40 Greatest Stories Wrestling Ever Told

36. The Main Event Mafia Forms (TNA, 2008)

It's easy to forget the initial vibrance TNA's X Division had during the first decade of the promotion's existence. Complete with grandstanding gimmick bouts like 'Ultimate X' and fantastic, WCW Cruiserweight love letter displays from AJ Styles, Low Ki and more, the letter X became synonymous with greatness and helped the company stand out as a viable WWE alternative.

In 2008, veterans Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T (with Sharmell) and Scott Steiner formed a counterpoint to that blossoming style: The Main Event Mafia. The concept was simple. All of the guys involved had been World Champions across decades in WWE or WCW, and they aimed to control exactly who was allowed near top belts or headline positions.

What a brilliant, straightforward and easy to digest idea.

The group's formation directly opposed what was called TNA's "Frontline". They were younger stars, so this was pretty much a better-told version of WCW's New Blood vs. Millionaire's Club storyline from 2000. Typically, those in Atlanta handled that with the grace of a hippo trying to finger paint, but TNA's version was much, much better and well thought out.

Nash later revealed via his podcast that he and other members deliberately circled around Angle as their centrepiece. He was akin to Don Corleone for the MEM, and that was a conscious decision despite Kurt being the least-experienced of the faction in terms of pure wrestling years.

The wheels eventually fell right off the Main Event Mafia as a whole, but that early first chapter (their first 'Godfather movie') was pulsating and logical stuff.