#5.) Kurt Angle receives the pop of a lifetime – SmackDown 2001
The Invasion was a very interesting time for WWE. It saw the transition of many WCW stars into the company and the roster was essentially divided into two: Team WWF and The Alliance. While Kurt Angle had already won the World title once, he had been a heel for essentially his whole career up to that point. His first run as a face came in this storyline and in a segment on SmackDown in 2001, Angle came out to the biggest pop of his career and perhaps the first time he was unanimously cheered.
It helped that it was in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but he had the entire crowd at the palm of his hands and even Steve Austin wasn’t able to match that on the night. It was the pinnacle moment of Angle’s early WWE career.
