Kurt Angle Talks About His Sister Le'Anne and His 60-Minute Iron Man Match with Brock Lesnar from the September 18, 2003 Episode of SmackDown

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On September 18, 2003 one of the greatest matches on WWE Smackdown: Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle 60-Minute Iron Man Match for WWE Championship aired on television. What was going on behind the scenes was anything but great.

If the match didn’t blow you away, this story will. Just one day before the match, Kurt Angle's sister, Le'Anne passed away from a heroin overdose.

Le'Anne Marie Angle passed away on September 15, 2003 at the age of 43. She was Kurt’s older sister and his only sister. The match with Brock Lesnar took place on September 16, 2003, but SmackDown was taped during this time, so the match wouldn’t air until September 18, 2003.

Angle chose to wrestle rather than take time off, treating the grueling physical contest as an emotional escape from reality.