Daniel Puder was part of season four of WWE’s Tough Enough in 2004 and is probably most famous for his infamous incident with Kurt Angle.
During an unscripted segment on WWE SmackDown in 2004, Puder and the other Tough Enough contestants were ringside as Kurt Angle beat contestant Chris Narwocki in a shoot match. Puder then answered Angle’s challenge for the rest of the contestants and famously locked a Kimura Lock on the Olympian.
Angle may have been forced to tap out had it not been for the quick thinking of referee Jimmy Korderas, who gave Puder the three-count, claiming his shoulders were down.
In a recent interview with The Hannibal TV, Kurt Angle spoke about Daniel Puder’s short WWE run and also explained why Puder left the company in 2005. Angle said that it had to do with Puder being offered a new contract for a lot less money:
Daniel Puder’s time in pro wrestling after WWE
After his release from WWE in 2005 Puder only had two short runs in pro wrestling, the first being in Ring of Honor. Making his debut at the ROH Rising Above PPV in December 2007, Puder attacked Claudio Castagnoli - aka Cesaro. He then helped Larry Sweeney beat Castagnoli a few days later at Final Battle 2007. Puder was released after a couple more appearances due to budget cuts.
Daniel Puder also had a short run in NJPW in 2010. He took part in the G1 Tag League alongside another current WWE star, Shinsuke Nakamura. However, the duo finished fourth in their block and didn’t advance to the semis.
If any quotes are used from this article, please add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription and credit The Hannibal TV.
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