Kurt Angle Calls Kenny Omega A Dream Opponent, Names A Chris Benoit Match As His All-Time Favorite

Kurt Angle would love to work a match with Kenny Omega.

There was a point in time where Kurt Angle was considered the best wrestler in the world. Many nowadays consider Kenny Omega as holding that distinction.

Even though Kurt Angle retired in 2019, he had been open about wanting to do more in the ring prior to that moment. Now, Angle tells Forbes that a match against Kenny Omega is a dream match for him and he considers Omega to be much like AJ Styles.

“Oh, gosh, that’s one of my dream matches! Kenny is extremely talented. I saw a match with him in Japan and I thought ‘wow this guy’s incredible.’ He reminds me a lot of AJ Styles. They both have the same style where they can fly and do groundwork equally well.”

In terms of all-time opponents, Kurt Angle has never been shy of saying that Chris Benoit, despite the tragic end to his life, was his best opponent and he calls their match at the 2003 Royal Rumble event his favorite match of all time.

“My favorite match is versus Chris Benoit at the 2003 Royal Rumble for the World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship. Chris was a mirror image of me with his intensity, his technique, and his persona. He stepped it up every time in the ring. We matched each other’s intensity, and it just worked extremely well. We had a lot of submission trade-offs, and a lot of false finishes and the match is really intriguing. After I won, Team Angle came out, we celebrated and I walked out of the ring. The fans stood and gave Chris a standing ovation for 15 minutes, and it was a pay-per-view, Vince McMahon let it go, and the fans appreciating Chris showed us how good that match was. Even Triple H came up to me afterward, I was only in the business three years at the time, and he said, ‘you just raised the bar.’ I didn’t know how good the match was. I thought it was okay. Now when I watch it I’m like oh my gosh, this thing’s a masterpiece. To have someone like Triple H telling you that you raise the bar, that’s a huge compliment.”

Kurt Angle had alluded to this match being one of Triple H’s favorite matches during his appearance on the Broken Skull Sessions with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Of course, because it was on WWE programming, Chris Benoit’s name was not mentioned.

Elsewhere in the interview, Kurt Angle talks about how to prepare for a Brock Lesnar match and best avoid getting hurt. Learn more here.