The Samoa Joe of Old?

[It's Damn Real!]

Presuming the reported suspension is now up, former king of the TNA ring, Samoa Joe returned on iMPACT! last night to ultimately crush Orlando Jordan in his return bout, but that's not what this thread is about. Following the rather meaningless win, Jarrett's music hit and he came to the ring where he spouted the same historical rhetoric he's been known for spouting for years in TNA now about being behind the young guys in the locker room, all as an attempt to persuade Joe to stick around as muscle for him in his match against Nash coming later that night – a match he was worried Sting would interfere in, which was a legitimate fear it turns out, seeing as that's exactly what Sting did.

As a result, Joe cut a somewhat-shoot-style promo return telling Jarrett he only plays for one team—his own—and later on in the evening during ReAction, Joe was interviewed following the situation and seemed quite upset that Jarrett, a man he noted was notorious for doing exactly what he's claiming Sting and Nash are doing now—retaining their spots at all cost—did not but three years prior in TNA dare ask for Joe's help when he needs him.

The last we saw of Joe as the return of the original and ultra-dominant Joe was years ago, granted, but could tonights return match and subsequent altercation with Jarrett possibly be a foreshadowing to the return of the Joe of old – the "Samoan Submission Machine", that is?

 

[realdealasshole]

The issue with this is that I've seen this a million times. Joe comes back red hot and ready to dominate, kick ass, and take names. Then he fades away again for no apparent reason. Maybe it'll be different this time, but I don't have my hopes up for it.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I hope so but every time Joe comes back from a hiatus, he is usually pushed and then never seen from again for a few weeks. Maybe Joe can be pushed back to where he once was years ago. I'm not getting my hopes up since Joe has been rarely used in the past. If Joe continues to have an attitude backstage, that won't earn him any points.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I'm hoping that Joe is treated right by TNA. A motivated Joe really amps up crowds and makes for captivating watching. I don't see WWe having any interest in Joe anymore because they already seen to have a rookie that they're molding into a Joe style character in Husky Harris and I would be surprised if Joe'd be voluntarily looking to return to the RoH/ Indie scene.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm not really sure. Whenever Samoa Joe returns from one hiatus or another, the question of whether Samoa Joe is going to basically be the dominant force he once was always seems to pop up. If history is any judge, then it's probably best to not get your hopes up.

While Samoa Joe did go over Orlando Jordan tonight, it's a bit early to speculate on what the future holds for him. Maybe TNA thinks Joe has learned his lesson, will let bygones be bygones and Joe won't be punished further by being buried or jobbed out. If Joe continues to supposedly cop an attitude backstage, then who knows.

 

[mrbrownstone]

If TNA can keep their storylines straight for more than two weeks then it could be a possibility but that dosent seem to happen all too often. The thing is that every time Joe returns from injury or suspension he is made to look ultra dominant for a few weeks but then for some reason or another fades off into obscurity. I really hope this dosent turn out to be the case but I wouldnt get my hopes up.

 

[Midcard Fame]

TNA has storyline for someone who wasn't in the E, WCW or ECW? Lies, why are you lying to me? I don't really think it's a resurgence of the old Samoa Joe. I think its more of an apology from TNA to Joe for suspending him. A "please don't leave, then we'll have no 'homegrown' TNA talent to bury when the others leave" kind of deal. It was done to make him or keep him happy and prevent him from going back to ROH. They know he is over and marketable, and I don't think they want to lose that.

 

[RD_21]

Off topic a little bit to start, but is it me or did Joe lost weight while he was away, he looked slimmer and sharper yesterday?

And when I saw him yesterday and people where screaming Joe I said I wish Joe would go back to "Joe's gonna kill you". I wasn't even watching TNA by that time and I heard it on WWE show and it really catched with the people and fans. He was marketable in that time and was a real threat. But then again he often come back with a crushing victory so I hope this time is the good one, but I doubt it.

 

[excel_excel]

I hope it is a return to that ass kicking wrestler who seemed poised to be wrestling's next big star. We all know Joe's got the talent to headline TNA, but I'm sceptical, TNA seem to be hot and cold in regards to pushing Joe these days.
One day he's main eventing with AJ Styles, the next he's losing to Orlando Jordan in 4 minutes and then kidnapped by ninja's. Lets just hope this time they push him strong.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I have yet to see Impact but I'm looking forward to see his return. As has been noted, the problem that seems to face Joe whenever he comes back is that he demolishes everyone in his past and then the bookers seem to run out of ideas for him. What could help him would be if he did his dominant thing for a few weeks, then if he faced someone who by themselves or with help really did a number on him, much like when Khali first appeared in WWE and beat Taker down on a consistent basis. It was strange to see someone as respected and feared as Taker face an opponent who had the upper-hand so much, but once Taker came through the feud he seemed stronger than ever.

