Charlie Haas talks Team Angle.
Charlie Haas was once a major part of WWE as part of Team Angle alongside Kurt Angle and Shelton Benjamin. Now, he is reflecting on those days during a recent interview with the Two Men Power Trip of Wrestling podcast.
Reflecting on the pairing as a whole, Charlie said that its presentation was an enhanced Varsity Club from the days of Jim Crockett promotions.
“They looked at our background, they knew we were amateur wrestlers," Haas said. “I think what helped Shelton and I and my brother a lot is that we were fans of pro wrestling growing up, big fans, and that's why we got into amateur wrestling, we thought it was pro wrestling, but it was actually amateur wrestling. We didn't read that part in the junior high book with the tryout for sports. I know, but we stuck with it. And I think the work ethic that amateur wrestling teaches you just to take care of yourself and your balance and that mental toughness. You just fight through everything. I think that has a lot to do with why we were so successful. Amateur wrestling is very hard. The practices are hard. So we would show up like Shelton and I, my brother-in-law, we'd show up to wrestle, and we would wrestle and practice. If it was like amateur wrestling, I had to learn to move. I had to learn the technique. I had to learn how to work the arm, how to work the different ways to go to the arm, the leg, the Ridge, the back, the neck, whatever. I had to go in a different way. I had to learn everything I could. So they came in and said, hey, we want to do Team Angle. Kurt's red hot. He was fucking red hot, man. It was unbelievable and it was like how great do you give him guys underneath him, like a tag team, like a faction, kind of like the Varsity Club. That's what they were shooting for. Like a varsity club. Just enhanced.”
Regarding his pairing with Shelton Benjamin, Charlie reflected on the real-life connection that he would develop with his longtime tag team partner and also credited Arn Anderson as a great mentor during their time as a team.
“Shelton came along. He had the same work ethic and the same desire that I did, that we just wanted to be successful. We wanted to make it. He was someone that I didn't worry about that was going to no show or not show up and I was the same way. I was going to be there for everything. Became my brother on the road and my brother in real life basically. Russ passed away, moved on, kind of like a Guardian Angel, I guess, I don't know, but we talk every day and he was the best man at my wedding and godfather to my daughter and I'm very grateful for him and that I was able to find a partner like that because when it worked and they threw us into the fire, basically it was sink-or-swim and we swam right off the bat. It just worked. So a lot of it is because I had a really good partner with Shelton. We had the same goals and we had a great mentor with Arn being in the ring and teaching us how to become the world's greatest tag team,” he said.
Recently, Shelton Benjamin spoke to our Sean Ross Sapp about how happy he is to see Charlie Haas getting back into the world of wrestling. Learn more here.
