With the WWF's original 1996 offer now rescinded, Angle had a tryout with the company,[41] and was signed to a five-year deal by August 1998:[42] the contract offer came three days after his tryout.[41] He trained under Dory Funk Jr., with whom the WWF had developed the Funkin' Dojo training camp in Stamford, Connecticut, and began wrestling in front of a live audience in under a week.[39] Angle's first match took place within WWF developmental territory, with the World Wrestling Alliance (WWA), on August 20, in a losing effort against his other trainer, Tom Prichard.[2] He wrestled multiple matches for the WWA in August and September, and solicited bookings outside of the WWF, participating in a battle royal that was won by Steve Williams at the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) 50th Anniversary Show on October 24, and performing for Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling (PCW) and the East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) in February 1999.[2]
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On the January 14, 2006, episode of SmackDown!, Angle returned to the SmackDown! brand as a surprise entrant in a twenty-man battle royal for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Angle won by eliminating Mark Henry, becoming a face (hero) in the process.[83][84] He retained the title against Henry at the Royal Rumble. Shortly after the match, The Undertaker made his return and challenged Angle for the title. At No Way Out, Angle retained the title against Undertaker after a controversial finish where Angle pinned Undertaker while locked in a triangle choke.[85] Their match was highly acclaimed, with it being considered by many to be one of the best of the year.[86][87][88] Undertaker challenged Angle to a rematch on the March 3 episode of SmackDown!, where Angle lost by disqualification after Mark Henry interfered and attacked Undertaker. This ensured that Angle would enter WrestleMania 22 as champion.[89] Angle then began a three-way feud with Royal Rumble winner Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton (who cheated to defeat Mysterio at No Way Out to gain entrance to the SmackDown! main event at WrestleMania). At WrestleMania, Angle lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Mysterio in the triple-threat match after Mysterio pinned Orton.[90]
On the October 8, 2018, episode of Raw, Angle made a surprise return, disguised as "The Conquistador", winning a battle royal after last eliminating Baron Corbin to qualify for the WWE World Cup at Crown Jewel.[233] At the event, Angle was defeated by Dolph Ziggler in the first round of the WWE World Cup Tournament.[234] On November 5, Angle competed in his first match on Raw since 2006, for a spot in the Survivor Series men's tag team match, losing to Drew McIntyre, with McIntyre using Angle's own ankle lock finishing maneuver to make him submit.[235] Angle returned at TLC on December 16 to help Braun Strowman, along with Apollo Crews, Finn Bálor, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, defeat Baron Corbin to strip him of authoritative power.[236] The next night on Raw, Angle, along with Crews, Roode, and Gable, easily defeated Corbin in a no-disqualification handicap match to prevent him from being the permanent general manager of Raw.[237] At the 2019 Royal Rumble on January 27, 2019, Angle entered the match at number four but was eliminated by Shinsuke Nakamura.[238]
In 1999, Christian and Edge parted ways with Gangrel, who associated himself with The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt Hardy) to form The New Brood.[citation needed] As a result, they began feuding with The Hardy Boyz and competed in a ladder match for the managerial services of Terri Runnels and $100,000 at No Mercy on October 17, which The Hardy Boyz won.[19] At Survivor Series on November 14, Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz faced Too Cool and The Hollys in a four-on-four Survivor Series elimination match, but they lost. At Armageddon on December 12, Edge and Christian competed in an eight-team battle royal which was won by The Acolytes. At the Royal Rumble on January 23, 2000, Christian competed in the Royal Rumble match, but he was eliminated by Rikishi. At No Way Out on February 27, Edge and Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz in a tag team match to determine the number one contenders to the WWF Tag Team Championship. At WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, Edge and Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) to win their first WWF Tag Team Championship in a triangle ladder match, which ultimately led to the creation of the Tables, Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match.[20][21] At Backlash on April 30, Edge and Christian defeated Road Dogg and X-Pac to retain titles. At Judgment Day on May 21, Christian, Edge and Kurt Angle lost a six-man tag team match to Rikishi and Too Cool, to whom they lost the titles soon after only to win them back in a four corners elimination match at King of the Ring on June 25. At Fully Loaded on July 23, Edge and Christian lost to The Acolytes Protection Agency (Bradshaw and Faarooq) by disqualification, but they retained the titles.[22]
