Amateur and pro-wrestling legend Kurt Angle will headline the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017, and the former Olympic gold medalist is pretty pumped about the honor.
Here’s Angle’s tweet:
I'm coming home! #itsdamntrue
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) January 16, 2017
“I was shocked,” Angle told ESPN.com. “I’ve been out of WWE for a long time and out of touch with them so I didn’t really expect this. It’s a huge honor. This is the only Hall of Fame that I’m not in and probably [the one] I want to be in the most. This is the one that means the most for me. I had a lot of fun entertaining the fans for seven years with WWE, and I’m glad that my hard work paid off.”
WWE’s executive vice president of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul Levesque — aka Triple H — called Angle’s accomplishments both in the Olympics and WWE were “extraordinary,” saying, “He was one of the most gifted athletes to ever enter the ring, and we are honored to welcome him into the WWE Hall of Fame.”
Before becoming a professional wrestler, the Pittsburgh native was a world-class amateur grappler. Angle was a two-time All-American and a two-time NCAA Champion at Clarion University. Despite a broken neck, Angle won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Two years later, his wrestling mat was raised and had ropes around it. He debuted in WWE at Survivor Series 1999 and was WWE Champion by October 2000. Many titles later, Angle left WWE in 2006.
The Hall of Fame Class of 2017 will be enshrined two days before “WrestleMania 33.”