Samoa Joe

From Pro Wrestling

Early life

joe readying himself at a live event

Seanoa's family founded a Polynesian dance troupe in the United States called Tiare Productions. Seanoa made his on stage debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics opening at the age of five. He became a California State Junior Judo Champion and was an all league football player while attending Ocean View High School. Before becoming a wrestler, Seanoa worked as a mortgage broker.

Professional wrestling career

Samoa Joe was the first graduate of the UIWA West Coast Dojo, training under Cincinnati Red, along with Johnny Hemp and, occasionally, John Delayo. He debuted in December 1999 in a match against "Uncle" Jess Hansen just three months after beginning training.

Ultimate Pro Wrestling (2000-2001)

Samoa Joe quickly signed with former World Wrestling Federation developmental affiliate Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he feuded with his friend John Cena and made an appearance on WWF Jakked against Essa Rios,[8]. He tagged with Mike Knox at UPW Proving Ground on December 12, 2000 in the Galaxy Theatre of Santa Ana, California and defeated the debuting Al Katrazz with Basil. He eventually captured the UPW Heavyweight Championship. He later became the longest reigning UPW Heavyweight Champion ever.

Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE (2001–2002)

In June 2001, Samoa Joe made his way to Japan, wrestling for Shinya Hashimoto's ZERO ONE promotion, fighting in its Shingeki series of pay-per-views, as well as the annual Burning Heart tournaments.[11] During this time, Samoa Joe also began wrestling for southern California promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he had an on-screen rivalry with Super Dragon.

In his debut match at the Yokohoma Red Brickhouse, Samoa Joe teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama to take on the team of Mitsuharu Misawa and Takeshi Morishima. Samoa Joe captured the win for his team after pinning Misawa with an Island Driver, one of his finishing maneuvers. Two days later, on October 27, Samoa Joe again faced Misawa, this time for the GHC title in a one-on-one match at the Budokan Hall. Both competitors had exchanged and overcame their respective signature moves throughout the match but it was Misawa who won the pinfall after striking the back of Joe's head with his elbow thus marking his sixth successful title defense. Samoa Joe continued to work for the promotion throughout 2002, participating in a number of their biggest shows and tournaments. After forming a team with Keiji Sakoda, they became the first-ever holders of the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, though their reign is no longer officially recognized by the promotion. He worked as both Samoa Joe and, later, King Joe, but ultimately chose to leave the promotion when he was asked to take on a more gimmicky character. While in Japan, Samoa Joe trained extensively in Japan at the Fujiwara Gumi, under the guidance of submission wrestling master Yoshiaki Fujiwara.

Ring of Honor (2002–2007)

Back in the United States, Samoa Joe joined the ranks of the East Coast-based Ring of Honor promotion in 2002. He made his debut at "Glory by Honor" as Christopher Daniels' "hired assassin", brought in to take out Daniels' chief enemy, Low Ki. Originally booked for just the one match against Low Ki (due to the cost of flying him from California to Pennsylvania, which ROH had to pay), Samoa Joe impressed fans with his extremely stiff and hard-hitting style that resembled an mixed martial arts fighter more than a wrestler, which led to ROH booking him full time.

Samoa Joe quickly rose through the ranks and became ROH Champion, defeating Xavier for the belt in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 22, 2003, which soon became the ROH World Championship on May 17, 2003 after defeating The Zebra Kid at "Frontiers of Honor" in London, England. He held that title for twenty one months before losing it to Austin Aries at "Final Battle 2004" on December 26, 2004. With his ROH title reign, Samoa Joe also established himself as the face of the company and a perennial main-eventer in North America. He elevated the title from a mid-card attraction, secondary to established independent stars like Low Ki, Daniels, and A.J. Styles, to the ultimate prize in Ring of Honor.[citation needed] During this time, he had a trilogy of title defenses against CM Punk (the second match earning a 5 star rating from Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the first American match in seven years to do so). Soon after losing the ROH World Championship to Austin Aries, Samoa Joe became the promotion's fifth Pure Champion, defeating his on-screen protégé Jay Lethal for the belt on May 7, 2005 at "Manhattan Mayhem" in New York City. He held the title for over three months before losing it to Nigel McGuiness on August 27 at "Dragon Gate Invasion".

