10 Moments When TNA Was The Hottest Wrestling Company In The World
1. Gold
As evidenced by WWE's mammoth and indestructible state in 2017, there is little one single performer can do to steer so many eyes to another product that it puts Vince McMahon's organisation under any sort of threat, but it was genuinely easier to assume this could be the case a decade ago.
Kurt Angle's August 2006 release came at a time when he'd reached a mental and physical tipping point. Riddled with injuries and spiralling drug problems, Angle left WWE under something of a cloud but with a delicate understanding that he'd return when things had improved.
'Surprising' would probably be understating things then, when Kurt appeared in a vignette at the conclusion of TNA's No Surrender pay-per-view a month later to confirm he would indeed be coming to the Impact Zone.
It was a shockwave unlike anything the company had ever created. The signing was the talk of the industry for weeks, with curiosity heightened following an electric showdown with Samoa Joe on his first appearance in front of the live crowd. Busting Joe open with a headbutt, Angle stated his intent immediately, and followed up by ending the 'Samoan Submission Machine's unbeaten streak at November's Genesis pay-per-view.
Though he couldn't carry TNA as many thought he might, for a hot minute, Angle had completely transformed perceptions.