Samoa Joe’s legend status in the industry of professional wrestling was cemented long ago. I would argue that it was cemented even before he ever set foot in WWE, which was why it always bothered me that he started on NXT as opposed to the main roster when he premiered for the company back in 2015.
I’ve always stated that he deserved to premiere on the main roster very much like AJ Styles did when AJ debuted at the Royal Rumble in 2016.
But legend that he undoubtedly is, Joe made the most of it and not only rose amongst the ranks in NXT and dominated, but he made it to the main roster and shined on that level as well eventually.
After a tumultuous 2020/2021, Joe was released by WWE not only once but twice, he being relegated back to NXT after his first release and after the NXT revamp from the Black & Gold to NXT 2.0, he was stripped of the NXT Championship he took from Karrion Kross. That was no way to treat the legend.
Regardless, he debuted for AEW and is now the ROH World Television Champion and most importantly he is being shown in the light he deserves to be shown in.
Even while at WWE, Joe has recently revealed that he served as a sort of talent scout for the company and states that he is more than willing to fit that bill in AEW as well. The following statements were made while he was speaking on AEW Unrestricted:
“Yeah, for WWE I was heavily involved in the scouting department…Now I kind of keep those eyes open, and keep those eyes out there for a different purpose, obviously. You want to have the best up and comers coming into your company, and if I can help facilitate that for AEW, I would be more than happy to…
I have learned to appreciate it, and like it because of men like William Regal…Who, in the height of their career took time to give me advice. Just show me a path. It wasn’t a, ‘I’ll put in a word for you, I’ll do this,’ it was like, ‘no, here’s a path, if you choose to follow it, you can find success.’ …
It’s just something that’s kind of missing in the industry as a whole, there’s not a lot of guys who have that experience going back and having an honest discussion with you. About what the industry is like, about what this business really is, and breaking down the numbers…
And not just being grandiose, bragging about how you’re awesome, and this is how much you did. Every empire is built with a plan, and the problem is we don’t talk about the plan enough. We just talk about the empire, so, you know, I’d like to change that. Anytime I can offer a word of advice to someone young, and up and coming…
And wants to put themselves in the best possible position to succeed, which I think is vitally important to anybody in our industry, is putting yourself in a position to be successful. Not just waiting for something to break or happen is a big asset bank of our knowledge that isn’t shared enough.”
via Samoa Joe on AEW Unrestricted /Wrestling Inc. (Transcription)
Strong and poignant words indeed; from a legend such as him, anyone in that AEW locker room that is bestowed any shred of advice this man can pass onto them is a lucky individual, and that knowledge should be heeded. It’s great to see him from week to week in AEW.
