Kurt Angle is known for many things, including his signature moves. One of those moves had to change its name in a hurry to avoid a lawsuit.
During The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic Hero revealed that the actual Olympic Committee did not appreciate WWE using the name “Olympic Slam” for his finisher. They changed it to Angle Slam to avoid a lawsuit.
“That was the idea, I could give it to anybody, any size, it wouldn’t matter,” Angle said. “It had nothing to do with the Olympic Slam getting changed to the Angle Slam. That was the Olympic committee that was threatening to sue us if we used the word Olympic cause they owned that word so I had to change the Olympic Slam to the Angle Slam.
“It’s kind of funny because when Michael Cole found out that the Olympic committee was upset, the next week on RAW he said Olympic Slam at least 15 times because he wanted to piss them off. He just kept saying it, it was hilarious.”
It’s interesting how some fans still call that move the Olympic Slam to this day, but WWE had to change it pretty early on. This isn’t the only time WWE had to switch up a name to avoid a messy legal situation, but it is certainly an interesting one.
Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the quote