WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle recently appeared on Sports Illustrated’s “The Pindown” and shared the origin story of his signature submission maneuver, the Ankle Lock. He revealed that Vince McMahon suggested the move and that he received a blessing from another famous user of the hold, Ken Shamrock.
Angle explained that McMahon wanted him to incorporate a move that would play off of his legitimate athletic background. “Vince McMahon came to me and said, ‘Listen, you’re a shooter. We need to have something more legitimate, something that people can submit to,’” he recalled.
The Olympic Gold Medalist immediately thought of the UFC legend and former WWE Superstar who had popularized the move just a few years prior. “I thought, ‘I love Ken Shamrock’s ankle lock.’ So I asked Kenny if I could use it. And he said, ‘Yeah, without a doubt, go ahead.’ So I started using that,” Angle said. “Vince McMahon wanted me to be more legitimate because of my Olympic gold medal, and he wanted me to have a submission move. So that was the perfect one for me.”
Over the years, Angle made the move his own, famously adding a grapevine and developing creative counters into the hold. “I was able to even make it even better, because I was able to add different trade-off submissions… I was able to trade off and make that move even more pretty cool,” he stated.
The Ankle Lock became one of the most feared finishing moves of its era, leading Kurt Angle to numerous championships throughout his decorated career. Ken Shamrock, who first brought the move to prominence in WWE during the Attitude Era, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit SI with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
