Kurt Angle praises The Rock’s ‘Smashing Machine’ performance
After watching “The Smashing Machine,” Kurt Angle believes fellow WWE legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has leveled up into being one of the best actors working in Hollywood.
The movie opened last weekend and tells the story of Mark Kerr, centered around his MMA stardom, battle with painkiller addiction, and relationship with his wife Dawn. Kerr and Angle were amateur wrestling opponents back in the day, and Angle greatly enjoyed how The Rock portrayed him.
“Just watched The Smashing Machine. What a fantastic film that I believe will be considered a classic,” Angle tweeted today. “Mark Kerr was ‘The Guy’ I had to beat to qualify for the Olympic Games, which pushed me to transform into a version of myself I never thought I could be. Your story, beyond wrestling, is truly inspirational, my friend.
“For Dwayne Johnson to take on such a role and elevate it to another level in his career makes me consider him one of the greatest performers today. Watching Dwayne transform into Mark Kerr through this film was like deja vu…..no words, just applause. This movie deserves an Oscar, and I believe it will receive the recognition it merits. Well done, my brothers.”
The box office returns for “The Smashing Machine’s” opening weekend were underwhelming, drawing the lowest numbers of The Rock’s acting career. But Johnson has received Oscar buzz for his performance and remains committed to his newfound pursuit of expanding his range as an actor.
“In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results — but what I realized you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere,” Johnson wrote this week. “And I will always run to that opportunity.”
The 56-year-old Angle — who is under a WWE legends contract — is involved with Real American Freestyle, working on the broadcast team for the newly formed freestyle wrestling league. Eric Bischoff is one of the founders of the organization.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.