July 23, 201312 yr comment_5552945 With Hero being pulled from NXT due to conditioning issues, Samoa Joe probably would have been fucked if he had gone to WWE, so no matter what career path he chose, he always would have been "that poor fucker." I guess in retrospect, his ROH run will go down as easily the best run of his career. WWE also hated physique of Takeshi Morishima among other things when he has his WWE tryout dark match.
July 24, 201312 yr comment_5552949 Hayes was burying Morishima for no other reason than the Terry Gordy comparisons.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654808 Figured this was worth a bump now that Joe and TNA have officially parted ways. I can't wait for him to start busting out MOTYCs in the indies and/or Japan while we all shake our heads over what could have been if he had spent the prime of his career in even a marginally competent company. Basically, AJ Styles redux.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654809 ROH hopefully. The Japanese fans never really took to him. Or lucha underground....that'd be fun.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654819 I'm sure ROH and PWG will scoop him up the first chance they get.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654820 Had never seen that dive onto the concrete steps until now. That is really on the shortlist of dumbest bumps ever. Like, that is 10 times worse than Angle throwing himself off the rafters in that Jeff Jarrett brawl. You could have attached a bag of weed to the handrail and 1994 Sabu still would have turned that down.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654829 AJ Styles felt like a guy who was still a good worker, being held back by a bad promotion with a bad in-ring style. Joe seems more like a guy who is just more broken and not as good as he used to be.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654832 Honestly Joe has looked better in recent years than he did for most of the 07-10 period. I wouldn't say he's had really good years or anything, and he's definitely lost a step, but I rarely think he embarrasses himself anymore, and he's had some very good matches in the last few years.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654833 Evidently, even as bad as it looks and how everyone here got hung up on the spot posted above, Samoa Joe hasn't bothered to ever mention it on his list of serious injuries. WWE signed KENTA last year in spite of him being 34 and not living up to his potential since 2008 (I wish him all the best, but it's showing, IMO). Joe's the same age and has looked better in recent months than he did a few years ago. I wouldn't be gobsmacked if WWE sent him to NXT. Others may disagree. Regardless, I think this will be a good thing for Joe.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654844 If current WWE talent relations and developmental was in place 10 years ago I could absolutely see them at least giving Joe a chance. Now? Eh, stranger things have happened but it would shock me if they made an offer.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654850 If current WWE talent relations and developmental was in place 10 years ago I could absolutely see them at least giving Joe a chance. Oh, no doubt about it. Back in 2005 Joe really was seen as a special guy with huge potential. That was a long, long time ago though.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654873 That Reddit insider guy was saying earlier that Triple H is interested in giving Joe a NXT tryout.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654876 That Reddit insider guy was saying earlier that Triple H is interested in giving Joe a NXT tryout. Mets is being extremely vague. A "good amount of interest" doesn't mean much - sort of a hedging bets if it goes one way or another. That said, I don't doubt that Trips would have some interest in Joe. I think they can get him to cut weight and regain some of his missed form easily. It's going to come down to Joe figuring whether or not it's his best interest to take a shot should WWE call...
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654878 That Reddit insider guy was saying earlier that Triple H is interested in giving Joe a NXT tryout. Mets is being extremely vague. A "good amount of interest" doesn't mean much - sort of a hedging bets if it goes one way or another. That said, I don't doubt that Trips would have some interest in Joe. I think they can get him to cut weight and regain some of his missed form easily. It's going to come down to Joe figuring whether or not it's his best interest to take a shot should WWE call... It's really now or never for a WWE run for Joe. Same position AJ was in when he quit TNA, except he decided that Japan was where he really wanted to be, and that has worked out extremely well for him. Either way, Joe needs to lose a good 50lbs, he's gained a lot of "bad weight" since 2009 and it shows in his work, he's still fast and good conditioned, but he's not a shade of what he was when he was lighter and stealing the show with AJ, Ki, and Daniels in the X division back in 04-05.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654891 Has he been any good lately? Last time I was paying attention was 2012, and he made a really solid year imo.
February 18, 201510 yr comment_5654893 Has he been any good lately? Last time I was paying attention was 2012, and he made a really solid year imo. I haven't watched TNA since 2012 myself. Joe's awesome when he's trying, but I can't help feeling that a lot of the time in recent years that he's just phoning it in, maybe because of his standing in TNA.
