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WWE tries to get the Angle on Kurt’s Treasures

Greg Oliver

As I settled in for WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures turning its attention to Kurt Angle, I started to wonder just what they’d be looking for. After all, Angle was an Olympic gold medalist, and among the most seriously qualified athletes in wrestling history.

Then I remembered what a goof he was much of the time, and sure enough, that was most of the focus. As Angle said, “they were booing me but they were winking back at me” when he took himself so seriously as a heel. The vignettes and skits have lived on in a way the matches haven’t. “Those moments that you have separate you from the rest,” Angle said.

It’s true, it’s damn true.

The first goal was the tiny kids’ cowboy hat that Angle wore in a skit with Vince McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Debra McMichael. Somehow, this little hat was given an evaluation of $7,000-$9,000. Um, really? Then Austin revealed that he bought it himself in the San Antonio airport, thinking it would be funny.

Mick Foley travels to Pittsburgh to Angle’s office, presenting him with a cartoonishly-large sheriff’s badge. They trade laughs and memories — “You were a phenomenon” and “You just took it to new heights” — lauds Foley.

Then in what can only be called anti-climatic, Kurt pulls out the hat from a drawer, overselling it: “This literally made my career.” Then he brings out the shirt he was wearing with the milk truck, his “Sexy Kurt” T-shirt, and the real, genuine gold medal from the 1996 Atlanta Games.

“I didn’t keep much of my stuff,” said Angle when he turned down the offer for WWE to buy the hat. He does, however, loan the goodies to WWE.

So much for that, Mick.

Ah but Foley has a lead on the milk truck, so off they go to California.

On the way to the Crystal Creamery, they talk about the angle, and Angle credits writer Brian Gewirtz for the idea of the milk truck as a contrast to Steve Austin and his beer truck. (Do they credit writers much at all? I didn’t think so. But hey, Gewirtz is still a powerful dude, right-hand to Dwayne Johnson, so gets a shoutout.) Angel said that during the spraying, “they went nuts, the roof went off that place.” He recalled how dangerous it was: “I almost slipped about 100 times.”

But the big reveal?

It wasn’t actually milk. Nope, it was water that was filtered through some white food coloring to make it look like milk. But those containers that Kurt started tossing were indeed real milk, and real dangerous. He shared that he hit a fan, and the WWE gave them some tickets as an apology. And imagine that he had a red-eye flight immediately after, so didn’t have time to change out of the smelly-outfit and wet shoes, so the reek on the plane was real, real bad.

The owner of the Crystal Creamery shared details on the vintage milk truck, from the 1940s. The company uses it for parades and special events now, having repainted it. Angle points to the dent in the front bumper where he hit the ring, which was news to the owner, and Kurt is truly over the moon with the chance to drive it again, marveling at the stick-shift and complaining about the stiff brakes.

“It made me into a mega-star,” Angle said of the milk truck, again, overselling.

The owner turns down the generous offer of $50,000 plus some amateur wrestling training lessons, as the truck is part of the family.

The final treasure they go hunting for is the singlet that Angle wore when he lost the World title to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 19 in Seattle. Its evaluation is apparently $8,000-$10,000.

Angle meets with Lita and they are heading to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, which gets me excited. I’ve made numerous trips there, including just after a major flood damaged much of it, and I shared the Jim Melby Award for contributions to pro wrestling journalism, with Steve Johnson, presented by the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, which is part of the bigger museum. (But you wouldn’t know that from this show—I’m happy that the Dan Gable Museum was featured but it got little actual showcasing, a damn shame.)

Jim Miller, the museum’s director, shows them around, which includes Angle on his knees after his gold medal win as a part of a huge mural on the way into the museum.

Angle talks about the match with Lesnar, including the botched Shooting Star Press by Brock, and the creation of Team Angle. When was the last time Charlie Haas was mentioned on WWE TV? But why didn’t they get a quote from Shelton Benjamin? “Team Angle was the highest point in my career,” said Angle, obviously overlooking his time in TNA.

Proud to have been inducted into the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame, Angle said he didn’t want to “leave these guys high and dry” financially. So, in the end, Lita offers a trade of another singlet, and Miller goes for it.

Then to conclude the episode, Booker T, Mick Foley and Lita check out what they got back in the WWE vault, and the Angle display is shown at the Royal Rumble fan fest.

I hadn’t sat through one of these episodes this season, and it was pretty good, but there was some repetition as far as content, talking about Angle’s career, from the Biography episode.

As for next week, you’d better believe I am tuning in, as they are going to visit Madusa / Alundra Blayze, trying to get the WWF Women’s title back from her. I know what happens but am sworn to secrecy. We saw what Angle did with a milk truck, now imagine what Madusa would do to me with a monster truck if I revealed what happens!

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