10 Wrestlers With Incredible First Years

7. Kurt Angle - TNA

Kurt Angle KOTR
ImpactWrestling.com

Shocking the world with the announcement of his arrival at No Surrender 2006, Kurt Angle's star status was an enormous deal for TNA, who immediately tipped the company upside down and programmed him with the undefeated-for-eighteen-months Samoa Joe in a series of world class shoot-style submission wars.

Scalping Joe's undefeated streak in his first match, Angle would trade wins with the 'Samoan Submission Machine' in one of the hottest feuds in wrestling, culminating with a fantastic thirty minute Iron Man Match at January 2007's Final Resolution.

Targeting gold, Angle would then become the first holder of the brand new TNA World Heavyweight Championship (and last owner of the NWA World Title in TNA).

Turning heel and reigniting his feud with Samoa Joe, the renewed rivalry culminated in Angle defeating Joe again to win EVERY title the brand had.

Exactly one year on from his arrival, Kurt would wrestle three times in one night, defending all of his titles at No Surrender 2007, dropping the tag titles to Team Pacman, putting over Jay Lethal in phenomenal X-Division contest, and sneaking by Abyss to keep his World Title.

From the day he walked in until the day he left, TNA belonged to the Olympic Gold Medalist. Year One was a taster of what was to come.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett