Kurt Angle or Shawn Michaels

[Disturbed]

I want to know who do you think is the better in ring competitor. This has nothing to do with mic skills, it is all about in ring work.

Kurt Angle has been in many epic matches with Stone Cold, Undertaker, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, John Cena, Samoa Joe, Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles and many more. He is a former world Heavyweight champion, WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, European Champion, IWGP World CHampion and TNA champion just to name a few.

SHawn has also had some classic battles including encounters with Undertaker, Stone Cold, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart, John Cena, Triple H, Ric Flair and many more. He is a former WWE Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, WWE tag team champion, Intercontinental Champion, and European Champion.

So who is better in the ring? Kurt Angle or Shawn Michaels?

 

[Cocky King of The World1]

Nice Thread!

This is a tough one, but I'm going to have to go with the HBK Shawn Michaels. Don't get me wrong Kurt Angle has put on clinics , is a gold medal olympic amatuer wrestler, and is in the top 5 best ever of techinical wrestlers. Shawn Michaels can make anything look good he's just that good. He's won numerous matches of the year, arguably been in the best ladder match and hell in a cell ever, and even brought 2 top quality matches out of the injury riddled Undertaker. He's arguably the greatest all-around wrestlers of all time (with Chris Jericho coming close to him). They don't call him the showstopper for nothing , on the biggest stage on the biggest event Shawn Michaels is gunna ball hard and wrestlers have to prepare themselves for the guy.

 

[nbkush]

great thread...
Kurt Angle-----going by your standards he I think is not only a better in-ring wrestler than Shawn, but may even be the best in the business. Nothing taking away from Shawn but, Kurt has all of the athelticism and heart that Shawn has/had, but he also had/has more legitimacy in his skills that rival Verne Gange, D. Hodge, Lou, or the Ed "The Strangler" Lewis, and has shown it. They are both showman, but Angle IS THE BEST in the ring.

 

[RendarSelin]

Wow what a thread. This is a very tough choice to make. Both men are great in the ring.

Shawn Michaels has long been known as Mr. WrestleMania. In big matches, he always steps it up and even in middle-card matches steals the show with whomever he is paired with in the ring. Shawn Michaels has worked with many of the greats of the last two decades: Triple H, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Rey Mysterio. Look through PWI Matches of the Year and one name will come up multiple times: the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels!!

Kurt Angle is the 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist. Paired with anyone, he could put on a great match. Shane McMahon, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Edge, and others looked like gold when they stepped in the ring with the Olympic Hero. Kurt Angle could elevate the games of technical greats like Chris Benoit, keep up with speedy lucha libre wrestlers like Rey Mysterio, and make over-the-hillers like Hulk Hogan still look like they were back in the 80s. One thing was certain with Kurt Angle: if you were fortunate enough to enter the ring with him, you left the ring better. Just ask Shelton Benjamin, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Kane, John Cena, Edge...

Who do I choose? I'm going to have to choose Kurt Angle. I would be willing to say that because of Kurt Angle, many of our main eventers in both companies today have improved after meeting him in the ring. However, this is not taking anything away from Shawn Michaels. I'm not even sure I'm making the right choice.

It's no surprise that at WrestleMania 21 these two stole the show together.

 

[Chicago1989]

Kurt Angle Vs. Shawn Michaels....This is interesting

First off, I'm a big fan of both Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels' in-ring work. Both guys were involved in many of wrestling history's greatest matches and even clashed at WrestleMania 21 once. This is a tough choice here. Both guys are maybe the greatest in-ring workers of all time. Here's what I think:

Shawn Michaels

Pros: Great in-ring storyteller, great seller, high-flier, great athleticism, resilient in the ring, great showboater, great at creating in-ring moments, and always brings his best in big matches.

Cons: Used to or maybe was picky with who gets over.

Kurt Angle

Pros: Great mat wrestler, great technician, very resilient, intense worker, works through injuries, great at putting people over, can outwrestle almost anyone, and works hard.

Cons: Injury-prone, puts his body at risk too often, and hardly really creates any memorable in-ring moments.
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Overall, it's tough. If you're into entertainment and storytelling, Shawn Michaels is your guy. If you're into mat wrestling and intensity, Kurt Angle is for you.

I'd rather go with Kurt Angle. He still wrestles at a great pace in his 40's, better than Shawn Michaels in his 40's. Consistently works hard to prove he's the best. Gotta go with Angle.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

Kurt Angle.