I'm not suggesting they draft in some archetypal 7 footer, but rather an opponent who Joe just can't seem to get the better of regardless of his power and submission moves. Whenever Joe has a match, he nearly always seems to be the favourite, so it would be interesting to see how he could respond with the shoe on the other foot.

Of course this is just wishful thinking, as with everything going on in TNA at the moment, he's probably just going to do the same old thing, which is a dam shame in some respects

 

[D-Man]

As incredible as I've always felt that Joe is as a pro-wrestler, whenever he takes a hiatus and returns, I'm always left scratching my head. He enters the Impact Zone and the announcers jump up and down like little girls that just got new Barbie dolls during winter holidays, he squashes his opponent, and then his gimmick gets stale. They use him in the same way that they used (pre-WHC) Kane/Great Khali... whenever another wrestler on the roster needs to be taught a lesson and needs to be stuck in a match with a feared opponent, Joe is the one that comes out of the back for the match. Then, he squashes the guy, goes to the back, and is in gimmickless-limbo once again.

It pisses me off that he isn't used more efficiently since he's such a great talent. However, he's still a fat fuck with a HORRIFIC look that moves in the ring like a cruiserweight. Some view that as being marketable while many others feel it's a recipe for career-suicide. The guy just doesn't have any direction. For someone that TNA constantly pushes as being an "original" that helped "build the company", he's really getting shit on.

Therefore, my answer to the question is this - Who knows?? Until TNA grabs a gimmick/storyline, sticks with it for a while, and actually follows through with it until the end, we'll never know what's in store for Joe.

 

[Neiler187]

I really hope so, he's by far my favourite TNA wrestler and one of my favourite in the world. If TNA let him go out and do what he did in ROH.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

One day he's main eventing with AJ Styles, the next he's losing to Orlando Jordan in 4 minutes and then kidnapped by ninja's. Lets just hope this time they push him strong.

I maybe wrong (mostly cause TNA has just dropped storylines before) but I believe the kidnappers will be revealed as the mysterious 'them'.

 

[Rasha]

I've got the easiest way to book Joe and put his star back into orbit. Fortune is facing war on two fronts with the Ev2 crew and the Hogan/Dixie part of TNA. They need a few more guys to keep things even. They go to Joe and solicit his help on the very legit premise that he, like AJ and Beer Money, is a TNA original and belongs with them. He starts to respond, but then Ev2 hits the ring and attacks. We see Joe fighting alongside Fortune, and then later that night we have an "impromptu" booking of Joe/AJ vs. Dreamer/Raven (or whoever).

Joe and AJ win thanks to interference from Flair and Kazarian, but that pisses Joe off and he walks out on them. He starts up the ramp and out come Beer Money, Morgan, and Williams. Joe gets cornered and they start to beat him down, but now out come Hogan's crew of Angle, Hardy, Anderson, and Pope to make the save. Fortune's chased off, Hogan offers his hand, and Joe shakes his head and leaves.

Next show, Christy meets Joe as he enters the arena and hands him a note. Later that night, we see him carry the note into some other part of the building (or maybe the rafters) where Sting and Nash are waiting. They pitch him about "the deception," Fortune, and all that's wrong with TNA. He responds with some remark about how the two old guys need his young blood to save their cause, and they look mad as he walks away.

Later that night, Jarrett and Hogan come to the ring and call out Joe. They makes their own pitch about where Joe belongs. Joe cracks about how popular he's become and says everyone can just go to hell. They look disappointed but don't force the issue, choosing to just walk away. As they get halfway up the ramp, lights go out! They come back on and now Sting and Nash have Joe cornered in the ring. They attack while Hogan and Jarrett turn around and watch. Hogan looks like he wants to help, but Jeff says no and Hulk just puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head while Joe suffers the penalty for walking alone.

Basically, you legitimize Joe by making him TNA's most valuable player and also keep him as the ultimate wild card/free agent. It may not be that different from where he is now, but you put a lot more energy behind him and make his ultimate decision more impactful. You can also go wherever you want from here, having him ultimately see the light and pick whichever side makes sense.

 

[BuckshotBrian13]

I've got the easiest way to book Joe and put his star back into orbit. Fortune is facing war on two fronts with the Ev2 crew and the Hogan/Dixie part of TNA. They need a few more guys to keep things even. They go to Joe and solicit his help on the very legit premise that he, like AJ and Beer Money, is a TNA original and belongs with them. He starts to respond, but then Ev2 hits the ring and attacks. We see Joe fighting alongside Fortune, and then later that night we have an "impromptu" booking of Joe/AJ vs. Dreamer/Raven (or whoever).

Joe and AJ win thanks to interference from Flair and Kazarian, but that pisses Joe off and he walks out on them. He starts up the ramp and out come Beer Money, Morgan, and Williams. Joe gets cornered and they start to beat him down, but now out come Hogan's crew of Angle, Hardy, Anderson, and Pope to make the save. Fortune's chased off, Hogan offers his hand, and Joe shakes his head and leaves.

