40 Greatest Stories Wrestling Ever Told

40. Only Kurt Angle Can End Samoa Joe’s Winning Run (TNA, 2006)

Pop Quiz: Was Kurt Angle's TNA theme better than his WWE one? That has absolutely nothing to do with this entry really, but here's another, broader question: Was Angle's Impact run as good as his WWF/WWE one? Ask anyone who watched him jump ship in 2006 then get right up in the face of one Samoa Joe and they'd turn into Bryan Danielson by enthusiastically yelling, "YES! YES! YES!".

Joe was a wrestling machine on a rampage in October '06 when Kurt showed face in the Impact Zone for the first time. The Samoan was on an undefeated 18-month run, and it didn't look like anyone could stop him. Enter an Olympian, one who had fought through agony to win World Titles with a broken freakin' neck.

TNA's announcers laid it bare. Only Angle could stop Joe and hand him that elusive, seemingly impossible loss. At Genesis on 19 November, Kurt achieved what few thought anybody could. He beat Samoa Joe in a bout TNA dubbed "Dream Match Of The Decade". They weren't lying. This was WWE's incoming best against a dude who'd ruled the independents before coming to TNA.

Kurt's submission win chipped away at Joe's aura without brutalising it, which is important. They'd have numerous classics over the coming years before Angle's in-ring career began winding down. TNA found the perfect worker to come in and briefly dominate Joe without crushing his momentum completely. It was one of the greatest stories the company would ever tell.

Perhaps the best, come to think of it.