Shawn Michaels is great but Angle can really move in that ring. Not only can he take some pain but he can dish it out. This guy can really counter almost anything you throw at him into an ankle lock. Most of his matches are 5 star bouts and really get me into the fued he is in. Michaels is amazing too dont get me wrong. I mean his match between him and John Cena at Wrestlemania 23 was fanatsic and nearly impossible not to like. But id have to give the edge to The Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle

 

[supaman5279]

Shawn Michaels. In the ring there was no better. HBK could go with the best as well as up and coming talents. His matches were very well put together, and his move-set complimented his style as well as his personality whether he was heel or face. "I will give you a show like you have never seen before. Why??? Because I can." And every time he did.
In no way am I taking away from Kurt Angle. His has a legitimate resume. 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist. He technical wrestling skills work well for him(suplexes, chain wrestling, submissions etc.), which is why I have to give the edge to Shawn Michaels. It's a little bland. The multiple German suplex wasn't his signature and it was a little hard to watch the same thing twice as him and Chris Benoit was both still with WWE. Especially with a move that was usually put in a big spot in the match. The 450 knee drop is a great move but I just don't see it in his character. Same how the Shooting Star Press wasn't for Brock Lesnar. The moonsault was more for him as it was very graceful and he got major height on it. Off the cage was insane!! If this was mic skills included, I might give a bigger push for Angle. He had great comedic timing and his goofiness worked well with how serious he took himself. A milk bath??? WOW!!!
But on ring work alone my vote still goes for HBK. His "story-telling" was great and you could feel the emotion in the match. But Kurt Angle still has some left in the tank so when it's all over for both of them, I just might have to re-evaluate my choice.

 

[MancMark]

This is tough. Shawn is no doubt a great showman, and he's fantastic in the ring. He's probably a better character than Kurt Angle, but we're not discussing that. We're discussing their ability in the ring and for that reason I'm going to say Kurt Angle.

Kurt can literally have a match with anyone. And he will have a match with anyone, except maybe Daniel Puder, but that's a separate story. Kurt carries people through matches. If I got in the ring with him, he'd make me look fucking amazing. I've scarcely enjoyed a pair of matches more than I enjoyed his feud with Desmond Wolfe last year in TNA. He got Wolfe over immediately. Shawn is good, but Kurt is the dog's bollocks.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Kurt Angle, hands down was the better wrestler. I mean yeah HBK would steal the show at Wrestlemania and a few other times during the year. But most of the time, his matches were average to mediocre. He's just fortunate that when he was ON, he'd have matches that would make everyone forget the majority of time when he wasn't on. HBK could make anyone look good, but most of the time he didn't. He'd go to make himself look good every chance he got.

Angle would consistently give you a stellar performance in the ring. He could squash anyone and make it look legit and could make any match look like such a grueling match that you actually for a split second forget it's fake.

 

[Loveless]

Go watch Wrestlemania 21, watch HBK match Angle move for move, then ask yourself if Angle could match half the stuff HBK does. The sheer number of different styles Shawn is capable of blows Angle out of the water.

 

[ted sheckler]

Hands down Shawn Michaels.. Taking nothing away from Kurt Angle but we're talking about.. The Headline.. The Showstopper.. The Main Event...The Icon that still go.. Mr Wrestlemania.. and he's earned every one of those nicknames and more. He's stolen the show at almost every Wrestlemania he's ever been in and countless PPV's.. Even WM19 which Angle v Brock mainevented... HBK v Y2J was the best match on the show. A record ten match of the years.. 2 ***** matches from the stingy Dave Melzter.

Also many peers who have seen him and been in the ring with him consider him to be the greatest in ring performer of all time. Hell even Kurt Angle has said "Shawn Michaels is one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen and with out a doubt THE best wrestler I've ever been in the ring with"

There is something to be said about Kurts intensity and just his sheer athleticism. But I also feel Kurt has had many consistent great matches.. but many of his matches don't get over the hump of being true classics with the exception of a few. But thats just my opinion. Where Kurt may have an advantage in strength and pulling off incredible crisp moves and great mat style wrestling.. Shawn is better at the psychology part which sometimes gives his matches a bit more of an epic feel on occasion.

IMO and actually in many many people in the business' opinion Shawn is the greatest in ring performer of all time.

