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Let me start off by saying I am a huge MMA fan. I watch WEC. I watch UFC. I used to watch Pride. I buy DVDs and I love the sport. That being said, I never want my MMA and my wrestling to mix again. The Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle match only really got good when they stopped all the stupid fake MMA. ROH-style wrestling is as far as pro wrestling can go in the MMA direction without it becoming completely boring.

First, TNA is really vague about Samoa Joe's "MMA background" probably because he doesn't have much of one, and if he does, it's not worth mentioning. Second, to build to this match, they had to build up Kurt Angle as having been champion for a year, even though he dropped the title to Sting. Third, the beginning of the match was quite lame. I mean MMA holds in wrestling are just rest holds.

The key to MMA is that a submission or a knockout can come at any time. In wrestling, you know that a main event match is going to go a certain length, so the whole thought of incorporating that style is a bad idea. I also want to mention that Angle's attire looked ridiculous, considering he's been wrestling on TV for about nine years in attire that fits his Olympic wrestling background. Now all of a sudden he's in MMA style shorts, with taped fists and taped feet. It's just stupid, and a slap in the face of every match he had prior to that, in a way.

Jason A.

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I didn't like the beginning of the match when they tried doing the worked MMA. It looked pretty bad to me. I'm an MMA fan, but it didn't really add realism to me. It just looked like two wrestlers trying too hard to pretend to have a real fight. I've got no problem with working stiff, or using more submissions, but that didn't look good in my opinion.

Luckily they transitioned into a more of a pro wrestling match after a little while and they did what they did best, and put on an a fantastic pro wrestling match. I wish Joe would have sold his ankle a little more, but it was an excellent match overall and both wrestlers deserve a lot of credit. Also, kudos to TNA for using a no BS finish and avoiding their patented "Karen Swerve."

Brian Bazinet

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