TNA – Kurt Angle: Champion


Here’s a McXal Review I am truly excited about. Kurt Angle stands out as arguably the wrestler of the 2000-2010 decade, coupling fantastic charisma with sensational technical skills and a wonderful aptitude for professional wrestling. Admittedly he’s had problems away from the ring (which either cost him his WWE job or caused him to leave it, depending on who you believe) and injuries have taken their toll on his body, but from his breakout WWF year in 2000 right through to today, the guy is still head and shoulders above the majority of his peers on the American pro-wrestling scene. Which brings us to this DVD. At the time, his jump to TNA was sensational. This wasn’t like a Christian Cage or a Rhino, an under-used WWE midcarder heading to TNA to get some main event time. This was one of Vince’s top guys. Admittedly Angle was having all sorts of problems at the time, allegedly struggling with drug and personal problems away from the ring and continually dogged by problems with his neck. But, when he was fit and able, Angle was still a headline act for the WWE, turning in sensational bouts with the likes of Undertaker and Shawn Michaels during his final stint. And here he was in TNA. Not a miles past his prime washout like Kevin Nash. Not a perennial midcard act like Christian. Not even a WWE never was like Jeff Jarrett (with all due respect, I actually like Jeff). TNA had finally pulled off the impossible and poached one of Vince’s top stars. It was a great deal for them as he is a major name, terrific wrestler and added undeniable legitimacy to a main event scene which badly needed it. And for Kurt, it represented a fresh start too. Clearly jaded with the WWE world for whatever reason, the change of scenery was welcome. The lighter schedule was certainly crucial if he was to prolong a career blighted by chronic neck problems. And here was his chance to be a FRANCHISE player. Although he’d been a main event level talent, and multiple time heavyweight champion in the WWE, he’d rarely been given a chance to be THE guy. He came close in 2001 with the tremendous feud with Steve Austin, but more often than not he was the guy making the new champions by having awesome matches with them. On paper it’s a win/win situation for both parties.


Personally, I haven’t really seen much of Kurt Angle in a long time. After the summer of 2003 (when he had a series of memorable, but not as good as they could have been matches with Brock Lesnar) I really started to stop watching WWE, so haven’t seen an awful lot of him since. This DVD is 7 hours of matches, interviews, documentary footage, photographs and a look at the career of a guy who, at this stage, definitely deserves to be described as a legend. It’s nice to see TNA step up their act and try to flesh out these ‘best of’ DVD’s with some additional footage. Obviously we’re here to watch the matches, but adding bonus material, interviews from the key players etc helps to break things up and the whole thing a lot easier to watch. The line-up of matches here certainly is strong. It’s not listed on the back of the DVD itself, but there’s lots of Samoa Joe and that’s no bad thing.


SIDENOTE - I actually picked this DVD up in person at the Impact Zone when I took in an Impact TV taping during a trip to Florida with my girlfriend. If you’re interested, we saw the Impact AFTER the first live Monday night taping (so the Tuesday), which featured Mick Foley shaving Eric Bischoff’s head, Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles in the main event, and a decent tag in the midcard featuring Angle, Mr Anderson, D’Angelo Dinero and Nigel McGuinness. Not the best wrestling show I’ve ever been to, but the Impact tapings move at a really swift place, Jeremy Borash does a great job of keeping the live crowd interested, and seeing the likes of Angle, Sting, Hogan, RVD, Waltman, Nash, Hall, Hardy, Bischoff and more that I’ve seen so often on TV live and in person was certainly an experience. It’s amazing how many of the casual theme park visitors lured in on their way out of Universal Studios left after Hulk Hogan had been out though.


The DVD opens at No Surrender 2006 with Jim Cornette making the announcement that Angle was coming to TNA. We cut to an interview with Kurt Angle (who seems REALLY goofy) who laughs about fans thinking it was going to be Goldberg.


Next we go to Impact on October 19th, where Angle made his first live appearance in the Impact Zone, to confront Samoa Joe. Angle headbutts Joe in the face, then drops him with the Olympic Slam. A bloody Joe gets up and brawls with Kurt, the crowd are going nuts... That segment serves as the intro to the DVD.


The Angle family talk about Kurt’s childhood. Eric Angle still looks a lot like Kurt for anyone who remembers the finish to the Angle/Undertaker Survivor Series 2000 match. Angle’s introduction to wrestling with his older brothers forcing Kurt and Eric to wrestle in front of their friends for entertainment sounds borderline illegal. The Angles talk about the impact the death of Kurt’s father had on the family.


Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe

Genesis 2006 – This is billed as the ‘Dream Match of the Decade’, and it’s hard to argue with such a moniker. By this point Joe had risen to become TNA’s top ‘homegrown’ star. When we left him at the end of his own DVD he was at the top of the X-Division. Here we see him STILL undefeated, and now very much entrenched in the main event scene. When Angle, one of the best wrestlers in the world, made his way to TNA…THIS was the match everyone wanted to see. The build to this looked awesome, with Joe calling himself undefeated and best in the world. Angle admits he has his reputation to lose if he can’t beat Joe, but also says that if Joe ever wants to become a legit star in this industry, he needs to be able to beat Kurt.


Angle’s entrance is, by far, the coolest entrance I’ve seen in TNA. Earl Hebner has made his way to TNA too. Angle shoots the leg and goes right for the Anklelock, with Joe going straight to the ropes. Joe hits back with knees, jabs and kicks, managing to strike Angle back to the ropes. Kurt pops the hips and scores with a belly to belly suplex and knocks the Samoan out if the ring. And again, Joe shows his power and responds by THROWING Angle into the guardrails. Kurt goes for a shoulder charge and ends up driving himself into the ringpost. ELBOW SUICIDA SENDS ANGLE INTO THE RAILS! Joe then launches Kurt into the ring steps. Having been out-wrestled in the early going, the Samoan has used his power and sheer aggression to dominate the superior wrestler. Blood is now pouring from Angle’s forehead. It soon coats his face, the ring, Joe’s body and is still coming out of his head like it’s coming from a tap. He tries to run at Joe, but the adrenaline rush comes to nothing as Joe sweeps him into a powerslam for 2. Joe goes for a Musclebuster but Kurt SLAPS him away. Front choke into a swinging DDT out of the corner gets Angle a 2. You know it’s coming…ROLLING GERMANS! Olympic Slam countered into a lucha armdrag from Joe! MUCLEBUSTER! Angle kicks out at 2. He looks for the Choke but Kurt rolls out. OLYMPIC SLAM for 2. Fans want the Anklelock…and Kurt obliges. COUNTERED TO THE CHOKE! ANGLE ESCAPES TO THE ANKLELOCK AGAIN! Joe rolls his way out. OLYMPIC SLAM AGAIN! LEG GRAPEVINE ANKLELOCK! JOE TAPS! JOE TAPS! Angle is the one to end the Samoa Joe undefeated streak at 13:31.


