Samoa Joe, New X-Division Champion: Good or Bad?

[My$terio_Fan]

So tonight at Lockdown, Joe beat Homicide for the X-Division championship. Somoa Joe started off in the X-Division early in his TNA career and him Styles & Daniels put on some great matches together.

But for the last 2 years Joe has been a maineventer, winning the big belt and everything. So now that Joe has won the X belt again, do you think it's a good or bad thing?

Does it knock Joe down a few pegs since it's seen as a lower ranked belt? Will his reign help bring the X-Division back to the center of things again? Who's his feud, and what's going to happen?

Personally I think this is great. I liked Homicide but his reign was horrible. Suicide also had a crappy reign and the X-Division it self is looking a little drab. But hopefully having someone as "big" as Joe, his name value will help out the division.

Not too mention Daniels is the new #1 contender and we know these two can fight. I think Joe is better suited for this belt now anyways, since he get's stale quick when he's in the mainevent.

 

[Reddannihilation]

I definitely prefer Joe competing in the X-division. His style of wrestling requires wrestlers who can take serious bumps as well as having incredible agility, TNA's main event is crowded with guys who just can't move fast enough or take a bump the way Joe needs too. This upcoming title match against Daniels looks promising seeings as both of them have had some pretty interesting matches in the past. So all in all I'd say I'm quite happy for Joe to be the X-div champion.

 

[stryfe604]

i agree Joe in the main-event scene was good but him in the X division is a lot better. He can play off that I'm a monster thing. It's hard to do that with a beast like Matt Morgan, and that ridiculously obvious steroid monkey from the british invasion.

 

[Marquis]

Like the two people above, I see this being a good thing. With Joe hanging around in the main event scene for awhile, Joe does bring some value to the belt. His moveset as one of the two above me pointed out is fitted for the X-division. With being quick and agile, and due to his weight he can use power moves which X-division stars will over sell. Joe's focus right now is the X-division belt. He's not looking elsewhere or looking for a world title shot. He's in the Mafia for money, and his job is to hold the X-division belt. So I see the belt being Joe's only concern, which in my opinion the X-division can only gain from.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I don't actually see this being a long run to begin with, first and foremost. I actually see this as being a way to get A.J. Styles back into the mix of the X-Division, as to take him out of the Heavyweight division it seems.

With how they're playing things out, I would not be a bit surprised to see an Ultimate X Triple Threat match at Bound for Glory with Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles & Christopher Daniels once again. And it'd likely be just as good as their last.

I've never hid the fact I can't stand Samoa Joe, but I've also said over and over that the X-Division suits him far greater than the Main Event ever will. Joe may be bigger than the rest of the X-Division, but that doesn't make him better. Styles, Daniels and others have proven they can take Joe down.

I think the fact that guys like Sting, Kurt Angle & other Heavyweights have grappled with Joe and lost, will bring glory back to the X-Division for whomever can knock him off the "top of the mountain", unless of course its once again Daniels or Styles. Regardless though, Joe in the X-Division is a proper fit to me, so I'm in agreement that its a good thing.

 

[SavageTaker]

M_F, was I watching the same pay per view as you? I’m just messing with you buddy; it was probably a careless mistake.

Anyways, do I think this is a good or bad thing? I have mixed feelings to be honest. Like Will said, they seem to be going in the direction of a triple threat match (it’s a shame 3 way dances aren’t done any more) with AJ added to the mix. I’ve heard good things about the triple threat they had a few years ago (I’ve never seen it, I should probably watch it someday) so my guess is that if they are indeed going towards that direction they’ll probably be able to have another good match (if the first one was indeed good). Also, another reason this could be considered a “good” thing is because they seem to be pushing him. Let’s face it guys, whether you hate or like Joe he is going to be in the future of TNA as a main eventer. So this seems to be a step in the right direction as they will probably be building him up (again) until they or he is ready to be catapulted back into the main event mix.

Now, why could it be a bad thing? Well because I don’t think they are going to make other talent (like Amazing Red) look good with him. He will probably squash some people in that division and move on. I know some of them might never be main eventers but I still hope he doesn’t run through the division squash after squash until they are going to put him in the main event. Another reason why this might be bad? Because AJ Styles might be put in a feud with him for the X-Division title. I want to see Styles main eventing and wrestling against the main eventers for the top title of the company. I don’t care if people think he is bad on the mic, he is a damn fine performer who doesn’t need to be feuding over the second (or third depending on what you think of the Legend Title) title in the company. So hopefully he doesn’t start a feud with AJ because I want AJ in the main event.

