The promotion formerly known as TNA and now known as Impact Wrestling had already been around for about four years when Kurt Angle came aboard, but the signing felt like a major coup for the fledgling promotion. After all, Angle was a popular WWE star and a former world champion, so it wasn’t long before Angle would become the face of his new home.
That said, Impact never had the viewership that WWE had, so many current fans may not actually know much about the Olympic Gold Medalist’s time in the Impact Zone, even though he spent over a decade there.
10 The Early Days
Exhausted with WWE due to working a tremendous number of dates with an injury as well as trouble with alcohol and painkillers, Angle left the promotion in August 2006 for Impact. Making his debut in October of the same year, Kurt Angle confronted Samoa Joe to kick off his first feud but didn’t wrestle immediately. His first PPV appearance would be at Bound for Glory, acting as a special enforcer for a match between Sting and Jeff Jarrett. Angle would actually step into the ring a month after his debut, beating Abyss on the weekly TV show.
9 Breaking Samoa Joe’s Streak
Following that Abyss victory, Angle had his first major match days later at the Genesis '06 PPV. Main eventing over the World Title match, Angle would take on Samoa Joe in a highly acclaimed singles match, coming out on top. The win was a bit controversial with die-hard fans, as the younger indie standout Joe tapped out to Angle, ending an impressive 18-month undefeated streak, but the post-match interaction gave fans the promise of a rematch between the two.
8 The First TNA World Champion
Since Impact started, the promotion had been affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance, using NWA’s titles as their own. However, in 2006, NWA cut off ties with Impact because World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage wasn’t defending the belt at NWA events. So at Sacrifice 2007, Cage took on Kurt Angle and Sting in a three-way, with the winner becoming the first TNA World Champion.
Angle would get the win, but controversy over the finish -- Angle submitted Sting while Christian was being pinned -- led to an immediate vacating of the title. The belt was then put up for grabs in a King of the Mountain Match at Slammiversary, which Angle also won, thus making him the first and the second TNA World Champion.
7 Winning Every Title -- Simultaneously
With that second World Title win, Kurt Angle immediately turned heel and reignited his feud with Samoa Joe. By their match at Hard Justice 2007, Joe had the X Division Title and the Tag Team Belts (with no partner), while Angle had the World Title and the Inoki Genome Federation version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (a.k.a. the IWGP Third Belt). So of course, they had a winner-take-all match for their various hardware, which would end with Kurt Angle winning every men’s title in the company at the same time thanks to his real-life wife Karen interfering on his behalf.
6 Angle Alliance
With his heel turn, Kurt Angle would also form his own stable to ensure he kept his World Championship. With AJ Styles and Tomko defecting from Christian’s Coalition to become Angle’s own minions, the Angle Alliance would also include Karen Angle, Bobby Roode, Jeremy Borash, and Traci Brooks. However, at Lockdown, both Angle and the tag champion team of Styles and Tomko would lose their titles, resulting in mounting tensions that would force the group to split up.
5 Main Event Mafia
Despite the breakup of Angle Alliance, it wouldn’t be long before Kurt found a new stable. Teaming up with fellow veteran stars Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T, and later Scott Steiner, Angle led the Main Event Mafia to combat the younger talent in Impact who the legends felt didn’t give them the appropriate amount of respect. MEM lasted about a year, with Angle losing his leadership position, regaining it, and ultimately leaving the group to turn face amid the departures of several founding members. The group would reform in 2013 as a babyface stable to successfully combat the invading Aces & Eights.
4 The Feud With Jeff Jarrett
In the late 2000s, Kurt and Karen Angle divorced in real life, with Karen forging a relationship with Impact founder Jeff Jarrett, which caused a lot of backstage controversy. Of course, in true pro wrestling fashion, it would end up becoming fodder for a kayfabe storyline in 2011.
Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett would clash in a number of matches including a mixed tag pitting Jeff and Karen Jarrett against Kurt Angle and Chyna as well as an “Ultra Male Rules” 2/3 falls cage match. After a big Slammiversary main event title match, Angle would beat Jarrett in a parking lot brawl on Impact, with the stipulation that Jarrett would have to move to Mexico without Angle’s kids should he lose.
3 Became An Authority Figure
Following a real-life 2013 stint in rehab, a Hall of Fame induction, and feuds with Bobby Roode and EC3, Kurt Angle would be named Executive Director of Wrestling Operations in June of 2014, taking the position from MVP. Surprisingly, Angle wouldn’t actually wrestle for most of that run until taking on MVP in a street fight in January of 2015. During this period, he also was angling (heh) for a WWE contract, but it never panned out so he decided to stick with Impact Wrestling.
2 His Last Years With Impact
With his January 2015 return to action, Kurt Angle would be World Champion by the end of the month, beating Bobby Lashley in an acclaimed match. This sixth and final title win would last 145 days with defenses against Eric Young, Lashley, Rockstar Spud, and Austin Aries before dropping the belt to EC3 in June. Before departing the company, Angle would have one final title shot in January of 2016, unsuccessfully challenging Matt Hardy for the championship.
1 Angle Enjoyed His Time There
Despite fan perception of the promotion after years of blunders and WWE’s ability to control the narrative of the wrestling business, Kurt Angle actually has gone on record to say that he did his best work with Impact Wrestling. Angle felt that he was in his prime when he jumped ship from WWE, and pointed to his great matches with Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and Bobby Roode as highlights of his career. Noting that Impact was where he did the craziest moves that took a toll on his body, Kurt Angle felt that most eyes were on WWE the whole time, so it’s likely many fans don’t even know about this aspect of his career.