With a biopic planned, Mt. Lebanon native Kurt Angle opens up about his wrestling triumphs, personal journey

A movie is in the works that will profile Kurt Angle’s life story.

The film will chronicle the Mt. Lebanon native’s journey from his youth and his start in amateur wrestling, his accomplishments in the sport in high school and college at Clarion to international success, including his Olympic gold-medal win in 1996 in Atlanta.

Of course, Angle’s professional wrestling career from his start in WWE in 1999 will be a prominent part of the production that is tentatively set to begin filming in the fall.

The producers and directors most likely will have a difficult time keeping it to a manageable length given all that could be included.

“Some of the film will be shot in Pittsburgh,” said Angle, who continues to promote and support wrestling, both professional and amateur, which, to him, still means a great deal.

“The directors are Eshom and Ian Nelms, who have put together a lot of really good movies and worked with actors like Mel Gibson and Orlando Bloom. (The Nelms brothers) used to wrestle in high school and college, so they understand my sport. We’re raising money right now and are doing pretty good with it. We almost have the script done, and we’re going to put the cast together.

“I never thought they would do a life story about me. When they approached me, I was surprised but intrigued. It’s been a lot of fun working on it and helping them by sharing my life story.”

Hall of fame honor

Angle recently had the chance to recall the many moments of his professional wrestling career as he received induction into the International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Already a member of several distinguished wrestling halls of fame, including WWE, he was enshrined during a ceremony Jan. 8 at the hall of fame’s home in the MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y.

“They reached out to me in August or September of last year and said they wanted to induct me into the hall of fame,” Angle said. “They had a lot of great inductees like Jack Brisco, Rocky Johnson and Dusty Rhodes. I felt it would be pretty cool to be included in that group.”

Angle said the ceremony was extra special because it took place in the same arena where he won his first WWE heavyweight championship, a triumph over The Rock at the “No Mercy” pay-per-view event in October 2000 in what was then known as the Pepsi Arena.

“They did a nice job of setting (the hall of fame) up,” he said. “It is a really good piece of work. They took me on a tour, and I was able to stand in the middle of the arena at the spot I won the title. It brought back many great memories. That was amazing.”

The induction and ceremony gave Angle the opportunity to think of the impact he has had on the professional wrestling community.

“I was lucky enough to put on some incredible performances, and I am very proud of them,” he said. “It is a true honor and a privilege to be inducted into this hall of fame and be recognized for all that I accomplished.”

Angle said he enjoyed his time at this year’s Royal Rumble, one of WWE’s four biggest live events of the year. He was in Indianapolis on Feb. 1 and shared the evening with his daughter, Nikoletta, who herself is an aspiring amateur wrestler.

“WWE wanted to put me in the crowd,” he said.

“I went out there to help out the company. (Nikoletta) wore my gold medals from the 1995 World Championships and the 1996 Olympics. She really enjoyed herself. Maybe wearing those medals will help motivate her to be as good or even better than daddy was.”

Helping women’s wrestling

Angle is giving back to the amateur ranks and working with USA Wrestling to help give female wrestlers like his daughter and others at all age and ability levels the chance to properly grow and compete in the sport.

“I hope I am able to give back any way I can,” he said.

That includes, he said, raising money for female athletes who aspire to be Olympians with things such as travel expenses, hotel stays during competitions, training and trips to training camps.

“Countries like China and Russia, the governments pay their Olympic athletes to train and compete full time,” he said.

“They don’t have to get jobs or make a living. All they do is train and compete, and they are taken care of. We don’t have that luxury here in the United States. Here, our athletes, including women, have to get jobs, for the most part, and they have to train around their work schedule. If you’re working eight to 10 hours, that doesn’t leave much extra time to train, maybe two, three hours tops. That doesn’t fare well for an Olympic athlete.

“That is why I am raising money for them so they don’t have to worry about that for this year, next year, for the next three years. We want to them to be able to just focus on their training and competition and not worry about anything else.”

Angle said anyone who wishes to donate can visit kurtangle.org.

“It will help them train and prepare for the 2028 Olympics,” he said. “Anything donated is greatly appreciated.”

Leaving an impression

Angle said it is great to see how much girls and women’s wrestling have grown at the scholastic and collegiate levels, including in Pennsylvania at Lock Haven and Gannon universities.

“The NCAA has made a national championship tournament for women’s wrestling, so more and more colleges are starting to sponsor programs,” he said.

“Women’s wrestling is coming on so strong. Our Team USA women had a great showing at the Olympics in 2024. They won (seven) medals. It is really cool to see. Women have taken a back seat to men in wrestling for so long. It is really cool to see them get this kind of exposure and show what they can do.

“A lot of times when I watch women’s wrestling, they impress me more than the men. Some of them are real (tough girls). I’m like ‘Whoa, I wouldn’t want to mess with her!’ They have come such a long way, and I am really proud of them.”

Around the country and in the WPIAL, girls high school wrestling has taken off. The PIAA sanctioned the sport in 2023. The WPIAL held its second individual championship tournament earlier this month at North Allegheny High School.

“Ten years ago, if you would’ve told me this would be happening and it would be this popular, I would’ve told you that you are crazy,” Angle said.

“But it is happening. They are going to continue to make their mark.”

Tunnels to Towers

Angle also champions the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, which was born out of the Sept. 11 attacks. It helps families of fallen police officers, first responders and military servicemen pay mortgages and for other expenses.

It is a cause near to his heart.

“It really hits home for me,” Angle said.

“My dad was in the Army for four years and the Reserves for 33 years. He was killed in a construction accident, and we could’ve used the help Tunnels to Towers provides back in the day. I know how these families feel. That is security the families deserve. What they do for the families of fallen heroes is nothing short of amazing. I am so honored to be a part of this.”

Sharing his story

Angle said he enjoys and appreciates the opportunities he has to travel and speak to audiences about his life in amateur and professional wrestling and his time away from the competition limelight.

He said it is especially meaningful to be able to share the stories of battling his past addiction to prescription pain medication.

“It is important I use that platform to be able to talk about my life story and hopefully help people out by talking about mistakes I’ve made about my addiction, how I overcame that, and what I had to do to make that happen,” he said.

“I am a pretty open book about my life. I want to share that with people to hopefully give them motivation to go ahead and get their lives in order if it has turned into a mess. I tell them my story and how I have been clean and sober for more than 14 years. I get a lot of great responses. I am just happy to be able to motivate people to better their lives.”