 

[mrbrownstone]

It's close here, it's damn close (see what I did there) but I have to give it to HBK. The main reason for this is his diversity, he could work basically any style and by comparison Kurt Angle really only works a technical style, that is not necessarily a bad this as it works for him but HBK could work absolutely any style. Not only can he work any style but he can work any style and do it damn well.

He can work an all out brawl an example being his Summerslam match vs HHH. He can work as a high flyer, as shown in his match against Vader also from Summerslam (amongst others). He can work a technical style, as shown in his matches with the master of that style Kurt Angle himself. Notice that these are all classic matches and all have HBK working different styles, not an easy thing to do.

Another thing that would make me lean towards HBK is his ability to always preform on the big stage. Look at his list of matches at Wrestlemania, the biggest stage of them all, he does not have on bad match on that list and that is an amazing trait to have.

Really though there is no wrong answer here as both are amazing in ring workers, I certainly couldn't criticise someone else for choosing Kurt.

 

[Abe]

Great thread!

I have great respect for both men but at the end of the day I have to say Shawn Michaels is better than Kurt Angle. The one thing that Kurt Angle has on Shawn Michaels is the number of champioships he has won. So I guess if you look at it that way, Kurt is better than Shawn.

Shawn is just so great. He can make ANYONE on any given day look like a million bucks. He can face off against a broom stick in a 60 mintue Iron Man Match, and the broom stick would be over. Thats how good Shawn is. Unlike other legends, Shawn isn't concerned with winning EVERY single time. He just wanted to go out there and put on the best match on the card. I love that so much. The fact that he had a major back injury at RR 1998, took a 5 year leave to recover, comes back in 2002 and puts on a classic against Triple H at Summer Slam and wins..... talk abot having a set.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I need to go with Angle. Here's the reason why. HBK has been at this a lot longer than Angle. So he's been working for a long time, working in various events for various promotions headlined WM a few times one of the greatest performers in history.

Angle starts much later in life in the ring, in his first year he puts on some of the best performances in the history of the business. It doesn't matter who he goes against he delivers. Very few performers, have done so well so fast. He has less time in the ring than many performers he works with, but you wouldn't know it by watching him.

 

[123NewChamp]

Good one, I was thinking bout these two guys wrestlemania encounter the other day, and which one was the better wrestler. And Not cause he's my favorite Superstar, but Ima have to say HBK Shawn Michaels. Now both Shawn and Kurt could make anybody look good, and put on some excellent matches. But Kurt was more of a Submission Specialist. And So was shawn, (Sharpshooter and Figure Four) But Shawn Michaels had a better all-around game than Kurt, he stood a better chance at beating an opponet more ways than Kurt did, while Kurt just dominated in Submission styled wrestling. Shawn was a great High Flyer, very innovative in HIAC, Ladder Matches, and any other matches he may of been in. He knew knew almost every counter and so did Kurt, and That Sweet Chin Music comes outta no where, and put an exclamation point to a great match. (Don't Beleive me, ask Shelton Benjamin.) But I'ma go with Shawn Michaels, his matches to me were far more exciting than Kurt's, and in the end, the excitment is all that matters.

 

[mayankeagle]

I agree that Shawn is a greater overall performer and star than Angle, who will definitely rank higher in any "all time" lists, but I still feel that Angle is better in terms of in-ring ability.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I have to go with HBK here. Both are great in ring performers but as far as creating memorable moments go, HBK has the edge over Angle. I just feel that HBK has a better understanding of pro wrestling than Kurt Angle. At the end of the day, wrestling is all about memorable moments. For an example look at HBK's last match against Undertaker and more specifically the ending of the match where HBK gets up and slaps the Undertaker when Undertaker tried to show him mercy. I would not be surprised to know that HBK planned that stuff. HBK could incorporate drama very well into his matches.

Kurt's workrate, execution and reversal of moves is fantastic and probably better than any wrestler that I have ever seen but very few of his matches have memorable moments in them. The only one which had a memorable moment as far as I can remember is his recent match against Mr Anderson at Lockdown where he performed a moonsault from the top of the cage. Kurt's matches are solid but once the match is over I'm pretty sure most fans, especially marks, would remember much about the match. The same cannot be said for HBK's great matches though.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Kurt Angle in my opinion is the best in-ring WRESTLER of all time

Shawn Michaels is the best in-ring ENTERTAINER of all time

I just cannot split the two. Angle is by far better when it comes to the actual wrestling aspect of the business, due to his amateur background, the hundreds of counters and submissions that he knows, and his intensity in the ring. He can wrestle anyone and make them look good, and has achieved more in his relatively short career than almost any other wrestler in history.

