Main Event Mafia

The Main Event Mafia (occasionally abbreviated to MEM) was a heel stable in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It consisted of the leader of the group, Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T & his wife Sharmell) and Scott Steiner.
The group formed in late 2008 and has since been marginally successful, with Sting being TNA World Heavyweight Champion and Booker T introducing a new Championship into TNA called the TNA Legends Championship and declaring himself the first official champion. The group's formation was the result of professional wrestling veterans beginning to start a rivalry with younger talent within the company (who call themselves The TNA Front Line).
In June 2013, Sting announced the return of a new Main Event Mafia, returning as a heroic stable after one year of war between the TNA roster and the Aces & Eights being the heels of the storyline. The group so far includes past members of the original Main Event Mafia, Sting, Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe.
==History==
===Background===
In the summer of 2008 at TNA's July pay-per-view Victory Road during a bout between Samoa Joe and Booker T for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Joe went on a rampage and attacked referees, security, and Booker T without mercy. Sting then entered the arena and stopped Joe's assault; however, Joe gave Sting the middle finger and continued his assault on Booker T. This angered Sting to a point in which he grabbed Joe and hit him with his baseball bat. Following the event, Sting did not appear on TNA's primary television program TNA Impact! in a wrestling role or to explain his actions at the event, instead he was only seen standing in the rafters on each episode.
It began on the July 31 episode of Impact!, while Joe was brawling with Booker T, a baseball bat fell from the ceiling hanging by a wire; Booker T grabbed it and smashed Joe over the back with it. At TNA's August pay-per-view Hard Justice, Sting attacked A.J. Styles after Styles had just attacked Kurt Angle following their encounter. Sting's actions were eventually revealed on the August 14 episode of Impact!, in which he stated that he attacked Joe and Styles because they were not showing respect for veterans such as Angle and Booker T by doing what they did at the events. Sting being a veteran of the sport himself went on to say when he was Styles' and Joe's age, if he had a veteran like Booker T or Angle the way Joe and Styles' did, he pinned them for the "One, Two, Three" and walked away, he did not add insult to injury by trying to end their careers, like Styles and Joe were trying to do. This sparked a rivalry between the three, which later involved Angle and Booker T.
At TNA's September pay-per-view No Surrender, Sting announced that at TNA's October pay-per-view Bound for Glory IV, he would challenge Joe for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship; later in the event during a match between Christian Cage, Angle, and Joe, Jeff Jarrett made his on-screen return to the promotion after not being seen in TNA since late May 2007, by siding with and helping Joe retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Jarrett went on to Bound for Glory to defeat Angle in a match with Mick Foley as Special Guest Ringside Enforcer. Also, at Bound for Glory, Sting defeated Joe after Kevin Nash struck Joe with a baseball bat while the referee wasn't looking to allow Sting to take the advantage and pin Joe after the Scorpion Death Drop. Nash's actions were explained on the October 16 episode of Impact!, when he said that Joe disrespected him and his longtime friend Scott Hall in late 2007 when Joe insulted Hall for not showing up at TNA's December pay-per-view Turning Point.
===Formation===
The group officially joined together on the October 23 episode of Impact!, in a backstage segment between Nash, Booker T, Angle, Sting, and Jeremy Borash, where Angle announced that the four had joined together to form what they called The Main Event Mafia to start a "war" against the younger talent to take what they deserved: respect. They added another member, Scott Steiner, to the Mafia on the October 30 episode of Impact!, as he made his return from a previous injury and attacked Joe, Styles, and almost all their allies. Notably, Steiner spared using his lead pipe on his pre-injury on-screen protégé Petey Williams, who backed off as soon as he saw him.
=== Additional members ===
Kurt Angle hired security for the mafia. Big Rocco and Sally Boy were the security guards hired as the Main Event Mafia security. Sharmell was also a member of the mafia from the beginning entering with Booker T. Jenna Morasca was added to the team as a financial backer. During the feud with the Frontline Sting would always talk about respect and how Samoa Joe would disrespect the wrestlers who helped build this company. Samoa Joe would start his own Nation of Violence with someone telling him wat to do. At DestinationX Samoa joe was put in a match against Scott Steiner. and would get himself disqualified after brutally attacking Steiner.
