TNA Wrestling shared many of the ingredients of the best wrestling promotions ever, but throughout its history, it was rife with odd management and bizarre decisions that only worked to make things more difficult for themselves. As recently shared by Kurt Angle, another blunder has come to light, as the Olympian shared that there was interest in the company from Brock Lesnar himself, joining the collection of wrestling's biggest 'what if' moments.
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Kurt Angle Claims Brock Lesnar Wanted To Join TNA
On the latest episode of The Kurt Angle Show, recounting the year 2007 in his career, Angle dropped a bombshell on something that could have drastically shifted the tone of the American pro wrestling timeline. After leaving the WWE, Lesnar began competing in Japan for a short stint, which saw him and Kurt Angle clashing for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Angle was TNA World Champion at the time, and recalled a conversation he had with Lesnar on the podcast.
'Brock calls me...he says, 'Listen, man, can you get me in TNA?'...he said, 'Hey, what are you making?' I told him what I was making and he said, 'If you can get me that, I'll come.' With a potential news-shattering deal on the table, Angle relayed the interest to TNA management. According to Angle, they replied with 'No, we’re not going to give him that kind of money'.
Whilst it seems like a terrible decision on TNA's part, Angle reasoned that the company already had a number of big money contracts on the payroll. 'I think they were at the top of their budget, where they couldn’t really give any more money out,' Angle noted. 'I was making a lot of money. Sting was making a good bit of money, and then you had a bunch of guys on the roster....the Carter family funded it for a long time, and then TNA started making their own money, but it just wasn’t enough to bring in another guy for seven figures a year. I don’t think they were capable of doing that.' (h/t to Fightful for all the quotes).
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What Could Have Been With Brock Lesnar In TNA
As much of a physical specimen Lesnar has been in the last few years of his WWE run, The Beast Incarnate in 2007 would have been much younger and sprier, perhaps spending his prime years in TNA had the deal worked out. The list of potential match-ups is insane, from crossing paths with Samoa Joe and AJ Styles years before they eventually did, to colliding with all-time stars like Sting, to even reigniting his classic feud with Angle. Having left WWE burnt out from all the travel, a couple flights to Orlando every month could have suited Lesnar perfectly.
But, of course, things didn't play out that way. Finishing up his commitments in Japan, Lesnar turned his attention to mixed martial arts, another avenue that he excelled at. Given that Lesnar was a beast in a squared circle and The Octagon, it stands to reason that TNA's six-sided ring would have been another canvas for him to dominate.
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