The infamous Street Fight between Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle at WWE King of the Ring 2001 is remembered as one of the most brutal matches of the Attitude Era. Referee Mike Chioda, who officiated the contest, recently opened up about the chaos behind the scenes, including Vince McMahon screaming in his headset and Linda McMahon personally thanking him for his actions.
During the match, Angle repeatedly tried to suplex Shane through glass panels on the stage, which were meant to be gimmicked sugar glass. When the panels failed to break as planned, the spot turned dangerously real.
On the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Chioda recalled, “I was getting screamed at by Vince, like Vince was screaming in the background, cussing, Jerry Briscoe, everybody was cussing. But I wasn’t going to stop the match, that’s for sure. And they’re like, don’t throw him through the glass. And I’m screaming at Kurt, ‘Don’t do it again! Don’t do it again!’ Later on Kurt goes, ‘Was it on this side? I’m kind of deaf.’”
Chioda also revealed that during the match’s climactic Angle Slam spot off the top rope, he had to hold a piece of wood in place to prevent the structure from collapsing. “I held that board up top when he gives Shane the Angle Slam off the top rope… just so they could get that spot off. I remember Linda [McMahon] pointing that out to me, and she goes, ‘Great job, Mike. Thank you for holding that board. You didn’t hold that board, they were collapsing.’”
The match remains one of WWE’s most legendary hardcore battles, remembered both for its brutality and for the behind-the-scenes chaos that nearly derailed it.
Fans can check out the complete interview below:
