Samoa Who?

[RatedRockstar]

Ok this is just my opinion but as a guy whose followed joe to an extent for 10 years. (Im a huge ROH fan so I have seen all his matches from his time with the company.) But why is joe so over? His mic work isn't very good at all. He is a decent worker in the ring, but he no sells far too much and has the tendency to botch his own signature spots far too often. Now I can admit he has a large amount of 5 star matches, but all of those are against danielson (daniel bryan), cm punk, kurt angle, aj styles, and daniels. To be honest those guys could make even me look good and they largely carried those matches as Joe is normally winded within 8 minutes of a match due to being so out of shape. So really, what Im saying is how did this guy get so over or is it just because hes a TNA original?

 

[IHW]

For his size, his ring skills are great. I love his character, the guy who don't give a sh*t about anything or anyone. I think its mainly that rebel character he is.

 

[DrMantisToboggan]

I've wondered the same thing. Granted I haven't really paid much attention to his ROH work so maybe it stems from that time in ROH but from what I've seen in TNA is just OK.

 

[josh4worldchamp]

Ok i understand its ur opinion so im not gonna get mad but ive followed his career 2 and his promos are amazing to say the least hes 1 of the best talkers ive ever seen and his in ring work is just as amazing and idk wat joe u watch but he doesnt get winded that fast and ill admit hes gained a few but he can lose em 2 and now the reason hes so over is because people respect him they respect him when he talks and when he wrestles and they didnt carry him he can hold his own against anybody imo hes one of the top 5 wrestlers of today

 

[xBANEx]

I have to agree with Josh on this one. Either you're watching a different Joe or you're smoking crack.

While I haven't watched TNA in awhile I've seen some of his work there+fair share of his work in ROH. He's no Flair on the mic but he's adequate enough to "go." For his size, he's quite amazing in the ring. Pretty easy to see why he's over, you don't have to like the guy (can't recall if you ever said if you did or not) but you can't deny his ability.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I remember when I first saw Joe, its was in the TNA days, I thought "Oh great here we go, another generic big Samoan, hell its even in the dudes name"

Well I was pretty wrong. He has good technical skills and he is agile for his size. His promos aren't horrible, no one will ever mistake him for Punk or Macho Man but he gets by. He is a great worker and I typically enjoy watching his matches

 

[Seanjburkey]

It's simple, Joe is a badass I don't give a shit character, and people love that. Its not always about mic skills or in ring perfection. Many times it's how a wrestler carries themselves, and no matter what situation or what slot he has on the card Joe always carries himself as if he were the baddest man on the planet. Much like Tazz did back in ECW.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I have to agree with Josh on this one. Either you're watching a different Joe or you're smoking crack.

While I haven't watched TNA in awhile I've seen some of his work there+fair share of his work in ROH. He's no Flair on the mic but he's adequate enough to "go." For his size, he's quite amazing in the ring. Pretty easy to see why he's over, you don't have to like the guy (can't recall if you ever said if you did or not) but you can't deny his ability.

This. Especially the part about the original poster being on crack.

I also second the opinion that people like the way Joe carries himself, and that it is similar to the way that Taz used to carry himself. To me Joe is a believable badass. If a guy is going to walk around threatening to kill people, I need to believe he is willing and able to do it- and Joe pulls that off.

But i'd like to focus on his wrestling if we can...

I can't even begin to understand how someone can so easily discount Joe's ring skills. He is on the very short list of best performers bell-to-bell in the whole industry. The guy can have a solid match angainst anyone. He can adapt to work against any style and any size opponent. If you put Joe in with another high level worker and give them time to work, its a potential classic everytime.

I will agree that all of the guys that Joe has had classics against are elite world-class wrestlers, but that doesn't mean that Joe's not in their class. The fact that he has had five star matches with so many different guys, and in different companies, is a credit to Joe.

