Angle was essentially over, and an intense rivalry began.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating. The key to Kurt Angle's success in professional wrestling always comes back to one word: legitimacy. He can be a goofball during backstage segments, wear a ridiculously small cowboy hat and be the butt of jokes. All those things can hinder other performers and hurt their standing with fans, but that's never been the case with Kurt Angle. No matter how lighthearted things got, Angle was always capable of switching up the intensity when the time was right. That's a big reason why fans immediately got behind Angle, and his pursuit of Austin's WWF Championship.

Kurt Angle transformed his character into a force of vengeance for the WWF, and plowed through most of Steve Austin's roadblocks. Angle even enjoyed a brief reign as WCW Champion after defeating Booker T in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA less than a week after Invasion. The only thing left for Angle was to challenge Austin himself. It was a match that stole the show at SummerSlam 2001.

The way this match ended was not well received by fans at the time. They felt cheated out of a clean finish to what was the best match of the night. Perhaps that would have elevated its standing today to legendary status. In my eyes, it's still a huge match in Kurt Angle's career. He was made with three moves, surviving three Stone Cold Stunners. That's a feat I don't believe any other professional wrestler has ever been able to match.

Most people agree that Austin's heel turn in 2001 was a mistake, but when you watch this match you see why some in the WWF still believed it could work. Austin is so vicious, brutal and desperate in this match. It's really fresh and fun to watch today, if only because Austin's run as a rule-breaker was so brief.

Kurt Angle would win the WWF Championship from Steve Austin the following month in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, but that victory lacked the emotion of this match. That's because SummerSlam 2001 was the real defining victory for Kurt Angle - proving that he belonged among the very best in professional wrestling.