Kurt Angle And Rey Mysterio Relive Their WrestleMania 22 World Title Match

Recently on WWE's The Bump, Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle looked back on their groundbreaking matchup that involved Randy Orton as well in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22. Although Angle would have preferred his match to remain a singles competition, he knew Orton and Mysterio would become his best competitors to challenge.

"Well, it was a rough few months, you know, lead up to WrestleMania. I had a lot of great matches and a lot of competition," Kurt Angle began on his road to WrestleMania 22. "My biggest concern was I would've preferred to wrestle Rey one-on-one or even Randy one-on-on because when you're in a triple threat match, you don't have to necessarily have to lose to lose a title. And unfortunately, that's what happened. That's the chance you take when you have a triple threat."

Towards the buildup, Mysterio and Angle recall the insults Orton threw on the 619 Luchador before becoming the new World Champion. Mysterio admits the criticism he received from Orton still haunts him to this day.

"It was very hard to digest," Rey Mysterio noted on Randy Orton's harsh critique towards his title opportunity. "He said a lot of things that still stick with me to this day. You know, a lot of things that shouldn't have been said. But at the end of the day, that was just building my stamina up. I was just getting ready to go in there and them on and win what I thought was rightfully coming my way, which was the World Title."

Once WrestleMania 22 came, Mysterio, Orton and Angle tore the house down. Despite this match only being 10 minutes long, Mysterio believes each one of them brought their A-game in front of the red hot Chicago fans that night.

"I go back and watch this match over and over by myself and then with my son. We learned so much still to this day from that match," Rey Mysterio mentioned. "Timing was impeccable that night. I felt like we all brought our A-game. There were a lot of what fans call 'holy s–t' moments. But at the end of the day, there was only one task in mind, and that was to beat either Kurt or Randy to become World Champion."

When Mysterio dethroned Angle from his World Heavyweight Title reign, Angle was happy Mysterio was the guy to do it. He thought this title victory was the best way to pay homage towards Eddie Guerrero and his family.

"It was incredible! I was so happy for Rey," Kurt Angle admitted. "You know, the whole thing was in memory of Eddie [Guerrero]. This was a great storybook ending to a program that meant so much to Eddie Guerrero, to his family and to the WWE Universe. This was the perfect finish for a WrestleMania main event, and I was really happy for Rey!"

Before concluding their interview, Angle and Mysterio once again showed their admiration and respect towards each other. Both of them hope fans will forever remember the legacy that was built towards this historic win for Mysterio.

"Well, I think the fans will remember that match forever because it was such an incredible match," Kurt Angle stated. "The chemistry, the move set, everything was dead on. It couldn't have been better. It could have been a little bit longer, but it couldn't have been better. I think Eddie would have been so proud of that match."

"I've enjoyed every moment I've stepped into the ring with Kurt since 2002 at Summerslam," Rey Mysterio concluded. "We clicked right off the bat. There was incredible chemistry within Kurt and myself that I'm sure every time Kurt and I stepped into the ring, we enjoyed it very much."

You can watch Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle's full interview here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's The Bump with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.