Kurt Steven Angle is an American retired professional wrestler and collegiate wrestler. He became a gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games. He is currently signed to the WWE, although not as an active wrestler. He is also known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Professional wrestling is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama, under the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Although it entails elements of sports wrestling and martial arts, including genuine displays of athleticism and physicality before a live audience, professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship. The staged nature of matches is an open secret, with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions; this is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction.