The 1999 Survivor Series marks the WWE debut of Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. In his debut he faced Shawn Stasiak, previously known simply as Meat. Stasiak had debuted that year on an April episode of Sunday Night HeAT.
On The Kurt Angle Show, the titular host started by mentioning that he had a story to share about Stasiak’s career being hobbled early on, chalking it up to a poorly-timed hair transplant.
Shawn Stasiak Denies Kurt Angle Assessment That Getting a Hair Transplant Threw Off His WWE out of the Gate
Angle said that Stasiak had the transplant planned for a week before he debuted. His debut was apparently pushed back two months by WWE and Kurt Angle interpreted that as the company not seeing Shawn Stasiak as a team player. “When I look at it, I just wonder if they might have affected his career a little bit,” the former World Champion said in closing the story.
Obviously this got back to Shawn Stasiak who had something to say about the story and conclusion. He stated that he had permission from WWE to get the hair transplant after consulting with the company. Stasiak would express that WWE was even supportive of the procedure if he felt it would improve his appeal and his confidence.
According to the former 15-time Hardcore Champion, the company only wanted him to “stay in shape, keep your abs”. On how Kurt Angle remembered things Shawn Stasiak said:
“I don’t know where that story came from. I don’t know where Kurt conjured up that story in his mind. I don’t know if he [Kurt Angle] heard something from someone in the office. I don’t know maybe he was a little loopy that day, I don’t what he was thinking, but that’s a bullsh*t story. I never would have called the WWE, and said ‘Hey guys listen, I’m getting my hair done, you’re got to hold off my debut for a couple.’ Are you kidding me? None of that happened.”
Stasiak would be suspended by WWE towards the end of 1999 after he was found to be recording conversations with wrestlers. He later debuted for WCW in April 2000 after some time in the Power Plant. There he would win the WCW World Tag Team titles with Chuck Palumbo as Perfect Event. Stasiak returned to WWE in 2001 as part of The Alliance before being released in 2002.
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