Michaels on the other hand has provided us with so many spectacular moments inside the ring, and has recovered from a thought-to-be career ending back injury to get back to the top of his game and stay there until his retirement last year. He has lit up WM time after time with his matches, which Angle never quite managed to the same level.
Both men will go down as two of the all time greats, constantly providing the best matches on whatever card they appear on.

I just cannot give an answer apart from what I said at the start. If you want the better wrestler, its Kurt Angle. If you want the better entertainer, its Shawn Michaels.

If you want the better PERFORMER...which is a combination of both, then its a draw for me.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I went with Michaels by a hair.

For me, 'wrestling technique' is as much selling as it is offense. Michaels is one of the greatest sellers in the history of the business, along with Hart. It takes a great deal of know-how and technical ability to fall properly, but in such a way that it looks like you're legit hurt, and then sell the hell out of it. I can't tell you how many times my wife and I have said "oh man, he really hurt himself, that's legit" only to be fooled by HBK again.

Nothing against Kurt. He's #3 or #4 on my list of technical wrestlers (Hart, Michaels, Angle, Jericho) but HBK is just an eyelash ahead.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I went with Michaels by a hair.

For me, 'wrestling technique' is as much selling as it is offense. Michaels is one of the greatest sellers in the history of the business, along with Hart. It takes a great deal of know-how and technical ability to fall properly, but in such a way that it looks like you're legit hurt, and then sell the hell out of it. I can't tell you how many times my wife and I have said "oh man, he really hurt himself, that's legit" only to be fooled by HBK again.

That is an excellent point. I remember in one WM match...was it against Kurt? where HBK moonsaulted out of the ring and landed rib first on the announcers desk without it breaking...I really did think he had seriously injured himself but it was just another masterful sell job.

Also, he had the whole crowd believing he was badly injured after he recovered from the real-life beating suffered outside a bar and the storyline led for him to suddenly collapse in the ring during a match. Another brilliant piece of work by Mr Michaels.

However, I just cant bring myself to vote on this one. In my opinion HBK and Angle are probably the best 2 wrestlers of the last 10 years, and I cannot vote against either. Abstained

 

[The Eighties]

Shawn Michaels comfortably. Being a great worker isn't about moves and doing lots of high spots, Shawn can take guys like Kevin Nash into the ring and have a great match with them because he can adapt to whatever his opponent needs, he sells, bumps and fires up better than anyone bar Steamboat.

His style changes when he is a heel in comparison with when he is a face, Kurt has great matches when working with other people who can work, Shawn can have a great match with whoever is given to him because of his adaptability and understanding of psychology. Kurt on the other hand tries to force guys like Henry and Cena to work to his strengths when they can't because Kurt only works the Kurt Angle way.

 

[Ferbian]

I went with Michaels by a hair.

For me, 'wrestling technique' is as much selling as it is offense. Michaels is one of the greatest sellers in the history of the business, along with Hart. It takes a great deal of know-how and technical ability to fall properly, but in such a way that it looks like you're legit hurt, and then sell the hell out of it. I can't tell you how many times my wife and I have said "oh man, he really hurt himself, that's legit" only to be fooled by HBK again.

Nothing against Kurt. He's #3 or #4 on my list of technical wrestlers (Hart, Michaels, Angle, Jericho) but HBK is just an eyelash ahead.

This states all there needs to be said. While Kurt Angle and Shawn are both absolutely amazing technical wrestlers, Shawn Michaels just has the whole selling point over Kurt Angle. And while this is speaking about in-ring technicality, Shawn just has the overall edge over Kurt Angle.

Both Kurt and Shawn are guys that are absolutely amazing to watch in the ring. However, it's obvious that Shawn Michaels to me sometimes were just a little bit more exciting. The ability to more or less wrestle all sort of styles, and wrestle anybody, where as Kurt Angle can wrestle a lot of styles, but remains a primary technical mat wrestler.

So Shawn wins this one, it's very close though.

 

[Calderownz]

Honestly, I love Shawn Michaels in-ring work. But Kurt Angle is second to none.

Kurt Angle brought intesity mixed with an incredible level of finesse. A variety of moves, rarely would he repeat himself in a match or on a match-to-match basis. Incredible suplexes. Great story telling. Michaels had more time. He will have more matches to hearken back to, but I still feel that pound for pound, so Angle is the slightly better man.

Kurt Angle is my guy.