Rating - **** - To some I’m probably over-rating that. But remember, I haven’t seen Angle in years, I’ve never seen these two wrestle before, so I’m not coming into this from a position of being jaded or over-exposed to their work. This certainly wasn’t an all-time classic, and they weren’t reinventing the wheel out there. But they are fine wrestlers, worked a terrific, fast-paced little match in front of, what has to be said, was one of the best, and noisiest TNA crowds I’ve seen. When they were countering submissions at the end there that place was going wild. I’m sure they have better matches in them and, for a first time dream match, and a ppv main event, giving them less than 15 minutes was a poor decision, but it was still an enjoyable match.


Joe gets straight on the microphone to offer a handshake – and demand a rematch. Angle declines…


Back to the Angle family…with more tales of the Angle brothers beating each other up and taking a weird pride in it. Now we get tales of the young Kurt starting to blossom into a promising athlete. It’s fascinating to see how actively colleges in the US recruit the top young athletes in high school, and a very alien concept to myself over here in England.


Now we cut to the hype videos for Angle/Joe 2. Kurt reflects on his career as an amateur, and losing to an Iranian, then defeating him in the rematch – to win the Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics. He thinks that, after the 18 month undefeated streak, Joe deserves a second chance like he got. Angle REALLY puts Joe over in these videos…and vows that this will be his last match with him.


Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe

Turning Point 2006 – Much as we just saw in the promo videos for this match, after initially refusing in the aftermath of their Genesis bout, Kurt would finally offer Samoa Joe the rematch he wanted. Angle has already admitted how dangerous a competitor Joe is…and this time the Samoan comes in with nothing to lose and everything to gain.


The pace from the bell is far slower this time. Joe isn’t as aggressive off the bat, perhaps knowing how badly he needs the win here. It’s actually Angle who strikes first, grounding him into a half crab. But a cheap shot as Kurt releases the hold causes Joe to snap…absolutely pummelling Angle in the corner then back dropping him over the ropes to the floor. Kurt hits back with fierce punches then an amazingly rapid pescado over the ropes. He starts planting Joe’s face into the steel steps. The pace is far more methodical here, with both men making it perfectly clear how much they want the victory. Vertical suplex from Kurt, but it barely gets 1. Bearhug applied, only for Joe to counter to an arm submission. Angle rolls through that into an armbar before they both come up for air. Belly to belly suplex by Angle, who thus far has had an answer for everything Joe’s thrown at him. Back to the bearhug, Kurt now making it increasingly difficult for the bigger man to catch his breath. GERMAN SUPLEX out of nowhere from Joe! Choke escaped with a headbutt…ROLLING GERMANS! But Joe rolls away from the Olympic Slam…CHOKE! NO…COUNTERED TO ANKLELOCK! Joe kicks free and knees Angle in the corner. But Kurt sunset flips out of the Musclebuster into the ANKLELOCK AGAIN! Joe rolls out so Kurt drops him with the Olympic Slam…for 2. Anklelock, but this time it’s Joe pulling Angle down…CHOKE! WITH BODYSCISSORS! ANKLELOCK! CHOKE! LEG GRAPEVINE ANKLELOCK! It beat him last time, but tonight Joe refuses to tap and powers to the ropes. Angle holds onto the Anklelock for the maximum 5 seconds, and Joe’s leg is now visibly troubling him. ROPE RUN BELLY TO BELLY SUPERPLEX! FOR 2! Armdrag to counter the Olympic Slam…ref bump as Angle inadvertently ricochets into the referee. Kurt taps out to the Choke, but of course, the referee is unconscious so doesn’t see it. Joe tries to revive the referee…and get nailed in the balls by Angle. He tries to hit Joe with a chair…but misses and hits himself as it bounces off the ropes! CHOKE! ANGLE TAPS! Joe wins at 19:14


Rating - **** - Terrific match, but that finish was a real disappointment. These two were tearing the house down, and the match just didn’t need ridiculous shenanigans like that. And you know what, it wasn’t even that I minded the ref bump/chair spot that much. It was annoying, but in the context of the match with both men DESPERATE to score a victory…having Kurt cheat to win actually puts Joe over and made a lot of sense. Alternatively, if you want to give Joe the win, putting him over clean would’ve made a lot more sense, AND been more entertaining and creatively rewarding for the fans. It wasn’t like the finish they used save face for Angle at all. He lost, cheated, then lost again. That makes him look like a tool. All it did was take the varnish off what should have been a huge moment for Samoa Joe, and something that elevated him to the level of someone like Kurt Angle. Before the finish, this was all kinds of awesome. Admittedly there was a lot of Anklelock/Choke back and forth, but that was all perfectly logical since the whole match had been about how badly both men needed the victory. Joe started slowly, his confidence perhaps shaken after the last match, and definitely not wanting to rush in and make a mistake, whilst this time Angle was absolutely dominant – constantly and comfortably answering whatever questions Joe posed of him. Slap a better finish on that and we move into the higher ratings territory.


To the documentary again, with Kurt talking about his amateur career after leaving college as one of the most successful American collegiate wrestlers of all time. He struggled at the top level and initially quit, but went back on that decision and came out of nowhere to win the 1995 World Championships. He made the decision that he’d quit amateur wrestling if he won at the Olympics. At which point we talk about the broken (‘freaking’) neck that nearly derailed his entire Olympic bid. It actually happened 3 months before, and he had to work through a gruelling training regime, combining lots of ice, minimal practice and multiple shots of novocaine just to get through matches.


And so to the hype for Angle/Joe 3. A new, aggressive Kurt desperately pursued Joe for HIS chance at avenging a defeat. Finally Joe conceded, and the match was signed.


Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe – 30-Minute Iron Man Match

Final Resolution 2007 – No Jeremy Borash on ring announcement duties. After finally beating Angle in their last match, Joe was ready to move on…but the manic, aggressive Kurt was furious at himself for tapping out, and embarked on a campaign to secure a rematch. Eventually the deal was signed. Now these two fight under Iron Man Rules to see who wins the trilogy.


The winner apparently gets an NWA World Championship match. Joe drives Angle out of the ring, then stares down at him to make a point. With 30 minutes to play with, both men have a real air of determination and desire to out-wrestle their opponent. Angle takes another powder as he continues to struggle with the power of Joe. At last he manages to knock Joe over with a flying shoulder tackle then rattles his jaw with right hands and European uppercuts. Joe fires back with a jumping enzi kick in the corner and follows it with a grounded abdominal stretch. Angle pushes Joe into the corner and kicks away at his knee. Shaking Joe’s vertical base gives Kurt the opportunity to land a couple of suplexes. Having hit a couple of higher impact moves like that, Angle then grounds the big man with a chinlock. He even wraps the legs into a bodyscissors to hold Joe down as we close in on the 10 minute mark. But Kurt is unable to turn his dominance into falls, and is taken over with a vertical suplex from Samoa Joe. Angle sent to the outside…ELBOW SUICIDA! Both men took a real ugly landing from that one. Insight again with Joe missing an elbow smash and eating a German suplex for 2. Kurt counters the Musclebuster…but Joe evades the counter into the Anklelock he’s seen before…into the CHOKE! Angle taps to make it 1-0 Joe at 12:55. Rest period over, and Angle goes back to the strategy that worked for him earlier, grounding Joe with chinlocks and completely negating his power advantage.


Olympic Slam countered with the lucha armdrag and Joe rolls right into the ropes to hit a flying knee strike. Choke…LEG GRAPEVINE ANKLELOCK! Joe taps to make it 1-1 at 16:04. The Samoan is limping now, and once again Angle grounds him with a bodyscissors/chinlock. Olympic Slam blocked again but Joe can’t get Kurt up for a suplex…and Angle goes to the Anklelock again! Joe taps to give Angle a 2-1 lead at 18:56. Joe has to be aggressive now, rocking Angle with E Honda strikes in the corner. But again Angle has a counter to the Musclebuster. Into the OLYMPIC SLAM! Joe kicks out to keep himself in the match with just over 8 minutes to go. Joe rolls out of the Anklelock…and this time he NAILS the Musclebuster! 22:19 and it’s 2-2! But the Samoan is heavily limping. Angle chopblocks the leg to drop him, going to the Anklelock again. Joe kicks his way free, but Angle gets the better of a pinfall flurry to go 3-2 up at 24:48. And now he’s leading Angle goes straight to the floor to run down the clock. With time against him Samoa Joe has to give chase, allowing Kurt to sucker punch him as he re-enters the ring. ST-Joe out of the corner…but Joe is too beaten up to capitalise right away. Again Angle rolls out of the ring as Joe tries another Musclebuster…and he starts driving Joe’s leg into the ringpost. 2 minutes to go and Joe manages a LIMPING MUSCLEBUSTER! Angle get a foot on the ropes! Kurt covers up and cowers on the mat, trying to kill the clock as Joe looks for the Choke. AWESOME defensive wrestling from Kurt…ANKLELOCK ON ANGLE INSTEAD! LEG GRAPEVINE ANKLEOCK! TEN SECONDS TO GO! KURT HOLDS ON! ANGLE WINS!


Rating - **** - Best match they’ve had together thus far. It helps that they were obviously given a lot more time here. They didn’t have to frantically rush around and steamroll straight into the Anklelock vs Choke counter sequences, or the endless suplex sequences. Here they were afforded the time to tell a good story in there. Kurt wrestled defensively from the start, constantly keeping Joe down on the mat where he couldn’t dominate him – and in fairness, at no point in this match did Samoa Joe really control proceedings for a significant amount of time. This strategy continued right down to the final 60 seconds with Kurt on the mat, covering his head trying to bloke the Choke. If you’re being critical you’d say that, as sensible and realistic as that strategy was, in the world of a worked sport, it maybe wasn’t the most exciting match to watch. The problem with Iron Man Matches, particularly 30 minute versions, is that there is very little drama around nearfalls into the last minute. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it a little harder for the two wrestlers to generate the kind of excitement and spontaneous electricity that comes with hot near falls and false finishes as a match progresses. Once again you’d have to say that, as good as this was, you still feel there’s more to come from these two. On the positive side, the first two were probably more like 3 and a half star matches…this one definitely and undisputedly hits the 4* mark in my book.


Kurt actually started tapping a second after the bell rung to signal the end of the 30 minutes by the way.


Documentary again, with Kurt talking about how scared he was after winning the gold medal, as he didn’t actually know what he was going to do with his life and career. He does have some amusing stories about bombing as a sports newscaster. There’s some fairly standard/lethargically paced stuff about meeting Karen Angle in there too.


Chris Harris vs AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christian Cage vs Kurt Angle – TNA World Title King Of The Mountain Match

Slammiversary 2007 – King Of The Mountain is another one of TNA’s signature matches. I’ve never seen one so I won’t pass judgement as yet. But I have to say, unlike Ultimate X, I find this concept borderline ridiculous. Essentially it’s a ladder match in reverse, with wrestlers having to climb a ladder to HANG the Championship belt above the ring in order to win. Throw in the extra rule that you can only climb after you’ve pinned/submitted someone…with that victim also going to a sin-bin themed penalty box for 2 minutes. This is to crown the first TNA Champion, although AJ and Christian are both former NWA champions. Chris Harris is a late entrant, selected by Jim Cornette after impressive matches with former AMW partner James Storm. This would be Angle’s first shot at the top prize in TNA.


You’ll notice this is for the TNA Championship, therefore after TNA’s split with the NWA. We’re also in Nashville (birthplace of TNA), our first non-Impact Zone match on the DVD. Joe goes right after Angle which is unsurprising considering their history. Cage and Styles have formed an alliance coming into this match, and they immediately start double teaming Harris. AJ tries to lie down and let Christian pin him so Cage can go for the belt…but Kurt breaks the fall. Styles levels Wildcat with his awesome dropkick…but Cage refuses to return the favour and lie down for him. Thus ends the Cage/AJ alliance. Joe hilariously stand pulling faces next to AJ, before tugging him off the apron as he goes for a springboard. Chop/kick/knee drop sequence on Christian…but Wildcat throws Joe out of the ring. Catatonic blocked, but Harris blocks Christian’s Unprettier attempt into a full nelson slam. Catatonic on Styles…for 3. Styles is put in the penalty box whilst Harris is now eligible to hang the belt. Joe THROWS the ladder over the top rope at Harris and Cage. Kurt blocks the facewash and hits Joe with ROLLING GERMANS! Christian come in…ANKLELOCK/CHOKE COMBO ON HIM BY JOE AND ANGLE! Styles’ sin bin period expires and he flies in to save Cage…meaning I guess their alliance is on again. Cage has positioned the ladder between the apron and the guardrail, but ends up crotched in the rings by Harris. Styles hits the Pele into a springboard elbow smash on Joe. Kurt COUNTERS THE STYLES CLASH INTO THE ANKLE LOCK! That was an unreal counter, but AJ manages to kick his way free. HARRIS BACK BODY DROPS HIM INTO A SPLASH ON CAGE ON THE LADDER! Harris tries to hang the belt…OLYMPIC SLAM OFF THE LADDER!


Kurt pins Harris, meaning he’s now eligible to go for the gold too. No chance to climb though as Samoa Joe takes him out with a powerslam. ST-Joe on Christian…AIR RAID CRASH on Styles! SPINNING MUSCLEBUSTER! Kurt breaks the fall to prevent Joe being eligible to win. CHOKE ON KURT! But we get the same ref bump we saw between the two at Turning Point. Angle taps, but with no ref it doesn’t count. Christian takes out Joe with a ladder, then sneaks in to pin Angle and make himself eligible instead. Joe climbs the ladder after Christian…SAMOAN CUTTER OFF THE LADDER! Harris is out of the penalty box, and he looks to take advantage of the melee to hang the belt himself. He uses the belt to knock Joe away. AJ WITH A SPRINGBOARD DROPKICK INTO THE LADDER TO KNOCK WILDCAT DOWN! Now Style climbs to the roof of the penalty cage. JOE GOES AFTER HIM! Are you f*cking kidding me? CHOKE ON THE PENALTY CAGE! AJ low blows out of that…JOE THROWS HIM OFF THE CAGE AND THROUGH THE COMMENTARY TABLE! Harris and Cage are up there now…with Harris hurling Christian al the way into the ring. Wildcat wears the ladder as a weapon Bubba Ray Dudley style to clear the ring and prepare another run at hanging the belt. Christian shoves him off, then throws the ladder at him. It’s Cage’s chance to climb now, but just as he’s on the verge Kurt grabs him with the ANKLELOCK! Christian blasts Angle with the belt. HARRIS SPRINGBOARDS INTO SPEAR ON CAGE! ANGLE HANGS THE BELT! He becomes TNA World Champion for the first time at 19:24


Rating - ****1/2 - Awesome match, really impressive however you look at it. In truth, Kurt Angle wasn’t really that involved in most of the memorable stuff that happened in this match, but this is an obvious inclusion on his DVD as it marks his first title win in TNA. I was sceptical about King Of The Mountain since I thought (and still do think) that the rules are overly convoluted and a little silly. HOWEVER, you can’t deny that these guys worked them superbly here. I loved how they worked the Angle/Joe ref bump in again. There were more awesome exchanges between former X-Division rivals Samoa Joe and AJ Styles. Christian is a veteran of this kind of match and, despite not really being involved in many high spots, was so good at pacing and laying out everything that went on around him. The sheer amount of exciting stuff they packed in to less than 20 minutes was phenomenal. Definitely a must-see match.


Amazingly, Joe is the first man to offer Kurt a handshake. Angle refuses and levels him with the Olympic Slam.


Now Kurt talks about getting his start in the WWE. His manager tried to turn down Jim Ross’ offering of a try-out and a developmental contract…but Angle gladly accepted and was confident enough to believe he’d be a star within 12 months. It’s noticeable that his college wrestling coach still seems a little uneasy about arguably his greatest student going into professional wrestling. Jeff Jarrett, Christian and Mick Foley struggle to explain why Kurt managed to make the switch from amateur to pro wrestling without breaking kayfabe. Meanwhile Angle puts guys like HHH, Undertaker and Vince McMahon over for protecting him and putting him in situations where he can learn. Amazingly Kurt is given free reign to really put Vince over hard. Obviously the majority of his WWE career is skipped over since this is TNA, although we do get Mick Foley implying that they weren’t using him right so Kurt was right to leave. We move to a pretty bleak chapter where Kurt is surprisingly open about his prescription drug problems, and the effect it had on his marriage. After battling continual neck injuries for three years between 2003-2006, constantly rushing back too soon and hurting himself again, Kurt says that it was a joint decision between he and his wife to back away from the WWE and their relentless schedule.


Kurt leaving WWE gets it’s own chapter. Incredibly, Vince actually tried to FIGHT Angle at the meeting where Kurt requested his release. It was only when Kurt got emotional and broke down about how tough he was finding the schedule that Vince agreed to the parting of ways. Angle admits that it was his drug-induced erratic behaviour that led to the disintegration of his relationship with Vince, and doesn’t blame him for anything…but he is still VERY angry at Vince demeaning his gold medal and implying that Kurt wouldn’t make money without him at the end of that meeting. And that’s Disc 1 done…


Disc 2 begins with a return to the Angle/Joe feud. Their war has been reignited, and after Kurt won their initial trilogy…this time the stakes are raised with every single male Championship in TNA on the line. Angle is TNA and IWGP World Champion, Joe is X-Division Champion once again, and together they overcame Team 3D (Dudley Boyz) to take the Tag belts – with Joe in possession of them after scoring the decisive fall. Angle is a full on egomaniac by now, with his family now being part of the storyline with him being a glory-obsessed prick putting his athletic success above his wife and children. There’s also a bizarre sequence with Kurt fighting Joe in a banana hammock and sandals.


Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe – TNA World/X-Division/Tag/IWGP Heavyweight Title Match

Hard Justice 2007 – Yes, you are reading that correctly, whomever wins this match will leave with an incredible FIVE Championship belts to drag back to the locker room. The focus here is on Angle, and whether he’s even focused on the match and retaining his titles after seeing his marriage fall apart in the lead in to this. Joe cuts a promo saying he’ll revel in Kurt’s misery and complete it by taking his gold in the ring tonight. Karen Angle (and new gentleman friend) are going to be sat in the front row.


Kurt (with new entrance music) looks despondent on the way to the ring, shoulders hunched, dropping the belts on the way to the ring and completely ignoring his pyro. Joe rocks the Polynesian dance intro again. Angle almost bursts into tears as the bell rings. Clearly distracted, he rolls to the floor just as Karen Angle and new boyfriend take their seats. Trying to get his head in the game, twice he locks up with Joe to take him down with a top wristlock…but after each one he hops to the floor again and allows his gaze to fall upon his wife. Joe uses the singlet to continually pull Angle into headlocks. Kurt pulls the straps down…so Joe uses the trunks to expose Kurt’s ass and further humiliate him. Karen throws champagne in his face and Joe pounces with chops and kicks. Angle is sent shoulder-first into the ringpost, then given the bootscrapes in the corner. German suplex from Kurt, but at this stage there’s no chance of him holding on for the rolling suplexes. Vertical suplex then a version of the crossface applied to start wearing the Samoan down. Now recovered, this time Angle is able to string together the rolling Germans…until Joe counters to a FACE DROP German. He levels Angle with a jumping enzi kick for 2. Once again Kurt hits a German suplex almost as a defensive move, but his attention is drawn to Karen and boyfriend linking arms to sip more champagne. That momentary distraction proves enough as Joe evades the Olympic Slam and scores with the ST-Joe for another nearfall. Musclebuster countered to the Anklelock but Joe rolls out. Choke…Angle counters back to the Anklelock! AGAIN Joe rolls out an nearly snatches victory with a schoolboy. NECK DROP OLYMPIC SLAM FOR 2! Angle positions Joe in the corner and scores with the rope run belly to belly superplex but still doesn’t get the win. More yelling at Karen…wasting valuable time before he scales the ropes and MISSES the moonsault. MUSCLEBUSTER! FOR 2! CHOKE! Angle actually bites the hand to escape and goes straight back to the Anklelock. He grabs the singlet…CHOKE AGAIN! Angle makes the ropes. Ref bump again before Joe goes to the Choke. Kurt taps, but of course, there’s no official to register the submission. Low blow by Kurt as Karen jumps the rail…and hands KURT the steel chair. He belts Joe with the chair and wins ALL the gold at 18:31. It was all a plan…


Rating - *** - Once again TNA’s borderline crazy booking ruins a potentially great match between these two. When they were actually wrestling here, it was some of their best work to date. The familiarity and ease with which they countered each other’s stuff after feuding for 9 months was just a joy to behold. I loved how Kurt actually resorted to biting because, after almost a year of trying, he’s just accepted that the Choke is a lethal hold and sometimes you just can’t escaped. I loved the play-off they did from the Joe using Angle’s singlet segment they did earlier in the match by having him use it to drag Angle in the Choke down the stretch. BUT, more so than any of their previous matches, this was storyline driven, with the actual wrestling taking a back seat to the shenanigans involving Kurt’s wife, chairs, ref bumps, double crosses and more. I accept that TNA is in the entertainment business and they need plots to go along with their wrestling. But this is the FOURTH Joe/Angle match on this compilation, and in each one of those matches I can list something about the booking that has held these two outstanding wrestlers back from having the match they’re truly capable of having.


Dixie Carter discusses Angle signing with TNA, and still seems a little surprised that they actually landed a legit WWE star. Angle admitted that TNA is probably a smaller organisation, but loves the passion of the fans and enjoys the challenge of trying to grow the organisation…whilst the Angle family chime in with gratitude that his wrestling schedule is now substantially lighter. Everyone puts over how loud the reaction in the Impact Zone was to Kurt’s debut announcement. It’s nice, but this is like…the third time people have been waxing lyrical about his debut. It’s a little overdone now…


Back to Angle’s in-ring storylines now. As holder of all the belts, Angle found himself having to defend all the Championships on the same night. He puts over his favourite TNA match as his X-Division Title bout with Jay Lethal.


Kurt Angle vs Jay Lethal – TNA X-Division Title Match

No Surrender 2007 – Since Kurt and Jeff Jarrett sight this match as their favourite of Angle’s TNA run thus far, this is an obvious inclusion. Lethal’s ‘Black Machismo’ Macho Man tribute act was really getting him over so he was a popular challenger to the egotistical champion. Angle had already lost the TNA Tag Championship earlier in the evening.


Confident start from Lethal, driving the champion straight to the ropes with a strong wristlock. Kurt nonchalantly flings Jay through the air with a hiptoss and snaps him down into a side headlock. ‘Welcome to the big leagues kid’ – Don West to Lethal. Black Machismo cartwheels into a dropkick, then comes from the top rope with a double axehandle for 2. Again, Kurt looks to swat him away like a bug – this time by powerbombing him into the turnbuckles. Grounded bodyscissors now, the commentary team pointing out that it’s in Kurt’s best interests to keep Lethal in one place. He hits a backbreaker, then stands over him to rattle off a succession of big right hands. Back suplex for 2 next, Kurt keeping things nice and basic as he looks to polish off the challenger with as little effort as possible with a TNA World Title defence still to come. Lethal comes from nowhere to land a satellite headscissors then an enziguri for 2. That comeback lasted at least four seconds before Angle drops him on his face with a German suplex. DDT from Jay, but Angle lands the ROPE RUN belly to belly superplex as Lethal looks for the Macho Elbow. Anklelock countered into a small package for a CLOSE nearfall for Machismo. ROLLING GERMANS! Olympic Slam countered…LETHAL COMBINATION! MACHO ELBOW! FOR 2! Jay thought he had the match won there, but he’s soon flat on his back again after another German suplex. Anklelock…countered to a pin. LETHAL WINS! New X-Division Champion at 12:18…HUGE reaction for that.


