[2006-12-10-TNA-Turning Point] Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[G. Badger]

TNA or Impact or whatever they go by now has this online:

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U5FEiAGSUO8

 

This is the rematch from their great match a month prior. This contest was much more about Joe getting even. Kurt weathered the storm and prevailed. Here Joe wasn't going to make the same mistake. He would have an answer for the Ankle Lock. He would up the intensity and fortunately so would Kurt if he was going to gwet the win.

 

This match seemingly has a much more of an MMA influence as there was a fair bit of mat action for a 2006 match. The strikes seemed much stiffer as well although not what Joe was doing with AJ & Daniels. He wasn't working light but, the blistering chops, soccer kicks, face wash weren't there.

 

Nevertheless, it worked in this match. Great stuff, near classic stuff until the ref bump. I'm alright with a ref bump but, man this puppy went off the rails for no reason as the ref bump was an unnecessary bit of drama milking. Even Don "the man" West said something like 'after a great match like that how could it come to this!?' speaking of Angle.

 

I'll still call it a great match but, this was a B.S. way to turn Kurt heel. Do it on TV.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe - TNA Turning Point 2006

Pro Wrestling Hell is watching Kurt Angle do loose chain wrestling based around his anklelock for all eternity. Can I tap out? I guess I could have stopped watching. I was tearing my hair out during all those terrible Anklelocks and then the even worse counters. Actually the most egregious was how easy it was to escape a rear naked choke. I actually thought this match was the more interesting match of the two at first before in devolved into the worst chain wrestling in history. It was built around Angle the wrestler vs Joe the striker. It lasted for two minutes, but it was cool. I will give Angle credit he is actually really good at punching. He has a great right. I really liked his out of control, awkward dive over the top rope to the floor. It felt raw and organic. I liked the brawling on the outside. So I was like alright throw out the wrestler vs striker narrative, lets have a brawl. Then we were doing double wristlocks from a side mount. So I was just confused. From there we were hitting signature spots. Then came Pro Wrestling Hell. This match was a total clusterfuck even before the shitshow finish. Angle taps out to the Coquina Clutch but theres no ref! Angle gets up and punts him between the legs. I have no problem with any of this. The commentators to do a good job putting over Angle is embarassed he tapped out and has snapped. He grabs a chair. This is when I was rolling my eyes. He swings the chair and it hits him in the face. But as Joe is grabbing at his trunks, Angle is floundering reaching for the ropes like a stooge. Dude, you just got hit in the face with a steel chair. Joe taps him out. Nothing mattered in this match. Zero. Why do I keep giving Kurt Angle chances? I am skipping the Final Resolution Iron Man Match because it didnt get good reviews even from people who liked these matches. I am going to watch the Lockdown match because I remember at the time people thought that was the future of pro wrestling with all the MMA influence in the match.   

 

[G. Badger]

I gotta say that I liked this match more on the 2nd viewing. Everything leading up to the end was pretty damn awesome. The Angle heeling was probably unnecessary from an overall match standpoint but, from a storytelling perspective, Angle had to resort to cheating in order to overcome the Samoan Submission Machine.

I didn't mind the chair rebounding into Kurt's face as a setup for a struggle rather than a knock down. It was clear that it was only a slight blow compared to getting hit on the top of the head by someone swinging a chair. A little 3 Stooges but, the finish justifies this all IMO.

Its probably on par with the previous month's encounter...great stuff

Edit: I also wanted to mention the importance of the fake-out on the cheap finish. I think stylistically TNA wanted to show that (in this feud at least) they weren't going to resort to sports entertainment type finishes. People have always used the threat of a cheap win only for the babyface to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat but, here TNA wanted to continue to differentiate themselves. Because for all intents and purposes, a ballshot and a roll up would have worked and only added fuel to the rivalry. I think we see it too much nowadays where we don't actually believe that a cheater is going to win but, in '06, it certainly was likely especially for more mainstream wrestling.

Also, I just finished Angle vs Joe's 30 minute Iron Man from Final Resolution 2007. I thought it was pretty good. It played off their previous stuff and was well wrestled. I particularly liked how the finish was done. It wasn't breaking any new ground so, it seemed like a good way to wrap up this chapter of the rivalry.