Kurt Angle's 10 Greatest Moments
3. Vs Samoa Joe - TNA Lockdown 2008
Headlining what remains to this day one of the highest-drawing TNA Pay-Per-Views of all time, Kurt's 'Six Sides of Steel' main event against Samoa Joe was an absorbing submission contest that gave Joe the best possible launching pad as TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
Built around both men's impressive array of holds and Angle's overall dominance over Joe throughout the two years he'd been with the company, each man incorporated Mixed Martial Arts into the run-up and the match itself, shooting hard-edged training vignettes and working the contest around wearing their opponent down with submission attempts.
It was a world class display from Angle in particular, who committed fully to the act by opting for fight shorts and no boots instead of his traditional wrestling gear, as well as relentlessly shooting for devastating chokeholds, knockout strikes and a number of different arm and leglock submissions.
Kurt was completely selfless too, allowing Joe to reverse his anklelock into a Coquina Clutch, then follow up with a single Muscle Buster to win his first TNA title.
Losing clean as a sheet, Angle gave everything he could to the task at hand to definitively put 'The Samoan Submission Machine' in a thrilling conclusion to their storied rivalry.