The Kurt Angle meme, or Kurt’s 1000-yard stare, comes from the debut TikTok of the American professional wrestler Kurt Angle. The man is quite a performer and served a wide-eyed look that immediately drew in many followers. A clip or screenshot of his expression is now used as a reaction meme by people who love a good reaction pic.
The video has evolved and is often accompanied by a slowed-down remix of “Covet” by Basement, credited to TikTok creator @marcellshotya. There’s also often a freeze-frame moment where the color switches to black and white for added flair.
Angle’s post was originally shared way back in August, and simply shows Angle detailing his wrestling credentials before telling the camera, “I want you guys to follow and enjoy the ride.”
@realkurtangle Oh #ItsTrue! YOUR Olympic Gold Medalist and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle is NOW on #TikTok! ???????????? #ProWrestling #Wrestling #OlympicWrestling #Olympics #WWERaw #Smackdown #NXT #WWE #KurtAngle #AEW ♬ WWE: Medal (Kurt Angle) - WWE & Jim Johnston
He then stares dead into the camera and asks, “We done? Good, I can take a nap now.”
Comments immediately identified the “Kurt Angle 1000 yard stare,” and began joking that his look of shock was relatable.
It didn’t take long for Angle to learn he’d been meme'd and he wasn’t too pleased with it, to begin with.
Speaking on Wrestling Life with Ben Veal, Angle said, "I was pissed at first. I was like, 'Why are they making fun of me?' Paul Bromwell, my co-host on the Kurt Angle show, was like, 'Kurt they're not making fun of it. This is actually a good thing.' I was like, 'it seems like everyone is making fun of me.' 'No, the look on your face was funny and they're using it for memes.' “
He decided, "Well, I might as well sell photos."
Angle continued, "I started doing it, and thank you everyone who bought a meme photo because I made a substantial amount of money doing it. It was worth being the meme of the year. I guess I won an award for meme of the year already. It gave me good exposure."
"There are people who don't even know who I am that know who I am now because of it. I trended worldwide. I'm getting people ordering the photo from all different parts of the world. It's crazy. This meme photo took on a life of its own and I tried to capitalize on it. I did, thank God. I think anybody would have done the same. I had fun with it."
If you can’t beat them, join them! And make some cold hard cash!
There’s no one category for how to use the Kurt Angle meme. Pretty much anything that shocks you, embarrasses you, flummoxes you, or steals your words right out of your mouth. His eyes will speak for you.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post What is the Kurt Angle meme? appeared first on The Daily Dot.
