The Surprising Connection to ‘Punisher’ Star Jon Bernthal and Olympian Kurt Angle

If you watched professional wrestling during the WWE's "Attitude Era" and beyond, then there's a good chance you know Kurt Angle. And if you're a fan of Netflix's The Punisher, or TV shows and movies that have characters where a mentoring older brother/cool guy tragically dies, then you've definitely seen Jon Bernthal act.

Recently, there's been some murmurs on the internet that the two are actually related, but is that the case?

Yes, but not by blood. Jon recently got married to his longtime partner Erin Angle, who is the niece of the U.S. Olympics wrestling gold medalist and longtime WWE superstar.

IMDb wrote about the connection between the professional wrestler and actor.

"A month before AMC’s The Walking Dead premiered, which would skyrocket the Marvel Star’s career to prominence, Jon Bernthal exchanged vows with his decade-long partner Erin Angle. Surprisingly, Angle, whom he came across during the 2000s, is the niece of the former WWE Superstar Kurt Angle, which makes Bernthal his nephew-in-law."

And while there are many fans just discovering the connection between the two entertainers, there are some who've known about the link between the two for a while.

In fact, Jon had Kurt on his Real Ones with Jon Bernthal YouTube series.

A caption for the episode divulged the connection between the two: "Dive into the world of wrestling as Jon sits down with his Uncle-in-Law, the legendary Olympian and former WWE superstar, Kurt Angle."

At the onset of the episode, Kurt discussed the importance of having an imagination to not only make it in the world of professional wrestling, but how this served his career in athletics as well. He says that as a young man he used to conjure up stories in his head as a kid of Russia spying on him because of how talented and gifted of an athlete he was.

Kurt stressed that there wasn't anyone in the WWE who taught him how to get on the microphone and cut promos. To this day, Kurt is highly regarded by professional wrestling fans for having tremendous mic skills in addition to his in-the-ring exploits.

He says that today, there's a much different set up for professional wrestlers in the WWE's NXT training facilities. In addition to the "dojo" where folks are taught various techniques to pull off in the squared circle, which existed during Kurt's tenure, a fully formed program giving tips on how to cut promos is part of the organization's curriculum for up-and-coming talent.

"When I started, Vince said: sink or swim," Kurt said that he was shocked at how quickly he was able to pick up on the skills needed to excel in the WWE, from "taking bumps" to getting on the microphone and cutting promos.

In fact, it was only seven months before he was put on television after signing with the organization.

10 months after that, Kurt was winning the world title against The Rock, who he says helped him throughout the match and was calling what they were going to do next. His next world title match was against Stone Cold Steve Austin, so Kurt says he was put up against the biggest superstars in the organization at the time, which he was very grateful for.

Kurt added that he learned a tremendous amount from the two, and that he was consistently working hard and progressing every time he entered the ring or hopped on the microphone.