As a group of four students at Western Kentucky University, we have discovered during our time together in Introduction to Pop Culture Studies that we all have different views on professional wrestling. Our squad consists of four young men whose interest ranges from low and having never seen a professional wrestling bout before, to dedicated and lifelong fans who have seen hundreds of matches in their lifetimes. We feel that our wide range of opinions regarding professional wrestling and the WWE helps us bring fans of professional wrestling a unique and varied perspective on one of the greatest matches of all time. Any individual who visits this site can also watch the legendary wrestling match our group watched and reviewed, which is Kurt Angle versus Shawn Michaels at WWE's WrestleMania 21 pay-per-view in 2005.
Besides the fact fans can read all of our separate opinions on this legendary contest, they can also view the scale we developed to rate the match with. Our scale was developed from the 5-star rating system used by professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer in his famous Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer adopted the scale from legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette, and we have modified the scale slightly for our own usage. The scale takes into consideration many factors, ranging from the different moves used in the match, to how realistic this match looked. Therefore, we feel like the prior knowledge of wrestling our group possesses, combined with this scale, allows us to watch and evaluate this classic wrestling match in a meaningful and memorable way.
Kurt Angle, when asked about the match:
"It was a lot of fun for both Shawn and I. I will say Shawn and I deserved to be in the main event that year, but it wasn't in the cards for us. But to be a featured match was special, too, because even though on paper that was a middle-of-the-card match, it wasn't really a mid-card match. That was the match that lit up WrestleMania 21. Nobody came close to the match that we had. Shawn and I knew we were going to do it, even though we never [met in the ring] prior to that. We never had a match. We never locked up. We didn't even go over anything physically before the match. We might have talked a few things out, but you have that whole week before WrestleMania to get prepared for the match, and while a lot of wrestlers are going over mat stuff, technique and moves, Shawn and I just sat down and got to know each other. I am still amazed that two athletes were able to have that type of chemistry without ever having wrestled prior to that night. I commend Shawn for that. I think that he is one of the best of all time. He proved that to me, and I think he proved that to everyone when we had that match. Let's not forget he was already in the business, gosh, 20-something years at that point. Shawn's always been that good. When I finally had the opportunity to wrestle him in 2005, I was shown firsthand how good he was."