Rating - **** - Definitely not Kurt’s best TNA match thus far, but you can see why it’s his favourite. No silly booking or stipulations getting in the way - here he is left in the middle of the ring, given free reign on a match with one purpose – put Jay Lethal over. To that end, this was pretty much spot on the money. Clean win for Jay giving him a huge rub, but Kurt still leaves with his credibility intact having had a match (and been attacked backstage by Sting) already and with another still to come.


By this stage, the ten minute portions of multiple guys repeatedly going over how good Kurt is. I agree, but after nearly four hours…the point was made some time ago and it’s getting a little tedious now. The only real thing of interest in this segment is a passing comment from Jeff Jarrett saying that New Japan were paying silly money to book Kurt on the back of his accomplishments, abilities and legacy.


Kurt Angle vs Sting – TNA World Title Match

Bound For Glory 2007 – I think BFG is TNA’s WrestleMania equivalent. Obviously this one is hugely significant – a first time ever singles bout with two all time greats, stars of their respective eras coming together. And it’s fitting that this one takes place in Atlanta – the homestead of WCW where Sting was such an outstanding success, and the city where Kurt claimed his career-defining Olympic gold.


Apparently Kurt has made this personal in the weeks leading in to this event by attacking Sting’s family. As such the veteran challenger comes in with exceptional rage. He shows that he can hang with Kurt, countering Angle and working a fierce arm wrench that forces him into the ropes. Hiptoss by Sting, which sends Angle into retreat mode - fleeing outside to rethink his strategy. Sting misses a dropkick once, but swats Kurt away as he looks for an Anklelock then nails the dropkick second time around. Angle outside again…this time with Sting giving chase to take him around ringside to drill him into guardrails and tables. Then Angle drives himself into the turnbuckles. Scorpion Death Drop countered with a rake to the eyes, and just as we saw during the Samoa Joe series, Kurt uses a German suplex as a defensive move to buy himself some time. Belly to belly suplex scores, before Angle goes to chinlocks and mat submission holds to exert some dominance over his dangerous challenger. Sting eventually escapes into a double clothesline spot which leaves both athletes reeling. Stinger Splash nailed twice, into a facecrusher which puts the challenger firmly in the ascendancy…until he thinks about a top rope move and leaves himself open to the rope run belly to belly. Olympic Slam countered to a sunset flip for 2. Hat-trick of German suplexes means Angle can fire back with a nearfall of his own. Anklelock applied but Sting manages to grab an arm and haul Kurt down for the Scorpion Death Lock! Karen Angle runs out to distract Sting…and from behind Kevin Nash (an ally of Kurt) strolls in to level Sting with a clothesline. Olympic Slam nailed with the referee preoccupied with ejecting Karen from the arena. Angle gets the knees into Sting’s gut as he looks for a splash from the second rope then climbs the ropes himself. SOMERSAULT DOUBLE STOMP for 2! I think that was supposed to be a 450 Splash but it went really wrong. Anklelock again…but Sting manages to roll Kurt into Nash. Scorpion Death Drop nailed after a ref bump meaning there’s nobody there to count the fall. Another referee tries to count the fall…only for Big Sexy to pull him out again. Sting fights Nash and Angle off until Kurt hits him in the nuts. He tries to use Sting’s baseball bat on him…but Sting snatches it from him and levels him with it. Scorpion Death Drop again. Sting wins at 18:28


Rating - ** - This one really wasn’t to my taste at all. The majority of the match looked like a match pulled straight from the late 80’s/early 90’s and was tough to watch. As I have no knowledge of the back story at all the overbooked to hell finish meant nothing to me either. Overall I found this one dull, lacking in ‘big time’ main event feel, moments of sloppiness, a major botch from Kurt, proving he learnt nothing from Brock Lesnar’s infamous WrestleMania botch against HIM and a totally unsatisfying conclusion which saw TNA’s top draw and top talent drop the title in ridiculous circumstances to a guy who looked WELL past his prime on this showing.


Sting vs Kurt Angle – TNA World Title Match

Impact 23/10/2007 – This was the rematch from their BFG match, this time given away from free TV to give fans what was billed as the biggest match in the history of Impact.


Stalling tactics from Angle, repeatedly going to the ropes and openly hesitant to lock up with Sting. Headlocks traded, Sting consistently coming up on the upper hand of those exchanges. Finally Angle goes to a high angle back suplex to break the cycle of Sting headlocks. But the change in momentum is brief, the champion dropping Kurt again with a spinebuster. Sting genuinely wrestles like he’s working a house show match in 1993. Kevin Nash pulls out a chair to watch at ringside as we go to the commercial break. During that break it turns out Sting was distracted by Nash’s presence, enabling Kurt to shunt him out of the ring. Back from commercials with Angle hitting a belly to belly suplex for 2. Sting drives Kurt into the guardrail and ringsteps…then levels Nash with a right hand even though he made no attempt to interject. Stinger Splash misses as we return to the ring. Sting goes for a Tombstone but it’s countered to the Anklelock. Olympic Slam blocked…Scorpion Death Lock applied. Nash tries to enter, causing Sting to break the hold and down the ref in the ensuing scuffle. Olympic Slam nailed…and Earl Hebner is on hand to count the fall. Angle wins the belt again at 10:13 shown.


Rating - ** - Essentially this was a shorter version of the Bound For Glory match. There were less obvious mis-steps, and the Kevin Nash interference was, this time at least, more intriguing because he wasn’t blatantly TRYING to get involved in the contest. Shaving ten minutes of the match time certainly helped too. I just don’t think these guys have a great deal of chemistry in the ring together.


Kurt talks about some of his opponents in TNA. Samoa Joe gets lots of praise here. There’s also lots of clips of Kurt in action against the likes of Christian and AJ Styles – both matches I’d far rather have seen on this DVD in the place of those two mundane Sting bouts.


We go to Japan next, with Yuji Nagata looking to regain the IWGP Championship he once held for over a year. In promos he accuses Kurt of defeating Brock Lesnar for the belt then refusing to come to Japan to defend it properly.