February 19, 201510 yr comment_5654927 I can't see him going to NXT even if WWE had interest because it's such a drastic paycut from what he was making in TNA, and he can make more working ROH and indy shots on the weekend, at least in the short-term where he'll be in high demand. And if NJPW is interested too the money wouldn't even be close I think if there is an offer and he wants to go to NXT, he should milk 6 months of good money on the indies and take the time to get in better shape. But with HHH wanting to make NXT it's own brand basically, the money might get a little better, but Joe could look forward to being down there for at least a year before getting called up. And I believe (I could be wrong, please correct me if so) he still lives on the west coast
February 19, 201510 yr comment_5654935 I can't see him going to NXT even if WWE had interest because it's such a drastic paycut from what he was making in TNA, and he can make more working ROH and indy shots on the weekend, at least in the short-term where he'll be in high demand. And if NJPW is interested too the money wouldn't even be close I think if there is an offer and he wants to go to NXT, he should milk 6 months of good money on the indies and take the time to get in better shape. But with HHH wanting to make NXT it's own brand basically, the money might get a little better, but Joe could look forward to being down there for at least a year before getting called up. And I believe (I could be wrong, please correct me if so) he still lives on the west coast He lives in Orlando and has a flourishing real estate business where he gets most of his income, which means wrestling can be a passion project for him. If Kevin Owens is any indication, Joe could get into shape pretty quickly at the performance center. The NJPW/ROH combo seems like the best money-making bit, but NXT is looking like a totally worthwhile option if money isn't an issue mainly because of proximity. He'd be a good fit and would be a great agent.
February 19, 201510 yr comment_5654940 I can't see him going to NXT even if WWE had interest because it's such a drastic paycut from what he was making in TNA, and he can make more working ROH and indy shots on the weekend, at least in the short-term where he'll be in high demand. And if NJPW is interested too the money wouldn't even be close I think if there is an offer and he wants to go to NXT, he should milk 6 months of good money on the indies and take the time to get in better shape. But with HHH wanting to make NXT it's own brand basically, the money might get a little better, but Joe could look forward to being down there for at least a year before getting called up. And I believe (I could be wrong, please correct me if so) he still lives on the west coast He lives in Orlando and has a flourishing real estate business where he gets most of his income, which means wrestling can be a passion project for him. Did not know that. Good for him. That would seem to make taking less money to go to NXT a much more palatable option
February 19, 201510 yr comment_5654985 I have read various places that Joe has been very smart with his money, has invested in real estate and generates a good deal of income from rental properties he owns. If that is true, I am so happy to hear it, as a fan of his. It is so rare you hear of a guy who makes sound financial investments that will support them later when their career is over, or winding down. It depresses me to see guys who made good money in their prime reduced to whoring themselves out for signings and polaroids at scuzy indy shows for a few measly bucks. I have mixed feelings regarding Joe going to NXT. Remember, Joe was kind of considered one of the unholy trinity on the Indies, along with Punk and Bryan. Punk was a pain in the ass to deal with, and Bryan keeps fucking up their long term booking plans by having the audacity to get over almost on his own, despite WWE booking - through hard work and natural talent. I am just guessing that Vince and Co. must be very turned off anybody who comes from that scene with any type of buzz. We all know how much he hates anybody coming in with any sort of following that he can't take credit for creating. It seems like Joe would have two strikes against him coming in...not to mention the fact that he nowhere near fits their idea of a WWE Superstar when it comes to physique. Having said that, look at how well Steen and Generico seem to be doing in NXT. Maybe if Joe did a stint in NXT they could convince themselves that he was nothing until they repackaged him and taught him how to work WWE style, blah blah blah. As a fan being selfish, the last thing I want to see him do is go to ROH. They just suck so hard right now, with a few small exceptions. Look at the card for their upcoming 13th Anniversary fiasco for proof of that. One of their biggest shows, on PPV no less - and Hansen and Michael Elgin are in the Main Event? Ugh. I'd hate to see Joe dropped into that creative mess. But as a fan of him as a person, I'd like to see him go where he can make the most money with the most job satisfaction and the least likelyhood of injury - I'm just not sure where that would be. A lot of people seem to think Lucha Underground isn't an option since he has no real history in Mexico, ditto Japan - especially since NJPW seems to have reached their fill of foreign workers right now. Who knows? It will be very interesting to see where he ends up...
February 19, 201510 yr comment_5654986 Side point, but ROH is practically 89 WCW now compared to what they were a few years ago. I'd rather Joe go to NXT for a variety of reasons, but ROH would be an easy second choice. I have no desire to see him in LU. Not saying it couldn't work, but it feels like a bad fit.
February 19, 201510 yr comment_5654988 I respectfully disagree regarding the quality of ROH right now - however, that might just be a problem that can be attributed to a weak talent pool. I guess the argument could be made that adding Joe would make the product better, not that he'd get brought down by the bad product. I would definitely buy any show that featured Joe vs. El Patron. Hell, he might be able to do some work with Hansen too, now that I think about it...
February 20, 201510 yr comment_5655095 Joe vs. El Patron is unlikely, as they're trying to keep talent costs down (Sinclair is keeping the purse strings tight) and I think Alberto's run with ROH will thus be finishing up in April.
February 20, 201510 yr comment_5655131 If current WWE talent relations and developmental was in place 10 years ago I could absolutely see them at least giving Joe a chance. Now? Eh, stranger things have happened but it would shock me if they made an offer. Pretty sure WWE was interested in Joe back then too. Think Johnny Ace was told to sign either one of, or all three at the time.. as in Joe, Punk, Bryan. Joe chose TNA. Bryan wanted to stay independant. Punk signed. Others may remember more, think Meltzer was the one who reported it.
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