On the heels of Kurt Angle's 56th birthday, Matt Hardy recently did a deep dive into the WWE Hall of Famer's quick rise through the company's ranks. Angle's early training reports always suggested competence between the ropes, but Hardy admitted to having doubts the Olympic gold medalist would ever evolve into a compelling character. 

On his "Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" podcast, he shared his first impression of Angle, who he called a "kick-ass athlete," but someone who initially came off as flat. 

"I remember meeting him," Hardy recalled. "It almost seemed like he had a very dry personality. Just kinda quiet, just kinda did his thing. But he was a killer whenever he would get you on the mat. And even working out with him in the beginning, because he was kinda learning about pro wrestling and whatnot, just seemed like — I don't know, this guy, does he have a larger-than-life personality? Is he really gonna excel?" 

Hardy recognized that Angle's natural athleticism would likely land him a spot on the card, but just how high up on the card was up for debate. He credited Angle's commitment to the "hypocritical American hero" persona given to him by the WWE creative team for showcasing his aptitude for character work to go along with the wreslting. 

"I did not expect him to morph into this complete, entertaining character," Hardy admitted. "He ended up being the ultimate entertainer ... one of the greatest packages ever in pro wrestling."

Angle spent just over a year in development before making his WWE main roster debut at Survivor Series 1999, defeating Shawn Stasiak. Less than a year later, at No Mercy 2000, Angle captured his first World Championship, a feat that's unheard of by today's wrestling standards.