On January 19, 2003, Christian entered the Royal Rumble match at the namesake event and was eliminated by Jericho.[56] After a short absence, Christian returned on the April 7 episode of Raw, self-proclaiming himself as the new "People's Champion" and began calling his fans "The Peeps" after receiving advice and endorsement from The Rock.[57] On the May 5 episode of Raw, Christian faced Goldberg, but the match ended in a no contest when 3-Minute Warning got involved which led to a rematch on May 12, where Christian lost to Goldberg in a steel cage match.[58][59] At Judgment Day, Christian went on to win a nine-man over-the-top-rope battle royal for his second Intercontinental Championship.[35] The following night on Raw, Christian appeared on Chris Jericho's talk show The Highlight Reel sporting a new haircut and ring attire.[60] Christian lost the Intercontinental Championship to Booker T on the July 7 episode of Raw,[61] but he regained it after Booker was legitimately injured at a house show on August 10.[62]
Reso returned to WWE on the February 10 episode of ECW under his old ring name Christian as a face, confronting then ECW Champion Jack Swagger.[151] Later that night, Christian defeated Swagger in his first match back.[151] On the February 24 episode of ECW, Christian faced Swagger again for the ECW Championship in a losing effort.[152] Christian won a tri-branded 15-man battle royal on the March 10 episode of ECW,[153] gaining entry into the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 25 on April 5, which he failed to win.[154]
On the April 8 episode of SmackDown, Christian lost to Del Rio in a number one contender's match for the World Heavyweight Championship after a distraction from Brodus Clay.[187] After Edge's sudden retirement from wrestling on the April 15 episode of SmackDown, Christian won a 20-man battle royal to face Del Rio for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules,[188] where Christian defeated Del Rio in a ladder match to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[189] On the May 6 episode of SmackDown, Christian lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton ending his reign at 2 days (5 recognized by WWE due to tape delay).[190] At Over the Limit on May 22, Christian failed to regain the World Heavyweight Championship from Orton.[191] On the June 3 episode of SmackDown, Christian was the special referee for a World Heavyweight Championship defence by Orton against Sheamus, which Orton won only to be hit by Christian after the match with the title belt, turning heel in the process.[192] At Capitol Punishment on June 19, Christian faced Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship once again, but he failed to capture the title as the referee missed his foot under the bottom rope.[193] At Money in the Bank on July 17, Christian won the World Heavyweight Championship for the second and final time after Orton was disqualified for kicking him in the groin (the stipulation was if Orton was disqualified or the referee made a bad call, he would lose the title).[194] At SummerSlam on August 14, Christian lost the World Heavyweight Championship back to Orton in a No Holds Barred match.[195] On the August 26 episode of SmackDown, special guest General Manager Bret Hart announced that Christian would face Orton in a steel cage match on the August 30 episode of SmackDown for the title, which Christian lost to end their feud.[196]
Christian made his return at Over the Limit on May 20, where he won a battle royal to receive a title match for either the Intercontinental or United States Championship and (despite originally selecting to face Santino Marella for the United States Championship) went on to defeat Cody Rhodes later in the show to win his fourth Intercontinental Championship, turning face once again.[207] Christian later explained his turn as inducting Edge into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012 made him realize that his career could end in an instant and wanted to end his career with the fans' support, wanting to win multiple championships and leave having a Hall of Fame career, much like his best friend.[208] At No Way Out on June 17, Christian retained the Intercontinental Championship against Rhodes in a rematch.[209] On the June 29 episode of SmackDown, Christian and Marella defeated Rhodes and David Otunga to qualify for spots in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match.[210] At Money in the Bank on July 15, Christian was unsuccessful as the match was won by Dolph Ziggler.[211] At Raw 1000 on July 23, Christian lost the Intercontinental Championship to The Miz ending his reign at 63 days and failed to regain it in a rematch the same week on SmackDown.[212]
The match is based on the traditional battle royal match, in which 30 participants, aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. The winner of the event is the last participant remaining after all others have been eliminated. The inaugural match in 1988 featured 20 entrants. At the 2011 Royal Rumble, for the first time 40 entrants were scheduled to compete; the most in the history of the event.
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