#45: Kurt Angle vs. Jay Lethal, TNA No Surrender (9/9/2007).
This is for Angle's X Division Championship.
A month before this, Angle defeated Samoa Joe at Hard Justice to win control of every male championship in TNA - the World Title, The X Division Title, and both Tag Titles. He was also the IWGP Third Belt Champion - a title that was created as a result of the Brock Lesnar controversy in New Japan around this time. Google it - it's wild.
Anyway, Angle had to defend all three of his TNA titles on this show. In the main event, he defended the World Title against Abyss. And in the opening match, he and Sting - the man who won the right to be his tag team partner and co champion - lost their titles to the team of Ron Killings and...Adam "Pacman" Jones. Google his 2007 suspension from the Tennessee Titans. It's wild.
Here, Angle is defending his X Division Title against Jay Lethal, who is very much in "Randy Savage Cosplay" mode here. In all seriousness, Lethal is a solid worker, but no one gave him a chance in Hell against one of the greatest to ever do it. Could he pull off a miracle?
Angle takes control of the arm right away. Lethal is up and he gets Angle into the ropes. Nice side headlock from Lethal. Shoulder tackle from Lethal, and a nice hip toss from a confident Angle. Side headlock takedown from Angle. Hip toss from Lethal and a low dropkick to the face. He goes to the top. Axe handle to Angle gets a nearfall. Angle powerbombs Lethal right into the apron.
Hard forearms to the kidney from Angle next. Suplex gets a 2 for the Champ. Body scissors from Angle wears Lethal down. A tilt a whirl backbreaker from Angle, followed by hard right hands. Big stomps to the back and the kidneys of Lethal, who is struggling. Uppercut from Angle, who is supremely confident. Back suplex gets a nearfall. He drives his knee into Lethal's back and pulls on the chin. Lethal is up, and we have a double clothesline.
Hurricanrana from Lethal, followed by a loud enziguri gets a close 2 count. Release German Suplex from Angle nearly spikes Lethal right onto his head. Lethal escapes an Angle Slam and hits a DDT for 2. Lethal goes to the top, and Angle runs up and brings him down with a belly to belly suplex. It only gets 2. Angle puts the Ankle Lock in and Lethal escapes. Small package attempt gets a close 2 count.
Angle with a series of German Suplexes. Lethal kicks out again. Lethal escapes the Angle Slam again, and hits the Lethal Combination. He goes to the top. An elbow drop that would make Randy Savage proud connects. Angle kicks out. Big shots to the back from Angle, and a release German Suplex follows. The straps come down. Lethal escapes the Angle Slam again. Angle goes right into the Ankle Lock, but Lethal rolls out of it into a pin and wins the X Division Title in a major upset.
This was a fine match. It wasn't a classic, and it wasn't horrible. It was what you would expect from workers like Angle and Lethal. The man known as "Black Machismo" performed very well here in one of the biggest moments of his entire career. Angle, meanwhile, wasn't afraid to make Lethal look good on both offense and defense. Commentary put this over huge as the biggest upset in TNA history.
Lethal would go on to bigger and better things in ROH, but this is a fantastic early career highlight. Angle, of course, was in his prime here, and would remain there for another couple of years.