Next show, Christy meets Joe as he enters the arena and hands him a note. Later that night, we see him carry the note into some other part of the building (or maybe the rafters) where Sting and Nash are waiting. They pitch him about "the deception," Fortune, and all that's wrong with TNA. He responds with some remark about how the two old guys need his young blood to save their cause, and they look mad as he walks away.

Later that night, Jarrett and Hogan come to the ring and call out Joe. They makes their own pitch about where Joe belongs. Joe cracks about how popular he's become and says everyone can just go to hell. They look disappointed but don't force the issue, choosing to just walk away. As they get halfway up the ramp, lights go out! They come back on and now Sting and Nash have Joe cornered in the ring. They attack while Hogan and Jarrett turn around and watch. Hogan looks like he wants to help, but Jeff says no and Hulk just puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head while Joe suffers the penalty for walking alone.

Basically, you legitimize Joe by making him TNA's most valuable player and also keep him as the ultimate wild card/free agent. It may not be that different from where he is now, but you put a lot more energy behind him and make his ultimate decision more impactful. You can also go wherever you want from here, having him ultimately see the light and pick whichever side makes sense.

That's not a bad idea, but knowing TNA with their lousy booking, he'll fade out again and people will be like Samoa who? for whoever is just getting into TNA.

 

[LSN80]

Last night was a good start. Joe couldn't have been booked better, at least for one show.

First, he dominates Orlando Jordan, who had actually gone over Joe clean the same night he was kidnapped and wasn't seen on TV for a month. So Jordan was the perfect guy to feed Joe to. Joe was dominant, as Jordan literally got no offense in at all against him. Good start. The Joe of old.

It got better when he shot down Jarrett's offer to "watch his back" in his match against Kevin Nash. Again, that was how Joe was booked when he came into the company and completely dominated for over a year. He didn't have allies, allegiances, and wasn't part of a faction. He put it best when he said that he only takes one side, "his own". That also was a reflection of the Joe of old.

The problem that comes in is that we've seen this happen with him so many times before. He was in the main event of Turning Point last year, and had a hell of a triple threat match with Daniels and Styles. Even though he lost the match, he had a strong showing despite taking the pinfall. He then won a World Title shot at Final Resolution in the Feast or Fired Match.......and then he disapeared from TV.

He wasn't on the January 4th special when Hogan and Bischoff came in. He wasn't on the Genesis card whatsoever! A guy main events a PPV, wins a guaranteed world title shot on the following PPV, and you can't find room for him on the very next PPV? Then he loses after cashing in his world title shot at Against All Odds, jobs to Jordan the next night, and is kidnapped in an inexplicable storyline that was never resolved. He isn't seen on tv again in over a month!

There were no reports of injury, either when Bischoff and Hogan came in, or after his match at Against All Odds. I know alot of the focus was on Bischoff/Hogan/Foley/Jarrett/Styles/Flair/Abyss(what a clustereff), but they couldn't find room for him on their "relaunching" PPV, or on TV for the better part of two months! That's piss poor booking, at best!

I'm cautiously optimistic that this is the return of the old Joe. Id love to turn on Impact Thursday and watch him squash someone else in 3 minutes. A nice long winning streak would go a long way toward re=establishing the old Joe. But I don't have faith in TNA creative to do so, partly because of their inconsistent booking, but partly because I don't think they have faith in Joe as a major main event player.

The other issue that could surface that could hold Joe back is his temper. I assume we all know of the incident where he blew up at the production crew for giving away the finish to his match with Jeff Hardy by announcing there was 30 seconds in the match. But he went about it the wrong way, especially since the company's president was in the production truck when the incident took place!

If Joe can keep his temper in check, and TNA actually displays consistent booking by having Joe going over guys in a quick and decisive manner, then we may see the return of the old oe, which would be welcome. It's just hard to have faith in a company that stop-starts so many pushes(Lethal, Kaz, Hernandez) to actually deliver on this one. I hope Im wrong, because I really enjoy Joe as a wrestler.

 

[goodlay]

I don't really see a different character. I see the same tweener Samoa Joe that we have had for some time now. And like others have said, as much as I love Joe and think he's one of the top wrestlers in TNA, I just don't see him in any relevant programs/feuds or any title pictures anytime soon.

See that's the problem, whenever Joe comes back, everyone gets pumped and he kicks some ass. Then he disappears for weeks and he isn't relevant. I don't really think he needs a legit gimmick, I just feel like TNA needs to put him into some feuds and/or title pictures that make use of his talents and make him relevant on TNA programming once again.

