Although Kurt Angle is using this as his finisher, it has now become one of the most countered finishers I've ever seen. It's gotten to the point that no one expects the match to be over once Kurt locks on the Ankle Lock, since there seems to be a zillion ways to counter this.
- crawl to the ropes, grab ropes - this was the most obvious counter, and the way it was countered the most
- lift your upper body up with a push-up, then roll to the side, Kurt ends up flying over your body - kind of a silly counter, as it probably makes your leg hurt more. Recently, I've seen Kurt counter this counter by simply holding on.
- roll over, shove Kurt away with other leg - looks too easy, hurting the suspension of disbelief regarding the power of the ankle lock
- grabbing Kurt's leg, locking in an ankle lock of your own - kind of odd, and again messing with my suspension of disbelief
- counter to Crippler Crossface, which gets countered into another ankle lock, and so on - nice sequence of moves that enhances the psychology of the recent angle and matches against Chris Benoit.
Because it's been countered so often, I'm hoping that Kurt unleashes a new finisher to go along with the Angle Slam. Perhaps resurrect the Moonsault, though he's probably reticent to use that after shattering Bob Holly's arm accidentally...