WATERLOO, Iowa - Kurt Angle and Don Curtis have been selected as the 2012 inductees into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is located inside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. 

The selection committee includes all living Hall of Fame members, all living Frank Gotch Award winners, and a select group of wrestling historians. The selection committee votes for one living and one posthumous inductee. 

Induction into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame includes substantial impact on professional wrestling, general respect within the profession, and a strong amateur wrestling background.

“I can’t think of someone more qualified than Kurt Angle to enter the Hall of Fame,” said Hall of Famer Gerry Brisco. “He won gold at every level. Don Curtis was a great man and an outstanding wrestler. He spent his entire life bettering wrestling. Both are great additions.”

Angle was a two-time NCAA champion for Clarion University and a 1996 Olympic champion. He joins Dan Hodge and Dick Hutton as distinguished members at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla., and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo. Angle, one of the biggest superstars in professional wrestling history, currently wrestles for TNA.

Curtis was a member of the University of Buffalo wrestling team. He was team captain in 1949 and 1950. Curtis was NWA tag team champion with Mark Lewin during the 1950s and 1960s. He died on March 6, 2008. 

Four special awards are given during induction weekend as well. Special award winners will be announced on November 14, 2011. 

Hall of Fame weekend is July 13-14, 2012, in Waterloo, Iowa.

Contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame at (319) 233-0745 or orders@wrestlingmuseum.org for more information on induction weekend.