In October 2005, when Japanese heavyweight superstar Kenta Kobashi made a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip to the United States, he was signed to two Ring of Honor shows. ROH officials selected Samoa Joe, ROH's top wrestler, to face him in a singles match on the first night and a tag match on the second.The first show was in New York City at the New Yorker Hotel. Joe proved to be a formidable opponent for Kobashi, and, after a back and forth match, which Dave Meltzer again gave "Five Stars" and the scripted match went on to win the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for "Match of the Year". In 2006, Samoa Joe was one of the principal wrestlers representing Ring of Honor in their war against rival Philadelphia promotion Combat Zone Wrestling. The war culminated in a five-on-five Cage of Death match at "Death before Dishonor IV". Samoa Joe helped ROH dominate in the match, until, after picking up CZW wrestler Chris Hero for one of his finishers, the Muscle Buster, he was attacked by fellow ROH wrestler Bryan Danielson. Danielson repeatedly hit his injured knee with a steel chair, forcing him to quit the match. Samoa Joe was later replaced in the match by Homicide, who went on to win the match for ROH. Samoa Joe later teamed with Homicide to fight against the Briscoes, and, like Homicide, found himself back in the ROH world title hunt. Samoa Joe, however, came up short against champion Bryan Danielson in several matches, including a match that went to a 60 Minute Draw and the final one being a cage match on December 8.[14] At the December 9 show, Samoa Joe called out the Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion, claiming "Ring of Honor is right here!" This was not his first encounter with NOAH; at the September 16, 2006 ROH show, after a speech by wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino, Samoa Joe got into an argument and pull-apart brawl with NOAH star Takeshi Morishima. Subsequently a match was signed for February pitting Samoa Joe against Morishima which Joe won.

On January 31, Samoa Joe announced that he would no longer be a full time performer in ROH after March 4. All shows that led up to that date would be billed as the "Samoa Joe Farewell Tour". On March 4, he beat long time rival Homicide in his final ROH match with a Muscle Buster from the second rope.

On November 22, 2008 Joe made a one night only return for Rising Above, defeating Tyler Black in a non-pay-per-view main event.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

2005–2007

On June 14, 2005, Samoa Joe was announced as having signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He made his official debut five days later at the Slammiversary pay-per-view, defeating Sonjay Dutt in a match that saw him dubbed "The Samoan Submission Machine" by announcer Mike Tenay. Samoa Joe was a participant in the Christopher Daniels Invitational Super X Cup, defeating Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley to advance to the tournament finals at Sacrifice. Samoa Joe won the tournament by defeating A.J. Styles, but only with help from Daniels. As a result of Daniels' interference, however, TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko made Daniels defend his X Division Championship in a three-way match against both Joe and Styles. This marked Joe's first title shot in the company, though Styles was booked to win the match. Joe's undefeated streak was still officially intact, as it was Daniels that had been pinned, not Joe. This match is to date the only match in TNA's history to receive a rating of five stars from Dave Meltzer.