And you really need to go back and watch Joe and Punk's second 60-minute draw. I agree that Punk carried the action in the first match, due to the fact that nearly the entire match was fucking headlocks by Punk. The second match was far less "headlock-heavy" and Joe kept up with Punk the whole time. And also Joe primarily drove the action(apart from more headlocks) in the rubber match to get the win.

In fact I don't believe I've ever witnessed a Samoa Joe match where he didn't deliver a lot of strong offense throughout the encounter, includuing sprinkling in all of his signature stuff and almost never missing a beat with it. He seems to always make good decisions on when in the match to interject specific signature spots. He also has a nice array of moves in his arsenal. He has lots of nice strikes and his basic striking is stiff and looks convincing. He also has alot of true submission knowledge that he carries into his ring style as well as lots of suplex variations and a few different slams that he employs.

I also don't get the questioning of Joe's selling. I have never seen anyone knock the way that Joe sells. I would go as far as to say that he sells more realistically and convincingly than any other heavyweight on TNA's roster. I think what ultimately draws people to Joe's ring style is the fact that all of his offense is aesthetically pleasing, even if Joe himself is not.

 

[Lowdown]

For his size, his ring skills are great. I love his character, the guy who don't give a sh*t about anything or anyone. I think its mainly that rebel character he is.

I gotta side with you on this. I've stated before that Joe was the main reason I started liking TNA. His promos may not be spectacular, but they are far from bad. He really doesn't need to say much, and his attitude carries over into the ring.

 

[SpecialFNK]

does anyone else wonder why Joe wears what he wears? not that it's a really big deal, but I do think something different could make a difference.
he always wears shorts that are 2 different colours. I think lately it's been black and dark green, which isn't too bad. but before he would have red and blue. IMO it made him look funny, like a beach ball. I think he would look so much more bad ass if he was wearing all black.

 

[ABMorales787]

It's because he's different. He's "samoan". Most samoans are rampant loons and whoever can survive that, is some sort of hip hop dancer who shows off his ass. He's fat. Most fat guys, are slow, dominant and little ring movement. Joe is fast, versatile and unpredictable in the ring. He may not be much in the mic, but he does have a certain "smug" charm the fans respond to. He's a totally different type of cat like Taz would say and the fan's acknowledge that.

 

[MWRedskins]

well, people like the fact that he can go in the ring, now his promos arent the best, but he's not the worst promo guy in the world and can speak, but most like him for his wrestling skills for a big man which actually is real good. Joe has the potential to put on a 5 star match.

 

[JUSTINMFNBEEMER]

everyone keeps saying "for his size", well the truth of that matter is, hes fat, theres really no reason he need to be fat, hes just lazy with his workouts as he is now in the ring. theres a reason hes never been in wwe and probably never will be, and thats cuz imo hes lazy. im not sure whos higher about him, the iwc or joe himself. he wouldnt last one year in wwe

 

[T2KFreeker]

everyone keeps saying "for his size", well the truth of that matter is, hes fat, theres really no reason he need to be fat, hes just lazy with his workouts as he is now in the ring. theres a reason hes never been in wwe and probably never will be, and thats cuz imo hes lazy. im not sure whos higher about him, the iwc or joe himself. he wouldnt last one year in wwe

All I read there was blah, blah, blah, fat, blah, blah, blah, WWE, blah blah blah WWE. Get over it. Maybe he doesn't want to be in WWE? Besides, it's not like there hasn't ever been a fat Samoan in WWE. I just wish people would really stop comparing the two and just enjoy what they are.

Now, to Joe. The reason I like Joe is the first time I saw him go, he so reminded me of Taz when he was younger. that Intensity that he brings to the ring is awesome. Not the best interview, but nowhere close to the worst. In TNA, look at Kazarian. love him as a wrestler, but he sucks on the mic. Joe is good, and hopefully continues to be good.

