The WWE on the surface is a wrestling show, but it features several sub-plots within its own arcs to get the fans invested in the characters. You have your revenge plotlines, dreams, ambitions, jealousy and a sprinkle of romance. A particular storyline with a focus on the last two had the fans convinced that what they were seeing on TV was real. So much so that the wife of a particular WWE Hall of Famer would receive gifts from fans because they felt bad that he was cheating on her with Stephanie McMahon.!
The Hall of Famer in question is Kurt Angle. In the early 2000s, Angle was part of a storyline that saw him getting involved in a love triangle with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. He revealed in his autobiography It’s True! It’s True!, that fans genuinely felt bad for his then wife, Karen.
Fans were once convinced Kurt Angle cheated on his wife with Stephanie McMahon
In the storyline, Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon shared a passionate kiss backstage, leading to a feud with Triple H. The investment in their characters from fans led to many believing that what they were watching was real. Angle recalled how fans treated his then wife at the time, writing in his book:
“On TV it [the kiss] was pretty convincing. Too convincing, in some ways. At home in Pittsburgh people were feeling bad for Karen. They started bringing gifts to her salon for her.
Karen had to explain to them that it wasn’t real, it was like being an actor in a movie. And they were like, ‘oh, yeah, right, but anyway, we feel bad.’”
The storyline eventually ended with Angle explaining that the writers felt it wouldn’t be realistic on Triple H’s part to take Stephanie back if she cheated on him. Although there is another explanation as to why the angle ended abruptly.
Triple H did not think it was believable for Stephanie McMahon to choose Kurt Angle over him
The idea behind Stephanie McMahon and Kurt Angle’s entanglement was to turn Triple H into a sympathetic babyface. However, the Game did not find the angle realistic. According to Dave Meltzer, the current WWE Head of Creative was of the opinion that the storyline had to end because it was simply not possible for any woman to choose Angle over him.
Meltzer wrote:
“HHH told the writers that it wouldn’t be believable that a woman would leave him for Kurt, and thus, for credibility’s sake, it had to end.”
Regardless of what the actual reason was, Kurt Angle looks back at the storyline fondly and even calls it the storyline that made his career.
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