At Genesis on November 13, he teamed with Daniels, Alex Shelley, and Roderick Strong (a team that Daniels called "The Ministry") against Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin, Matt Bentley, and Austin Aries in an eight man elimination match. Following the victory by Daniels and Samoa Joe (Shelley and Strong were eliminated earlier in the match), Samoa Joe viciously attacked Daniels, beating Daniels around the ringside area until he had busted him open. He then threw Daniels into the ring, and delivered a Muscle Buster. Joe then went out to grab a steel chair from ringside and brought it into the ring, after which he gave Daniels a second Muscle Buster, this time onto the chair, supposedly giving Daniels a level-3 concussion. In response to these actions, Styles called Joe out on an episode of Impact!, saying his attack of Daniels violated an unwritten code of respect in the X Division. Prior to Turning Point, Samoa Joe attacked Styles, saying he did not respect the X Division code (a vast departure from his Ring of Honor persona, who is a stalwart defender of their written Code of Honor). Samoa Joe defeated Styles at Turning Point and won the X Division Championship. Joe could injure Styles, however, Daniels came out and stopped him. Daniels was later slated to face Samoa Joe at Final Resolution in 2006 for the X Division Championship. During the build-up to the match, Samoa Joe stated that he intended to end Daniels' career. During the match, Styles came down to the ring to cheer for Daniels. Not long after making Daniels bleed from his head, Samoa Joe stopped going for the pin, instead dropping knee after knee on Daniels' head. Styles, concerned about Daniels' health, signaled for the match to be stopped by throwing in the towel, allowing Samoa Joe to retain the X Division title. Joe proceeded to win rematch of the three-way at Unbreakable, thus retaining his title. This three-way feud continued until Destination X, when he lost the title to Daniels in an Ultimate X match, a match in which there is no pinfall or submission, thus keeping his undefeated streak.

Samoa Joe was then taken out of the X Division and matched with an initially unannounced opponent. On the March 25 edition of Impact!, it was announced that he would take on Sabu at Lockdown. Despite that, he still had a scheduled X Division title match, and, on April 13's Impact! (TNA's Thursday debut), Samoa Joe regained the X Division title after delivering an Island Driver from the middle turnbuckle to Christopher Daniels. Samoa Joe then successfully defended his X Division title against Sabu at Lockdown. At Sacrifice, Samoa Joe partnered with Sting in a tag team match against Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner. Samoa Joe and Sting were victorious, but after the match, Samoa Joe left the ring and allowed Sting to be attacked. Samoa Joe explained this by stating that he agreed to only watch Sting's back "from bell to bell" (implying that once the second bell rang, his duties were over), but still had issues with Steiner. Samoa Joe added Scott Steiner to his undefeated streak, at Slammiversary.

During the Impact! tapings on May 15, Samoa Joe was injured as he performed a kick, and it was reported that he tore every knee ligament except the anterior cruciate ligament. He suffered a first degree tear to the posterior cruciate ligament and a second degree tear to the medial collateral ligament. Samoa Joe would remain out of action for two weeks. After returning, Samoa Joe lost his X Division Championship in a triple threat match with Sonjay Dutt and Senshi. Senshi pinned Dutt to win the championship after Steiner laid out Samoa Joe with a steel chair. Samoa Joe would have his chance at revenge when he participated in a four-way number one contender match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship along with Sting, Christian Cage, and Scott Steiner at Victory Road on July 16. Samoa Joe lost this match when Sting pinned Steiner.

Samoa Joe beat Jeff Jarrett at No Surrender in a "Fan's Revenge Lumberjack match". After the match, he took Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight Championship with him, telling Jim Cornette that if Jarrett or Sting (Jarrett's scheduled opponent at Bound For Glory) wanted the belt, they could take it from him. On the October 12 episode, Samoa Joe agreed to return the belt to the Jarrett-Sting winner under one condition—the winner had to agree to give him a title shot. This offer was turned down, and finally Samoa Joe was given the choice of giving back the title or be fired. Kurt Angle made his debut and got into a brawl with Samoa Joe after he again refused to give back the belt, and during the brawl, Jarrett took the belt back. At Bound for Glory on October 22, Samoa Joe defeated Raven, Brother Runt and Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. The match ended when special referee Jake Roberts performed a DDT Raven, allowing Samoa Joe to deliver the Muscle Buster to Raven for the pinfall. Later in the night, Samoa Joe was involved in a pull-apart brawl with Kurt Angle after Jim Cornette announced that he would be fired if he interfered in the main event match that involved Angle as special enforcer. At Genesis, Joe lost to Angle after tapping out to Angle's ankle lock. This ended his eighteen month undefeated streak. Throughout the rest of 2006 into 2007, Samoa Joe continued to feud with Angle picking up a victory by submission in their rematch at Turning Point, before suffering a legitimate knee injury in a tag team match that pitted Rhino and Kurt Angle against Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles.