 

[Sting's Bat]

We should wait to see if he appears for span of time before we speculate on anything. Lately Joe comes back squashes someone then disapears for 2 or 3 weeks which is annoying. I just hope he comes back as anything frankly whether its NoV Joe or SSM Joe.

 

[The Shockmaster]

I think now could be a great time to bring back the old Joe. Add a new fresh wrestler to the main event scene. I enjoyed watching him when he returned from his kidnapping storyline but his dominance really didn't mean anything because it didn't take place in matches. He would come down to the ring every now and again after a match a muscle bust somebody.


I feel now more than ever could be the rise of Samoa Joe. If tna is looking at anything wwe is doing they would see that they were pushing Husky Harris hard throughout almost the whole second season of nxt. If the E thought Harris was marketable and was willing to push him like that i think tna should grow some balls and do the same. Joe is already ten times more credible than a guy like Harris so why not use it to your advantage.

 

[its_vader_time]

has joe ever been around long enough to be remembered as "old joe" his big problem is he comes back pushed people around for a few weeks then leaves again.

maybe secretly tna has tried many things with him over time like trial and error. maybe joe can be like the HHH of tna putting guys over or deciding who to hold back until he thinks they're ready for a push.

he's just not around long enough to have done anything exept own the ring from time to time

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

As incredible as I've always felt that Joe is as a pro-wrestler, whenever he takes a hiatus and returns, I'm always left scratching my head. He enters the Impact Zone and the announcers jump up and down like little girls that just got new Barbie dolls during winter holidays, he squashes his opponent, and then his gimmick gets stale. They use him in the same way that they used (pre-WHC) Kane/Great Khali... whenever another wrestler on the roster needs to be taught a lesson and needs to be stuck in a match with a feared opponent, Joe is the one that comes out of the back for the match. Then, he squashes the guy, goes to the back, and is in gimmickless-limbo once again.

It pisses me off that he isn't used more efficiently since he's such a great talent. However, he's still a fat fuck with a HORRIFIC look that moves in the ring like a cruiserweight. Some view that as being marketable while many others feel it's a recipe for career-suicide. The guy just doesn't have any direction. For someone that TNA constantly pushes as being an "original" that helped "build the company", he's really getting shit on.

Therefore, my answer to the question is this - Who knows?? Until TNA grabs a gimmick/storyline, sticks with it for a while, and actually follows through with it until the end, we'll never know what's in store for Joe.

YES! YES! and YES!

The man is an incredible talent but bottom line.....LOSE THE FLAB!!!

He is great on the mic, always full of intensity and emotion.
His in ring skill is brilliant. We have touched on his speed. His matches are always entertaining to watch.
He does have the right gimmick in the Samoan Submission Machine.

But By GOD!! if he lost that weight and his frame became more TV friendly, WWE would be clamoring after him.

He has the potential to be in the top echelon of pro-wrestling but he has to do the simple things right, that is be professional, stay outta the dirt sheets and Lose Some Weight Joe Lose Some weight clapclapclap ( Credit to Bryan Danielson for this awesome chant )

 

[The Holy One]

While I'm not a big fan of Samoa Joe, I will say that he can put on a match when he wants to. He needs to stick to the Samoan Submission Machine who only looks out for himself as it's the only gimmick that has worked so far in TNA. He's not really good at playing a face or an effective heel so the tweener role is Joe's niche. I think he can be the same Joe we saw in 2005-2007 if he keeps the weight off of him and improves his attitude. Although, the jury is still out on the latter of that statement. I would welcome a Joe push in this form as it could be one of the only good things going for TNA creative wise.

 

[INDYjon22]

Time will tell. I have never been a big Joe fan, but I definitely miss the Samoa Joe of old. The version of Joe now a days talks to much and bitches which is hurtful to his character when it comes to taking him serious. The Joe of old would go out, kick ass, and leave, that was what made him awesome. The Joe of today is just bland and generic and whiny, which doesn't make him look as dominate. Hopefully, TNA is smart and pulls the trigger on the Samoa Joe that doesn't talk often and beats everybody's ass.

 

[Djm]

People seem to be saying "Joe needs to do this" and "Joe needs to be a badass".

Well, until TNA Creative tells him to do that, Joe's not going to do any of these things. It's a shame. He was, at one time, the hottest guy in the company, and the guy most people wanted to see with the belt.

Now, he's just "not a draw" because he wasn't in another big company, just like the rest of them.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I don't know about this. Joe always seems like he might be going some where, but he always falls off of the map some how. I enjoy Joe as the dominant force, and I liked the Nation Of Violence storyline a while ago. And he can move pretty fast for a man of his size, and I usually enjoy watching his matches. His win over Orlando Jordan did look very impressive, but who knows how long this will all last? There's a chance he could achieve the status he had a couple of years ago, when he was feuding with Kurt Angle a couple of years again. I think if Joe can keep his attitude in check, then he could be pushed hard again.