Samoa Joe is one of the biggest names in pro wrestling today who is currently working as an active star in both Ring of Honor and All Elite Wrestling. Joe has worked in all the major promotions including WWE and TNA and won multiple big championships in every promotion he worked in.
Samoa Joe got his early recognition while working in TNA Wrestling, the promotion that was invented back in 2002 and was the biggest rival of WWE during its prime time. TNA did not produce many big stars but Joe was definitely one of the top stars the promotion has ever produced.
Samoa Joe’s Lost Potential: WWE Hall Of Famer Echoes the Sentiment that WWE Could Have Done More
Joe had a brief career in WWE as well and he had a pretty decent run in the promotion. However, he had mostly been presented as a mid card in the promotion. He won multiple championships in WWE too. WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle believed WWE could not utilize him properly and they could have definitely use him better. Speaking on his Kurt Angle Show Podcast recently, the Olympic Gold Medallist said;
“Joe, he got utilized properly in TNA at the beginning. Until he lost his undefeated streak against me, his value dropped dramatically. They’ve never really picked back up and brought Joe back to the level he was when he was undefeated.
Kurt Angle Thinks WWE Failed To Utilize Samoa Joe Properly
“I think that WWE could have done more with him. They did do some, they did a lot, but I know they could have done more. He was that talented. I’m not sure if it had to do with his look. I love his look. I think that everybody should be different; big, tall, short, wide. Doesn’t matter. I don’t know if it had to do with his look, but Samoa Joe was so talented. He deserved to be a WWE Champion, he really did. Probably and that’s not me blowing smoke, that’s me being honest.
“Joe and I had the best chemistry. We always threw our two cents worth in, and we were always agreeable. I mean, if there was an idea that Joe liked, I liked it, too. If there’s an idea that I liked, Joe liked it, too. We were more compatible than any other wrestlers, even more than AJ Styles and myself. Joe and I, it was almost like we were Frick and Frack like we were related. You know, like we were twins because we thought the same way. We both had the same ideas, the same concepts.”
The current WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H is a big fan of Joe and he expressed his disappointment after Joe’s first release during the covid-19 pandemic. He brought Joe back soon after the release and he worked in the NXT. But in 2022 he got released again and since then he is signed with AEW.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)