On January 14, 2007 at Final Resolution, Samoa Joe faced Angle in a thirty minute Iron Man match. With seconds remaining, Samoa Joe had Angle in the ankle lock. Although Angle tapped out, he did so just after time had expired. As a result, Angle won the match three falls to two.

On the February 14 edition of Impact!, Samoa Joe won a gauntlet match to become the number one contender to Christian Cage's NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Destination X. Samoa Joe lost to Cage after Cage reversed the Coquina Clutch into a pinning combination and used the ropes for leverage.[41] On the May 24 edition of Impact!, Samoa Joe qualified for the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary by defeating Sting with a Samoan drop after Christopher Daniels hit Sting with a baseball bat; Samoa Joe lost the King of the Mountain match when Kurt Angle hung the belt. He then qualified to compete in the Match of Champions at Victory Road by defeating Jay Lethal and Chris Sabin for the X Division title on the July 12 episode of Impact!. At the Match of Champions, Samoa Joe scored the winning pinfall on Brother Ray after Kurt Angle hit the Angle Slam and won the TNA World Tag Team Championships from Team 3D, making him the first wrestler in TNA to hold multiple TNA championships. He later opted to hold both the titles by himself. At Hard Justice, Samoa Joe put up the X Division title and both Tag Team titles against Kurt Angle's TNA World title as well as the IWGP World Championship (Third Belt). Samoa Joe, however, lost all his titles thanks to interferences by Karen Angle, enabling Kurt to become the second TNA Triple Crown Champion. Samoa Joe became the first man to defeat Christian Cage by pinfall or submission in TNA, forcing him tap out to the Coquina Clutch at Bound for Glory, thus ending Cage's twenty-three month undefeated streak by pinfall or submission in TNA.

Samoa Joe was then announced as the teammate of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in their match against The Angle Alliance at Turning Point. Hall, however, no-showed the event. Before the match, Samoa Joe was asked to cut a promo alleviating heat from the company and introducing Eric Young as Hall's replacement. Samoa Joe went five minutes overtime and ranted against Hall, Nash and some other superstars, which legitimately upset Nash and TNA President Dixie Carter at ringside. Before calling Young to come to the ring he told the TNA ringside staff, "Are you mad? Go ahead, fire me, I don't care". Samoa Joe, Nash and Young defeated the Angle Alliance when Samoa Joe pinned Tomko after a Muscle Buster. After the match, Samoa Joe and Nash briefly argued and shoved one another backstage, with Samoa Joe apologizing at a talent meeting the following day. On-screen, though, Samoa Joe continued to direct his frustration towards TNA management, going as far as to trash a Christmas party organized by Matt Morgan.

2008-2009: Nation of Violence

In storyline, after complaining to Jim Cornette that he did not have a match at Final Resolution, Cornette decided to team Samoa Joe with Kevin Nash, who was to receive a title shot with Scott Hall when he returned. At Final Resolution, Samoa Joe, along with his tag team partner Kevin Nash lost to the team of A.J. Styles and Tomko. This occurred after Nash refused to tag himself into the match leaving Samoa Joe to fend for himself. In addition, Nash "flipped off" Samoa Joe whilst leaving the ringside area. After Nash had screwed Joe at Final Resolution, Nash told Joe he was teaching him a lesson about the wrestling business and told Samoa Joe he could help him to the top if he followed his direction. On the January 24 edition of Impact!, Samoa Joe went on a rampage, attacking several TNA employees, culminating in his attacking of J.B. after being announced as the MVP of 2007.