Kurt Angle vs Yuji Nagata – IWGP Heavyweight Title Match

Global Impact 2008 – This is a show TNA presented in conjunction with NJPW as they looked to spread their brand awareness across Japan – a country where the WWE has enjoyed growing popularity in recent years. There was a relationship in place with NJPW before, but it was only once TNA had managed to sign up Kurt Angle that things like this really took off. NJPW’s desire to book Angle, coupled with Kurt’s desire to promote the TNA brand really made this a mutually beneficial scenario. We’re in the historic Tokyo Dome. It’s very surreal seeing Kurt in all these puro surroundings.


I like how they’ve recreated the traditional Impact Zone entrance set in the Tokyo Dome. Angle jumps the gun and pounds Nagata down in the corner. He hits a nice belly to belly suplex then SLAPS him in the face. Yuji’s response is to hit a sweet belly to belly of his own, making the point that he has a strong amateur background just like Kurt. Nagata goes for the Crossface and forces Angle to drag both of their weights to the ropes. Mike Tenay is doing a great job putting over NJPW and puro culture to the TNA audience. Kicks from Yuji, greeted by huge roars from the Japanese fans. Nagata starts to dominate, until Kurt dives into a chopblock, doing such damage that the challenger roles out of the ring. Angle is on that injury in a flash, chasing him to the floor to land some kicks then bringing it back inside to apply a Figure 4 Leglock. Once again the hometown crowd are staunchly behind the challenger, and cheer him on as he fights to turn the hold over. Spinning toehold next, but Nagata uses his good leg to kick his way free and lock in a Fujiwara Armbar. Commercial break…and we return with Angle having escaped the Armbar and dishing out the German suplexes. Nagata’s response – ROLLING BRAINBUSTERS! Kurt shoots for the Anklelock, but Nagata counters to the Crossface. Incredibly, Kurt grabs the ankle and starts twisting it even whilst in that hold. Finally he busts out and clings on to apply the Anklelock for the first time. Nagata kicks free…Crossface again! Angle stands up….INTO THE F*CKING OLYMPIC SLAM! ANGLE MOONSAULT MISSES! Climbing knee smash in the corner from Nagata, into a belly to belly superplex for 2. Back to the Crossface with Tenay putting over how the hold will work Kurt’s suspect neck. ELBOWS! FOREARMS! SLAPS! Nagata punts Kurt in the jaw, but Angle falls backwards into the ropes and rebounds with a clothesline. He lines up for a Kick of Death…COUNTERED TO A SEATED ANKLELOCK! NAGATA TAPS! Kurt retains the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at 16:13 (shown).


Rating - **** - Superb little match there. If you ever had any doubts about Kurt Angle being a great worker, and always felt he always seemed so good by working in companies like WWE or TNA where there’s always been a lot of average workers floating around…check this one out. Make no bones about it, this isn’t a TNA match. This isn’t a sports entertainment match. Kurt Angle worked total puro style and was VERY good. This wasn’t perfect, but I was really impressed. Kurt needs to work in Japan more since there are a lot of dream matches for him, and he’s still easily good enough to hang with all the top talent there. I liked this enough to pick up a Kurt Angle in Japan compilation DVD from my good friends at IVPvideos.com.


Kurt Angle discusses the prospects of seeing him in MMA. UFC offered him a major contract to quit wrestling, but Kurt didn’t want to go back on the deal he’d signed with Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett as they’d been so supportive of him. He does bash some of the rumours that he was backing out on MMA fights. He gets a mixed response from his contemporaries on whether he’d be successful or not. Samoa Joe puts a very measured and courteous response across, whilst Mike Tenay dodges it altogether and suggests that had he picked MMA instead of pro-wrestling after the Olympics he probably would have been as successful in that field. Reading between the lines, it kinda seems like it was a VERY real possibility in the early days following his WWE release and subsequent recuperation. Now, it seems far less likely as Kurt gets older and has a number of hoops a promoter needs to be able to jump through just to even talk business with him. Olympic Gold Medal or not, a 40+ year old, untested MMA fighter with a suspect neck isn’t necessarily the hottest of commodities.


And the MMA discussion leads us to the final bout on the DVD. Fittingly we return to where we started – Angle vs Joe. This comes from the Lockdown event, so obviously takes place in a cage. Rather than go the traditional ‘cage grudge match’ route, these guys apparently take it in a real MMA direction and, from what I read, received a bunch of praise and criticism in equal measure. TNA put together a FANTASTIC video package to hype the match.


Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe – TNA Title Steel Cage Match

Lockdown 2008 – Kurt Angle is defending champion once again, and comes in having won three of the previous four matches between the two. Such is Joe’s desire to win TNA’s World Championship for the first time, and desperation to score a decisive victory over Angle, he has agreed to put his career on the line. If he loses, he’ll walk away from wrestling for good. MMA fighter Frank Trigg is on commentary with Tenay and Don West.


Polynesian fire dancers accompany Joe to the ring. Angle has ditched the singlet and boots in favour of fight shorts and taped ankles. Karen Angle at ringside again…but Kurt asks security to escort her out. And the opening exchanges have an MMA vibe too, with Joe stalking the ring looking for roundhouse kicks as Angle goes on the backfoot and looks to throw some jabs. Joe drags Kurt down and appears to go for the Anklelock early, but Frank Trigg points out that, with taped heels rather than boots, Angle will actually find it easier to escape holds. Single leg from Angle, into mounted strikes which drive Joe into the ropes. But he dives in looking for the same combo again and gets PUNTED in the face by the Samoan. Joe stomps the feet and whips Kurt back to the canvas with a hiptoss. SAITO SUPLEX from Angle brings him back into the match in explosive fashion. Front facelock applied, then a belly to belly suplex as Joe fights back to his feet. He goes for a cross armbreaker only for Joe to roll onto his feet. Kurt clips the knee then applies the Figure 4 we saw him introduce to his repertoire during the previous match with Yuji Nagata. Joe is in that hold for over a minute before finally managing to wrench Angle over to reverse the pressure. He works a toehold, but eats a couple of chops from Joe so moves to negate those with a side headlock. Belly to belly suplex blocked second time round. LARIATOOOOO from Joe! Musclebuster attempted, but Kurt uses that sunset flip counter into the Anklelock that we’re now familiar with. ST-Joe puts Angle down for 2, then he moves into the powerbomb/LION TAMER combo! Angle edges to the ropes, so Joe floats into the STF. Once again Kurt gets close, so again Joe switches submission – this time into a Crossface. And since Joe won’t let him break the hold, Kurt opts to counter as he did to Yuji Nagata, by grabbing the Anklelock. Countered BACK to the crossface as Joe lifts a counter straight out of the Nagata playbook. Angle fights free, but runs at Joe before he’s fully recovered, enabling Joe to go for the Crossface again. COUNTERED TO THE OLYMPIC SLAM! ANKLELOCK! He holds on as Joe tries to kick free…but resists the urge to tap and rolls into the CHOKE! Kurt actually grabs the referee’s shirt to assist him in clawing to the ropes. Big boot from Joe…MUSCLEBUSTAAA! JOE WINS! 17:36 is your time.