As the months progressed Samoa Joe would carry out assaults on anybody and everybody and a few weeks before Slammiversary her announced that on his "hit list" were all the members of the MEM except for Sting and that at Slammiversary Kurt Angle was the one who he would assault.
At Slammiversery, Joe and Angle would climb the ladder at the same time and Joe would hand Angle the title belt thus turning heel and joining the mafia. 
On the impact following the PPV Sting would call out all of the members of the MEM and Matt Morgan would come down and defend Joe and the rest of the MEM thus joining the MEM as well. Traci Brooks also joined the ranks of the main event mafia as she won a battle royale to name a female representation of the stable.
=== The End of the Mafia ===
In October 2009 following Bound for Glory, it seemed that the Main Event Mafia would begin to disband. As reported on many wrestling internet rumor sites, Booker T was unhappy with his time in TNA and left the company. Kurt Angle turned face and in "Russo-like" fashion made the formation of the Mafia pointless as he came to the realization that the young stars of TNA deserve respect and decided the mafia should disband. Kevin Nash went along with Kurt's decision and has focused on his feud with Eric Young. By November 19, 2009, Scott Steiner was the only former member claiming membership as he feuded with Bobby Lashley. However, as his feud with Lashley came to a close and as Hulk Hogan joined the company, Steiner too left TNA, thus officially dissolving the MEM.
===Abandoned return (2011)===
In January 2011 TNA started a storyline aiming to bring back the Main Event Mafia as a face group on the February 3, 2011, edition of Impact! to feud with Immortal. Scott Steiner returned to the promotion on the January 27 edition of Impact! and aligned himself with Kurt Angle, but on January 30 Booker T and Kevin Nash instead made surprise returns to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to compete at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, forcing TNA to change their plans and abandon the storyline.
===New Main Event Mafia (2013)===
On the June 13 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting announced the return of a new Main Event Mafia to face the Aces & Eights after the beat down of Slammiversary XI. On June 20 the second member of the New Main Event Mafia was revealed to be Kurt Angle. Both were former members of the Mafia.
On the June 27 episode of Impact Wrestling, Samoa Joe was revealed as the third member of the New Main Event Mafia. On July 4, the fourth member was revealed to be Magnus. This marked a deviation from previous incarnations of the MEM where only former World Heavyweight Champions could be members (Magnus was only a former World Tag Team Champion). This turning of a new leaf was commented on by the members on Magnus' inclusion.
It was mentioned that Joe's inclusion came at Angle's recommendation (though Joe had also been a previous member), and that Magnus' inclusion came at Joe's recommendation. Both due to past rivalries where the former enemies had earned each other's respect during feuds. Magnus and Joe were also previously Tag Team Champions together.
On the July 11 episode, the fifth member was revealed to be Rampage Jackson.
==Members==
===Main Event Mafia (original incarnation)===
*Kurt Angle
*Sting
*Kevin Nash
*Booker T
*Scott Steiner
Later joined by
*Samoa Joe
===Associates (of original incarnation)===
*Traci Brooks (TNA Knockout representative)
* Sharmell (Booker T's valet)
* Jenna Morasca (Kevin Nash's valet)
* Taz (Samoa Joe's advisor)
*Sally Boy (Security guard)
* Big Rocco (Security guard)
===The New Main Event Mafia (2013)===
*Sting
*Kurt Angle
*Samoa Joe
*Magnus
*Rampage Jackson
==In wrestling==
*Double-team finishing moves
**Bearhug (Steiner) / Jumping calf kick (Booker) combination
**Double chokeslam (Booker and Steiner)
*Entrance music
**"Main Event Mafia" by Dale Oliver
==Championships and accomplishments==
*Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
**TNA World Heavyweight Championship - Sting (1 time), Kurt Angle (1 time)
**TNA Legends Championship - Booker T (1 time), Kevin Nash (2 times)
**TNA World Tag Team Championship - Booker T & Scott Steiner (1 time)
**TNA X-Division Championship - Samoa Joe (1 time)
==See also==
*TNA Frontline
==External links==
* Profile
Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling teams and stables
Category:Main Event Mafia
Category:2008 debuts
Category:2013 disbandments
Category:Teams and stables