Kurt Angle has recalled John Cena's SmackDown debut by giving a heartfelt message to the WWE star on his retirement. We're not crying you are

On the June 27, 2002 edition of WWE SmackDown, Cena made his WWE debut by answering Angle’s open challenge. When Angle asked him what quality he possessed that made him think he could wrestle Angle, Cena responded, “Ruthless Aggression,” before slapping Angle in the face to start the match.

On Monday, December 1, the promotion took to social media to reveal that Kurt Angle will be taking part in a meet & greet before the City Of Angels event on January 30, 2026. The show will take place at the Globe Theatre, a wrestling venue that was made famous by PWG.

As we look back at John Cena's WWE TV debut, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 6/27/02 episode of "WWE SmackDown!"

Chris Jericho may soon be back in WWE and he'll reunite with a legend whom Kurt Angle once claimed he surpassed as the greatest in history. Agree?

Kurt Angle discusses yet another time he broke his freakin’ neck. Kurt Angle has never been shy when it comes to talking about the injuries he’s accumulated over the years. Angle loves to brag about how he won the Olympics with a broken freakin’ neck.

Angle beat Jannetty in a wonderful match that reignited WWE's interest in using Marty. Sadly, some old persistent problems and his behaviour away from the ring would end that interest fairly swiftly, but he honestly looked to be on top of his game vs. Kurt, and their match comes across as a real clash of generations.