 

[CyrusTheVirus=ECW]

Well i would say a good thing. hopefully with Samoa Joe holding the title and the fact that its now with the main event mafia, then the title will get back its prestige

 

[smalltownfan]

In the past, Samoa Joe was downright damn nasty when he was competing in the X-division and now he's doing it again...except he's even more nasty this time with Taz leading the way for the Nation of Violence. With Joe winning the title and with him being an MEM member and also with him being in the mood he's been in lately immediately raises the X-division from the ashes. We had heard or seen NOTHING from the X-division in recent weeks and now that Joe has the title, I think that instant credibility and more action on TV will come from the X-division. It needed something because there was no sight of it.

I'll throw a wrinkle in there. Look for AJ Styles, depending on what his announcement is this week on IMPACT, to ultimately make his way back to the X-division to challenge Joe for the title down the road because if you remember, Styles was the one hit hardest by Joe's betrayal when he joined the Mafia and they haven't settled those differences yet.

 

[crotchknocker]

In my opinion this is good for Samoa Joe, bad for TNA and the X Division.

Joe had just been floating around with no real agenda for a while. I mean one PPV he wrestles Steiner, next Nash, nobody gives a shit about that. He only was in the main events when they were multiple people, ie Lethal Lockdown, King of the Mountain. Now at least he has something. Unfortunately as some of you mention AJ will probably be the one to try and take the title from him, which gets him out of the TNA Championship scene where he belongs. I also don't know if they'll have a three way, I see Joe crushing Daniels at the next PPV and AJ going for revenge for it and for Joe stabbing him in the back and joining the Mafia. The only way I see a triple threat is if both of them lose to Joe and they essentially need to team up to beat him, which makes AJ at least look pretty weak.

Anyway I think this is bad for TNA in general because Joe is not a high flyer. That's really what they try to promote about the X Division and thats what I like seeing, not a mat specialist. Sure Joe and AJ competing for the title may bring back a little more prestige since they've been world champs, but the fast paced X Division matches will be no more. Thats the one thing TNA had that WWE doesn't. Last night I only wanted to see one match it was the steel asylum and from what I saw of that it was pretty good.

 

[jmt225]

I think it's a very good move on one hand, and a bad move on the other.

First of all, I've always preferred Samoa Joe as an X-Division wrestler over him competing for the TNA World Title. So, that's one thing. But another reason is that I think this further helps establish the Main Event Mafia as not only (obviously) the most stacked stable in TNA history, but in wrestling history as well. When you look at it all, you could put these motherfuckers up against any stable in wrestling history and have a very decent argument for them when it comes to why they're better than everyone else. And with Samoa Joe added to the mix, as the X-Division Champion, really helps that cause, and I think that's something TNA and the wrestlers in the Mafia really want.

However, and here's the bad part, I was hoping they would milk this Joe/'Cide feud a while longer. I've seen these two work in ROH, and they have tremendous chemistry. With Joe winning last night, I think there will be one rematch, and then Homicide will be out of the picture. That sucks, in my opinion.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Samoa Joe is right where he needs to be and should have been there earlier. Joe is a good wrestler but I just don't think he can sustain a career in the main event. He really shined in the X-Divison where Styles and Daniels bumped like crazy for him and it really showed that he can be a dominant force there. I believe he can return to what he was three years and really elevate the X-Division.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm not really sure whether it's good or bad at this point. If the purpose of giving Joe the X-Division Championship is to try and do some angles and feuds that make the title mean something again, then it's probably a good thing. The title has just been languishing for months with reigns that I think have only weakened the title overall. There seems to be some speculation that TNA is going to set up a three-way for the strap with Joe, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. The match should be good, if this is where TNA is going.

Also, if TNA intends to restore the title, then having it on any of these three guys is a good way to go about it. Since Daniels' return, TNA has had him focus pretty much exclusively on the X-Division title and he's one of the guys that really defined The X-Division.

However, if the intention is to have Joe remain the mostly mute, one dimensional puppet that he is with Taz as his mouthpiece and essentially just have him run the guys of the X-Division like he's done with Homicide, then it's definitely going to be a bad thing.

 

[gd]

I think it's good for the belt, but bad for Joe. His big heel turn into the Mafia has really come of enough. Sure he's wasn't going to be winning the title or anything, but he has only been seen minimally recently. Giving him the X-Division Belt after he held the World Title less than a year ago shows that the company doesn't think of him as a main eventer, and I doubt that he'll be in the title picture anytime soon.

However, giving him the belt does help the X-Division as a whole. Homicide's reign was pure shit, he was hardly ever on TV and he did absolutely nothing for the belt. I don't know what the point was of giving the belt to him at all, might as well have just kept it on Suicide. Now that Joe has the belt, it gains instant credibilty. I am seeing a possible Joe/Daniels/AJ match in the future, maybe at BFG. If that match is anything near their previous encounter it will make the X-Division much, much better.