During an interview on “TheBubbaArmy” YouTube show, Kurt Angle discussed Daniel Puder and gave his opinions on the matter.
During the Royal Rumble match in 2005, one of the memorable moments was when Tough Enough Champion Daniel Puder took beatings from veteran WWE star. Angle placed responsibility for the beating on Puder’s bad attitude.
“He (Puder) started getting really arrogant and telling people he was in the main event of the Royal Rumble, because he was going to be in the Rumble, he thought he was in the main event,” said Angle. “Guys heard about that and went, ‘ok this guys’ an a**hole.’ So at the Royal Rumble, they made sure the first four entrants were Puder, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Bob Holly … They beat the crap out of this kid and threw him over the top rope. And it was done. And you know what, his career never got better after that.”
Prior to the Royal Rumble, Angle and Puder were involved in their own altercation. On the SmackDown broadcast from November 4, 2004, Angle issued a challenge to any Tough Enough contestant to enter the ring with him. At the time, Angle was recovering from a fracture to his neck that had occurred three months earlier. After some arguing, Puder, a skilled mixed martial artist, accepted and secured Angle’s right arm with a keylock. When the referee saw that Puder had his shoulders on the ground, he immediately called for a three count.
“What Daniel did to me, it wasn’t his fault,” said Angle. “He just didn’t know it was supposed to be a wrestling match. He just thought he was going to try to make me tap out.”
You can watch the complete interview below:
