Kurt Angle Says TNA Stable Could Have Been “As Big As The NWO”
During his time in TNA, Kurt Angle is remembered for feuding with Samoa Joe and his very personal rivalry with Jeff Jarrett but perhaps nothing is better recalled than his time in the Main Event Mafia.
The core group of the Main Event Mafia came together in late 2008 in TNA as Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Sting, and Scott Steiner joined forces to solidify their place at the top of the card in the company following perceived disrespect from younger members of the roster.
Despite the star-studded nature of the group, the Main Event Mafia was not built to last and within a year the group was no more.
Speaking on The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic champion discussed his part in the Main Event Mafia and says those in the group thought it was going to be a very big deal and could even emulate one of the biggest groups in wrestling history:
“We all knew. It actually worked out even better once we formulated it. We were like ‘Holy crap, this thing is going to be huge.’ I just don’t think that we gave it enough time. I think if we let it mature for a while, it would be every bit as big as the NWO.”
The NWO helped revolutionize wrestling in the mid-nineties as Hulk Hogan turned his back on his Hulkamaniacs to join Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to join the villainous group. Despite being formed in 1996 and WCW going out of business in 2001, the NWO was still among WWE’s top merchandise sellers in June 2023.
Following that time span, it’s probably unlikely that there will be a run on Main Event Mafia t-shirts in 2035 showing there turned out to be quite a disparity between the two groups in wrestling history.