For months, Samoa Joe was said to be unhappy with his spot in TNA and that he was considering not renewing his contract. TNA used that Internet rumor into a storyline, where Cornette tried to sign him into a new contract, but every week the signature was interrupted. At Against All Odds, Samoa Joe served as the special enforcer for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match where Kurt Angle defended his title against challenger Christian Cage. During the contest, A.J. Styles interfered and Samoa Joe fought Styles to the back, but Tomko came out and attacked Cage giving Angle the win. On the February 14 edition of Impact!, Samoa Joe formed an alliance with Cage and Kevin Nash, to compete with Kurt Angle's Angle Alliance. It was also announced that Samoa Joe would be given the next TNA World Heavyweight Championship opportunity against Angle. Over the next few weeks, Samoa Joe and his new found alliance would attack the Angle Alliance leading up to their match at Destination X. Samoa Joe vowed that he would eliminate the Angle Alliance so he would receive a fair title match with Kurt Angle at Lockdown. On the March 6 edition of Impact!, Samoa Joe, Christian, and Nash faced a member of the Angle Alliance to determine who would get a five minute advantage during their match at Destination X. Joe lost his First Blood match to Tomko, but Nash defeated Styles in a Street Fight while Cage defeated Angle in a Six Sides of Steel match. Samoa Joe's team won the match when he made Tomko tap out to the Coquina Clutch. Achieving his goal to eliminate the Angle Alliance, nothing now stood in the way of Samoa Joe getting a fair title shot at Lockdown.

At Lockdown, Samoa Joe defeated Angle to win his first TNA World Championship and become TNA's third Triple Crown Champion. The stipulation of the match was if Samoa Joe had lost, he would have had to retire from professional wrestling. He successfully defeated Angle in a rematch on Impact! and then retained against Scott Steiner and Kaz at Sacrifice. At Slammiversary, Samoa Joe became the first champion to ever retain his title in a King of the Mountain match. Samoa Joe was then challenged to a match by Booker T at Victory Road, which he accepted. At Victory Road the match went to a No Contest when Sting hit Samoa Joe with a baseball bat and Booker pinned him while Sharmell made the three count. At Hard Justice, Samoa Joe defeated Booker after a guitar shot, thus reclaiming physical possession of the title belt, which Booker had kept after Victory Road. On October 11, 2008, Samoa Joe surpassed Kurt Angle for the longest reign of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. At Bound for Glory IV, he fought Sting in a losing effort to defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, ending his reign at 182 days.

On the October 30 edition of Impact!, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles formed a faction of younger wrestlers also featuring Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Petey Williams, Eric Young, ODB and The Motor City Machineguns, calling themselves "Frontline", to oppose the Main Event Mafia of Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T and Scott Steiner. At Turning Point Kevin Nash defeated Joe by pinning him with his feet on the ropes following a steel chair shot, a low blow and after ramming Joe's head to an exposed turnbuckle. At Final Resolution The Frontline lost to The Main Event Mafia in a 4-on-4 tag match and failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for AJ Styles. On the December 18 edition of iMPACT! Joe and Styles defeated Sting and Kevin Nash in a Six Sides of Steel match. Following the match Joe was attacked by the members of the Main Event Mafia and suffered injuries which would sideline him for the rest of the year.

On the January 29 episode of Impact!, a short video was shown in which Joe, sporting a new buzzcut hairstyle, tribal facepaint, and much heavier frame stated he would like to introduce the Main Event Mafia to both the "real" Samoa Joe and his "nation of violence". At Destination X, Joe got himself disqualified in his return match against his old rival and Main Event Mafia member Scott Steiner. That same week on Impact!, Joe once again got disqualified this time in a match with Sheik Abdul Bashir. He took him backstage, hung him upside down, and tortured him.

