Kurt Angle Says Chris Benoit Was His Greatest Opponent, Talks Challenges With Discussing Him

Kurt Angle embodied the "Three I's" during his WWE Hall of Fame career: Intensity, Integrity, and Intelligence.

Perhaps no opponent brought the intensity out of the Olympic gold medalist quite like former World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit, though.

Benoit, of course, was regarded as one of the greatest technicians of his era but fell into infamy following his death in 2007. It was determined the 40-year-old killed his wife Nancy and son Daniel before taking his own life, sending shockwaves throughout the wrestling industry.

Some of Angle's most renowned matches came against Benoit, and discussing those bouts has been a polarizing experience. He explained to Chris Van Vliet why he initially struggled tot alk about Benoit.

"I will tell you this. I did it for a while," Angle said on Insight. "I did what I was told to do, [which] was to pretend Benoit didn't exist. But what that did for me is it took away all my best matches. It was rubbing on my legacy. So by saying that Chris Benoit no longer exists is saying I never had those matches, and it's like, 'whoa, I have my best matches with that kid, and he was an incredible wrestler.' I don't condone what he did. What he did was 100 percent wrong and it's unforgivable, but how he was in the ring, he was the best in-ring worker I've ever been in a ring with. He reminded me of me. I felt like I was wrestling my twin."

Angle had memorable rivalries with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Samoa Joe, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Triple H, and many others throughout his legendary career. But the former WWE Champion told Van Vliet he thinks Benoit was his greatest foe.

MORE: Kurt Angle Breaks Silence On Baron Corbin's WWE Departure

"Yes, I do," he said. "Him and Brock Lesnar. I also loved wrestling Shawn Michaels, but we only wrestled three or four times. It wasn't a big program, but Benoit and I, we went for years. I mean, it would be him and me, and then they would take a break from it, and then we'd go back to him and me and take a break. Then it'd be him and me tagging together when we'd be tagging and fighting each other while we were tagging. We just had a really strong program and it went on for years. But Brock, our program went on for about two and a half three years, and that was a good run."

Angle also took to social media this weekend to discuss why he disliked a previous nickname given to him by fans.

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