Source: Neil Borenstein of The Whit Online (Rowan University)
Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling’s No Surrender Pay-Per-View brought two major announcements among the mass amount of action seen throughout the night.
One of those announcements was a move to primetime television, as iMPACT! will air at 9 p.m. (as opposed to 11 p.m.) on Thursday nights starting Nov. 16. The bigger announcement, however, was that of an addition to TNA’s roster. And this addition is perhaps the biggest TNA has made since its inception.
At the end of No Surrender, Jim Cornette came out into the iMPACT! Zone and directed attention to a promo clip. In that promo, the arrival of one Kurt Angle was declared. In the words of Angle, “It’s real. It’s damn real!” And the fans of professional wrestling stood on their heads in amazement.
I have my own little conspiracy theory on Angle’s involvement in TNA, and won’t be surprised when he ends up on RAW one day trashing the celebrated NWA World Heavyweight Championship. But I digress. At least the immediate future for Angle is with TNA, and what he brings to the company is like nothing any other wrestler – Sting and Christian Cage included – can offer.
There are with any situation, however, pros and cons.
What’s good for TNA is that it brings in a performer with a credible wrestling background. Angle is an Olympic gold medalist from 1996 in heavyweight freestyle wrestling. An instant dream match is on the minds of all TNA faithful, pitting Samoa Joe against Angle. Other potential opponents for Angle would be AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Rhino. Every one of those potential bouts will resonate as instant classics in the professional wrestling library. And where TNA varies greatly in product with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is that TNA’s livelihood relies on a great in-ring product.
Angle’s arrival in TNA will also attract fans to the product, which is important considering the company’s big move to a prime time slot. Many fans cannot be bothered tuning into a professional wrestling program that runs from 11 p.m. to midnight. But starting in mid-November, iMPACT! will air at a time more fans are accustomed to seeing wrestling.