The following week, he competed in a 20-man Six Sides Of Steel match where the last two men standing would be determined the captains of the Lethal Lockdown Match at Lockdown. He entered last and won the match by pinning rival Kurt Angle via the Muscle Buster. He then later stated backstage that he didn't wish to be captain, but would still be part of the team. His teammates were Jeff Jarrett, A.J. Styles and the returning Daniels. They faced off against The Main Event Mafia at Lockdown, and won the match. At this time he also revealed that he was taking orders from a "secret advisor" who he was seen talking to many times backstage although the person's identity was not revealed. He then feuded with Kevin Nash as his next victim of the Mafia and finally beat his old mentor at Sacrifice

2009: Heel Turn and Main Event Mafia

At Slammiversary, Joe betrayed A.J. Styles and turned on all the fans by helping Kurt Angle win the World Heavyweight Championship in the King of the Mountain match, and thus turned heel. On the June 25 episode of Impact!, Joe officially joined The Main Event Mafia after having spent the last five months taking them out. This was revealed by Angle, to be a master plan to fool the TNA Frontline and the attacks were all planned by Joe and the Mafia in advance. Joe then went on to explain that he joined the Mafia for the money that was invested by Jenna Morasca and for the power and also debuted a new rap themed, entrance music. Throughout the night, he carried out attacks with the Mafia on Styles and Daniels and the leader of the Mafia, Sting, who was kicked out of the Mafia as leader and once again replaced with Kurt Angle. On a Later episode Joe was defeated by Hernandez. At Victory Road, Joe faced Sting in a grudge match. Later in the match, Taz made his TNA debut and helped Joe beat Sting, thus revealing himself as a heel, and as Joe's new adviser. At Hard Justice Joe defeated Homicide to win the X Division title for the fourth time. After winning this title, Joe feuded with his long time rival Daniels and defeated him at No Surrender. On the October 8 edition of Impact! Joe lost the X Division title to Amazing Red after Bobby Lashley interfered in the match. At Bound for Glory Lashley defeated Joe in a submission match with a referee stoppage. On the following edition of Impact! Kurt Angle turned into a fan favorite, thus signaling the end of the Main Event Mafia.

On the same show it was announced that Joe and Daniels will challenge AJ Styles at Turning Point for the TNA Heavyweight Championship, an Unbreakable 2005 rematch.

Personal life

Seanoa got married on July 27,2007.

Seanoa is close friends with fellow wrestlers CM Punk (Phil Brooks), Homicide (Nelson Erazo), Christopher Daniels (Daniel Covell), A.J. Styles (Allen Jones), Rob Van Dam (Robert Szatkowski) and John Cena (John Felix Anthony Cena).[15] Seanoa has also appeared on Szatkowski's internet based reality show "RVD TV" numerous times.

Seanoa avidly trains in both Judo and Jiu Jitsu at LA Boxing in Costa Mesa, California. He is often noted as a sparring partner for Team Punishment member Justin McCully and is often in attendance in the locker room for Team Punishment fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Kendall Grove, with whom he maintains friendships.

Seanoa was born and raised in Southern California. He resided mainly in Huntington Beach, and split time during his childhood in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. He also has a newborn child.

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves

C.C.S. Enzuigiri (Jumping twisting enzuigiri while facing away from the opponent) – Independent circuit; Used as a regular move in TNA
Chimera–Plex (German suplex followed into a dragon suplex and finished with an X–Plex) – Independent circuit
Coquina Clutch (TNA) / The Choke (Independent circuit) (Rear naked choke)
Island Driver (Sitout side powerslam, sometimes from the middle rope, or a side reverse piledriver)
Muscle Buster, sometimes from the second rope
Chop to the back followed by a football kick to the chest and finished with a jumping knee drop
Death Valley driver
Facewash
Inverted atomic drop followed by a running single leg dropkick and finished with a running senton
Multiple backhand chops
Multiple stiff kicks
Multiple suplex variations
- Belly to belly
- Exploder
- German
Olé Kick (Running arched big boot to the face of an opponent seated on a chair next to a guardrail)
Powerbomb followed either into a prawn hold, a thigh–held single leg Boston crab, Cossface hold, or an STF
Samoan drop
Snap scoop powerslam followed into a cover attempt or sometimes into a crucifix armbar
Sidewalk slam
STJoe (Standing one–armed side slam, as a counter to a running attack most often in the corner)