Former AEW World Champion Samoa Joe recently spoke about being one of the top stars of both Ring of Honor and TNA Wrestling. Joe has been in pro wrestling since the early 2000s and took up training at UPW with John Cena and the two feuded early in both their careers.
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Samoa Joe starting his wrestling career in the early 2000s meant he got in on the ground floor during the rise of the indies. In part because of him and others like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson small indie promotions took off and gained a lot of notoriety.
SAMOA JOE ON BEING A TNA & ROH OG
During a recent Q&A panel at Terrificon 2024 (via Fandom Spotlite) Samoa Joe talked about being a part of two very well-known promotions early in their life and getting in on the ground floor. He sees being a part of Ring of Honor and TNA when they were starting out as a blessing.
“I started in ROH, creating something out of, essentially, taking the best guys in the Northeast that just weren’t getting opportunities, and creating something there. And then we go to TNA, where we’ve got more talent from the South, from the North, from the West, from everywhere. Kind of converging on a promotion and building out a brand new competitor in the field, which was awesome … But yeah, that’s always something I’ve been fortunate, and I say fortunate, because those are special times in companies.
“Being there for the building is such an awesome time to be there, because you work directly affects the success is seen. If you don’t put together matches and it doesn’t work, you feel in your pocket book, cause the fans just don’t show up. We’ve been fortunate enough that when it came to ROH, when it came to TNA, when it came to NXT, I was able to help, along with other great talent, just build out these new brands and bring new things to the world of professional wrestling. And I’m eternally thankful for that.” H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
Joe took these untested promotions like TNA and ROH and helped to put them on the map. He did this by having amazing matches with some of the best wrestlers in the world currently. Some of those big feuds he had in ROH were wrestlers currently finishing up their careers like Punk and Danielson. However, he also wrestled guys in their prime like a youngster named Tyler Black or as the world knows him today, Seth “Freaking” Rollins.
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Joe made his way to TNA in 2005, and he became one of the wrestlers of the promotion. He along with AJ Styles spent their primes in TNA building it into a very formidable promotion where some of the best matches in the world were happening. Joe also was lucky enough to face some legends and WWE Hall of Famers during the final years of their career. Some of the names are Sting, Kurt Angle, Booker T., and Scott Steiner among others.
When Joe joined NXT it was hardly a young promotion or brand. However, he brought a lot of name recognition and experience. It gave an opportunity for up-and-coming wrestlers a chance to wrestle a top guy from WWE’s only American rival at the time, TNA, and someone with 15 years of wrestling experience. He left his mark on WWE and then went to another young promotion, AEW.
Joe is currently in AEW. He showed another group of fans why he is so respected and why he is such an asset to any promotion he joins. So far in AEW, he is a former AEW World champion and a two-time TNT champion. He has wrestled and feuded with MJF, Hook, “Hangman” Adam Page, Swerve Strickland, and long-time friend CM Punk.
Samoa Joe is still with AEW and is competing at a high level. Would you like to see Joe get a shot at the current AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson? Who would you like to see Joe feud with next? How much longer do you think Joe has in wrestling? Let us know on social media if you think ROH or TNA would have been successful without Samoa Joe.
SOURCE: Fandom Spotlite, Wrestling Inc.
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