10 Things You Didn't Know About The Kurt Angle Vs. Samoa Joe Rivalry

Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe entered a rivalry right at the start of Angle joining TNA (now Impact Wrestling). Fans viewed this as an epic dream match that seemed unrealistic before Angle was released from his WWE contract. TNA wasted no time putting Angle and Joe on a collision course by having Angle’s first appearance setting up this feud.

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Joe was undefeated in TNA when Angle joined the company to add even more interest. The two top tier performers would work many times throughout the years adding different chapters to their rivalry. Any TNA fan to watch the entire time will appreciate their chemistry and dynamic in the ring. The following things about the Angle vs Joe rivalry get overlooked and forgotten.

10 Their Rivalry Played A Role In Samoa Joe's Controversial Shoot Promo

Samoa Joe cutting a shoot promo on Scott Hall no showing an advertised PPV main event led to Kevin Nash slapping him in a physical interaction backstage. The match was scheduled to be Kurt Angle, AJ Styles and Tomko vs Joe, Nash and Hall.

RELATED: Kurt Angle's First 10 TNA PPV Matches Ranked From Worst To Best

Joe deserves some credit for tying the promo into his feud with Angle at the time. All the bigger names coming into TNA and not respecting it made sense both for Angle’s character and Hall no-showing. Nash was more upset about Joe attacking his friend’s issues, but Joe did try to bring it back to the Angle feud.

9 TNA Used Their Biggest PPV To Hype Feud

Kurt Angle’s first PPV came at Bound for Glory 2006 as a special referee for the Jeff Jarrett vs Sting main event. TNA debuted Angle on the previous Impact TV episode by delivering a headbutt to Samoa Joe to get people talking heading into the PPV.

There was another pull apart brawl between the two earlier in the PPV before Angle officiated the main event. TNA had Joe banned from the venue after this brawl to ensure he didn’t ruin the main event when Angle played a role in the previously established story paying off.

8 Creative Was Split On Finish Of First Match

Jeff Jarrett has one of the better new wrestling podcasts due to offering honest insight on things we never heard before. TNA was apparently split on the booking of Kurt Angle having his first match in the company against Samoa Joe.

There were some names upset since Joe losing his undefeated streak to a former WWE star in their first match set a bad precedent. Angle winning ended up winning the creative room debate since it was his first match, and he was newly the biggest star in the company.

7 Defeated Team 3D In PPV Main Event

Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle having a match with all the titles on the line is remembered, but few fans remember how it was set up. TNA booked a PPV main event one show before this match to place the TNA Tag Team Championship on them.

Angle was the TNA World Champion and Samoa Joe was the X-Division Champion when facing the tag champs Team 3D. Both members of Team 3D had a chance to win a singles title if pinning Angle or Joe. However, TNA went the route of Joe and Angle winning tag gold to set up the winner takes all match.

6 Had The Third Iron Man Match In TNA History

Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe feuding in Angle’s first TNA program led to three major PPV matches in a row. The first two featured them trading victories to set up a bigger third match with the winner becoming the #1 contender to the TNA World Championship.

TNA went with the Iron Man match stipulation for just the third time in company history. The attraction felt different since TNA didn’t overkill the idea like WWE did. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels had the two previous Iron Man matches for TNA, but Angle vs Joe was a much bigger match.

5 Samoa Joe Joining Main Event Mafia Ended Feud

One of the strangest booking decisions made by TNA featured Samoa Joe joining the Main Event Mafia. The turn came during a King of the Mountain ladder match where Joe and Kurt Angle’s previous history was used to sell the match.

However, it ended with Joe and Angle on the ladder and Joe handing the belt to Angle to hang it to the top to win. Joe joined the Main Event Mafia as a former world champion, but he didn’t fit into the vibe of the group to take away from his years of work as a top face.

4 Had A Sportsmanship Based Match On PPV Celebrating X-Division

TNA didn’t book Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle in too many heated rivalries again after Joe joined the Main Event Mafia. Destination X 2011 featured a rare attraction match between them with less intensity or personal issues as the story.

RELATED: Samoa Joe's 5 Best TNA Rivals (& 5 Worst)

This event was booked to celebrate the X-Division and used the history of Angle and Joe for a great match. TNA’s Bound for Glory series saw wrestlers competing for months to earn a title shot on the biggest show of the year. Joe and Angle had a match with points on the line as the main story.

3 Feud Somewhat Restarted When Samoa Joe Joined Beat Down Clan

Another chapter in the Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle story came when Joe joined the Beat Down Clan faction. MVP formed a heel group with Bobby Lashley leading the way and other wrestlers to have friendships with them joining.

Joe played a vicious heel as part of the Beat Down Clan as MVP feuded with the top faces in TNA. Kurt Angle joined the other big names to defend TNA in multiple matches against the Beat Down Clan. Fans were treated to some more Joe vs Angle moments before both left the company.

2 WWE Honored The Rivalry Before Kurt Angle Retired

Kurt Angle wanted to end his career in WWE and received that opportunity for one final run. The final match against Baron Corbin was a huge disappointment, but Angle got to have some TV matches against names he had history with.

Samoa Joe was one of the talents that Angle wanted to work with in WWE before he retired to honor their TNA rivalry. WWE commentary even referenced them having a history without mentioning TNA by name. Angle was no longer an elite in-ring worker, but he had a solid victory over Joe one final time.

1 TNA Set PPV Records With Their Big Matches

There are a few other rivalries like AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels, Gail Kim vs Awesome Kong and Beer Money vs Motor City Machine Guns that could rival Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle as the top feud in TNA history. However, Angle and Joe have one massive argument in their favor that will win out.

TNA set PPV box office records multiple times for matches between Joe and Angle. Jeff Jarrett confirmed their first match set a new record when main eventing Genesis 2006. Another match at Lockdown 2008 set another record when Joe won the TNA World Championship for the first time to show how much fans cared about their work.

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