Rating - ****1/2 - Definitely the best of the Angle/Joe series as evident on this DVD. In terms of excitement, obviously the MMA style they went with here obviously has a niche appeal when it comes to pro-wrestling fan. However, unlike the Angle/Sting bouts we saw earlier on this disc, the way they presented this match, and the way they wrestled it too, ensured that it absolutely reeked of big match aura. Kudos to TNA for going the whole hog on production and doing all they could to present this in as much of an MMA-influenced manner as they could. Personally I found the big match grapple-fest to be to my taste. We got references to lots of their previous matches too. Counters to counters to counters stemming from the previous battles, Karen Angle sent away at the start to banish any concerns you had about a repeat of the 2007 Hard Justice match. I liked how they worked in references to the Nagata match too, knowing full well that, in TNA at least, the Nagata match was probably the closest Angle has come to working the particular style of contest they presented here. I have to be honest and say I was sceptical coming into this. I wasn’t sure that a worked match TRYING to resemble an MMA bout would look good, but they walked a fine line between solid homage and a poor impersonation very well. Nice way to end the DVD, even if it’s a shame to have Kurt staring at the lights at it’s conclusion.


The DVD ends with Angle discussing his future. He wants to wrestle for another three years (when his contract ends) which is interesting since, as this was shot in 2008, would put his potential contract expiry at mid-2011. He says he wants to have a ‘great retirement year’…and says his main ambition for his time left in wrestling is to have a few more great matches. This point is perhaps the only time in the whole DVD where Kurt is almost hesitant to praise his own credentials and accomplishments. Not to say he’s got a huge ego. But, particularly discussing his amateur stuff, he’s hardly been slow to run through and play up his achievements.


Tape Rating - *** - I’d say this DVD serves as an effective microcosm of all the many strengths and weaknesses that TNA go through as a promotion. There are some great matches on here, particularly with his biggest rival in TNA up to this point, Samoa Joe. However, it took TNA nearly 2 years to get the Angle/Joe feud right. They’re great wrestlers and had GOOD matches, but they were always held back by some kind of booking decision. Match 1 was too short, matches 2 and 4 had silly overbooked conclusions, whilst booking match 3 as an Iron Man allowed them enough time to play to their strengths but killed any drama they could have created in a more organic match format. You’ve got TWO mundane, average at best and overbooked to hell matches with Sting included, whilst appealing bouts with the likes of AJ Styles and Christian were cut out altogether. Hell, the best match on this, a Kurt Angle DVD, is arguably the Slammiversary ’07 KOTM Match which Kurt won, but only played a very small part in the actual nuts and bolts of the contest. The best KURT matches on this DVD are the final Joe bout, the Jay Lethal X-Division Match, and the Nagata match from Japan, where, to an extent, TNA butt out and let the wrestling do the talking and try not to overcomplicate things. In terms of the match content, it was good…but ultimately I came away a little disappointment. The talent of Kurt and his fellow wrestlers was there for all to see. But poor booking and poor selection of matches leaves a little bitterness in my mouth. I can’t believe there was room for two matches with Sting and an incredible FIVE with Samoa Joe, 2 DVD’s worth of stuff, HOURS of documentary footage and we didn’t have time for a match with AJ. Only TNA could take TWO YEARS to get Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe right...


And speaking of the documentary footage. It’s another area where it feels like TNA have tried hard, gone in the right direction, but eventually got things a little wrong. I criticised the X-Division and Samoa Joe DVD’s I just reviewed for not having enough documentary/interview style footage. This one goes to the other extreme. It’s a pro-wrestling company trying to do a biographical piece on Kurt Angle when they own NONE of his career defining footage. All the high school wrestling coaches, washed up WWE guys interviewed and still photos in the world don’t take away from the fact that it’s exceptionally hard to interview Kurt Angle with no footage of him winning the Olympic medal and, since you’re a rival company, have to cover the bulk of his 10 year pro career with that organisation in around 10 minutes…with the majority of that being dedicated to a discussion of how the guy left. There are some interesting bits and pieces throughout. Kurt comes off as a decent guy. Certainly not shy about his own abilities (and after a while, it does get frustrating having it hammered down your throat that he was a great amateur wrestler who won a gold medal with a broken neck), but he’s a lot more softly spoken and in touch with the real world than I’d always pictured him. I think the final years in the WWE have really scarred and changed him, not just as a wrestler, but as a person too. He does seem a little fragile and vulnerable, even two years removed from his WWE departure. He will talk all day and all night about all the reasons why he’s a terrific amateur. But when it comes to the pros, he seems shy and reserved. He repeatedly refers to himself as one of the best American amateurs of all time. But there seems far more hesitancy when it comes to talking about his time in a professional ring. He even says himself that, before his WWE fallout, he would have accepted nothing less than being considered the best wrestler of all time. Now, he’s happy to have left his mark in the way he has, seems genuinely pleased that people recognise his exceptional skills, and now holds nothing more than a desire to have a few more good matches and a good retirement year. If you’ve got the stomach for endless hours of people eulogising Kurt, with maybe 2 out of every 5 minutes being interesting stuff, then you won’t completely despise the documentary portion either. I’m still not sure it was a sensible thing to do in trying to pull off a career retrospective feature on Kurt Angle whilst he’s still active and you have none of his career-defining footage though.


Top 3 Matches

3) Kurt Angle vs Yuji Nagata (**** - Global Impact 2008)

2) Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe (****1/2 – Lockdown 2008)

1) Kurt Angle vs Chris Harris vs AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christian (****1/2 – Slammiversary 2007)

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