 

[Self High 5]

It's nice that Joe is being used to elevate the tag division at the moment (and I hope he and Magnus can take the belts off Morgan and Crimson, as I f*****g HATE Morgan and Crimson) but I hope that by later this year he'll be back in the main event scene as a top tweener. He's just got a certain something about him crowds love. As has been remarked upon already, the mix of bad-ass persona and an almost Dusty Rhodes like everyman physique just really does it for me. He's too good not to be up there mixing it up with Roode, Storm and Hardy etc.

 

[IT Factor]

I'm a fan of Samoa Joe so let me put that out there before I start in on this topic. That being said, Samoa Joe has really let himself go these last few years or so. He used to be an unstoppable beast in the ring who was different and somewhat innovative. So he really didn't need to be a technical marvel since he was so different to the status quo. He has gained so much weight that it noticeably affects every move he does and it comes off looking really sloppy and half-assed. His promos have never been that impressive, but, again his ring work used to do most of the talking anyway so it wasn't really needed.

I always thought TNA should've done the Goldberg type of thing with Joe. No talking and build him up as an unstoppable badass who tears it up. Which they did pretty nicely in the beginning with him. If Joe wants to truly become the guy he was years ago he needs to take time off, lose weight, and reinvent himself enough so that he can be elevated back to main event status. If not, I'm afraid he'll stay lost in the shuffle and be stuck in the lower to mid-card. Sad too, considering how good he once was.

 

[This Is My Name Thank You]

I always thought TNA should've done the Goldberg type of thing with Joe. No talking and build him up as an unstoppable badass who tears it up. Which they did pretty nicely in the beginning with him. If Joe wants to truly become the guy he was years ago he needs to take time off, lose weight, and reinvent himself enough so that he can be elevated back to main event status. If not, I'm afraid he'll stay lost in the shuffle and be stuck in the lower to mid-card. Sad too, considering how good he once was.

Joe was that guy who used to destroy everyone in his path. Joe was TNA's version of Goldberg to a certain extent. That extent being Joe is way, way, way better on the mic than Goldberg. Joe in the 05 to 07 years of TNA was a pure monster who was amazing to watch in the ring. He had everything going for him at this time until someone by the name of Kurt Angle joined TNA. Sure these two guys point on amazing matches and tour the house down when the stepped into the ring. The HeadButt heard 'round the world is where joe became awesome. Wiping the blood of his opponets on the towel he carried, destroying everyone he had to get to Angle was amazing. This is when Joe was at his best and also his fall.

Sorry for the rant.

Joe, now has become sluggish and lost his credibilty ever since TNA went WWE happy and throw the Originals out the window. Yes Joe is from ROH but he been in TNA a damn near long time. Joe is still fun to watch when he wants to bring it in the ring. His promo's still get what he needs to say out while being this badass still. I see it as Joe is where he is at now due to TNA bringing in to many WWE guys that he lost faith in it all. Joe been repackaged how many times now? I lost count. Last time was he was kidnapped by Ninjas in a white van.

If Joe wants his success he needs to show it again. Joe is awesome whether people admit it or not. If he got his grind back Joe can no doubt in my mind be TNA Champion in the next few years. He is better than half the roster being totally out of shape like he is now. Well, he is not truly outta shape since he could run circles around me.

Joe is awesome through and through and the main reason why I started watching TNA. He'll hopefully come back around.

 

[Alex]

Joe just seems like he can't really be bothered. Sure he can still go in the ring, but his movements aren't quite as fresh as they used to be, plus his appearance has suffered.

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I mean looking at him now he doesn't seem as intimidating as he once did.

If he could get his act together I'm sure TNA would be willing to push him.

 

[New Hot Fed]

Samoa Joe is pretty much in Top 5 of his generation. The first time I saw him and Lowki I thought these were a new breed of wrestlers and companies would have fallen over themselves to build a new product around them. But I think this sort of wrestler came a time when wrestling was down and it did not have the visionary wrestling minds in position of power to see them and realise they were about. Even now, TNA management have zero idea what to do with Samoa Joe. Because they are too stuck in their old wrestling booking habits of the past.