Samoa Joe is only days out of TNA Wrestling and there is already a major campaign to bring him to the WWE. Some of the WWE’s biggest personalities are pushing for the former TNA champion, yet the reality is that the window of opportunity for all parties has closed.
[adinserter block=”1″]The Samoan Submission Machine finished up a ten-year stint in TNA this week with a simple goodbye on Twitter. Joe stunned fans and media alike when he posted his farewell tweet which sent the Internet into hysterics over the possibilities of Joe coming to the WWE. A subsequent report was encouraging after it was reported that Triple H is interested in the big man.
Wrestlezone.com reported that Triple H has interest in bringing Joe in while the CEO Vince McMahon has zero interest in bringing in the big man. Further reports seem to indicate that Joe already has strong feelers out there, yet none are reported to be WWE. While the thought of seeing Joe in the WWE is certainly intriguing, I don’t think it benefits either one at this point.
I used to be a big Samoa Joe fan, like most of you. He was a hard worker and routinely stole the show in TNA with matches against Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Low Ki. That said, I have no idea where that Samoa Joe has been in recent years. Sure we’ve seen glimpses, but the Samoa Joe I have seen on television over the last year is slower, heavier and uninspired. A far from cry from the crazed maniac that tore it up for many years prior in TNA, and prior to that on the indys and ROH.
Put yourself in Vince McMahon’s shoes. You have a locker room full of young, athletic, processed, talent. The company is going through something of a rebuilding period, pushing new stars as it recognizes that John Cena and Randy Orton need help. The company has also invested millions into a talent development program, identifying specific types of wrestlers the company is looking to mold into a future superstar. So again I ask you, where does Samoa Joe fit in?
I take nothing away from Joe in the ring…when motivated. He’s awesome! But how do you explain the last few years. Sure, you can say that Joe was unmotivated in TNA. Most of us would relate to that. However, is that what you want to bring into the WWE locker room? As we have all seen, most WWE talents will go through a challenging period where they are not necessarily used to their potential. Some unfortunately never get out of that dark hole. How they respond is generally what makes or break them in the WWE. We’ve all seen Joe shut down under these circumstances. With more competition and a different system. there is a much better chance he’d be miscast in the WWE. Is he going to fight his way out of it like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk did or is he going to fold up and turn it off like Mistico did?
[adinserter block=”2″]I would dare say that Joe is better off not going to the WWE. He won’t have the opportunity to shine like he would if he went to New Japan, NOAH, Ring of Honor, or Lucha Underground. He will be sent immediately to NXT, cast alongside talent that aren’t nearly as polished as he is. The system will try and break the habits most of us would enjoy seeing him bring to the WWE. He’ll come out either a different wrestler or a failed experiment. Sure Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were able to maintain their foundations, but the same biases that the company would have against Joe weren’t there. Those guys had a much better chance to succeed.
With all due respect to Steve Austin and Paul Heyman, they aren’t seeing the big picture. They are seeing Joe’s talent which is very special, yet they aren’t taking into account the fit between Joe and the WWE. It just isn’t there and for that, I hope both parties keep their distance and proceed with business as usual.
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Well…he hasn’t made it to the main roster yet. I think the jury is still out.
If WWE were smart (I should stop there…) they would bring Joe in as the same character he’s always been, and have him just walk out and challenge someone like Daniel Bryan, just like established characters would do during the Monday Nite Wars when they would switch brands. Joe isn’t as big a name as Sting, but they know they can build off Sting’s notoriety (who was also in TNA, BTW). Bring Joe in as Joe and see how the audience reacts: if they recongnize him and are in to the confrontation great, you have your intro fued. If they fall flat, have him squashed and send him to NXT.
What about bringing Joe in at WrestleMania? The Authority are going jump Sting at the end of the match with Trips, that’s a gimme. Why not have Joe run in for the save? He gets immediate heat and gives the Authority someone else to fight with besides Sting and it gives you a possible two to three match main event at the following pay per-view. Its not like wrestling fans don’t know that they were both in TNA….
We know Stings time is limited and why not use his star power to give Joe this opportunity? I mean, this match with Trips does nothing for either of them professionally, but if you add someone to the feud that’s new to the company it can be “what’s good for business”.
I think the problem is that the WWE would never acknowledge TNA and their relationship. Honestly they could do a cool angle with Sting, AJ, and Joe but that won’t happen unless they buy TNA.
Wow, I didn’t even take it that far. Can you imagine if Vince and Dixie had a working relationship like Heyman had? Another invasion type angle would be pretty good. I think it was Mother Foley baby boy that brought in the radicals? Sting could do the same. Great idea Eric!!!
Honestly I think that is a great idea. A really great idea. They spend so much time and money repackaging guys that they really should just let someone walk out, issue an open challenge, and get over on merit. Great idea!
Eric, I don’t necessarily agree with you here. The transition from any other wrestling company to the WWE is always difficult and unless you are DDP, Ric Flair or Terry Funk you may have to change with the program and make adjustments. Some of those adjustments are for the better. Take Hollywood blonde Stunning Steve Austin as a prime example. I understand where you are coming from and that the emotions and attitude he had just a few years ago seem to be gone and I can understand there should be concern there. But are you trying to tell me that if you were unhappy at your current job and then all of a sudden your dream job became available to you that you wouldn’t put your best foot forward and go all out to get and keep that job? I think adding him to the roster at the mid card level could help raise that level of wrestling and eventually adding him to the IC title picture will continue to keep that championship viable.
I see your point but what I am saying is that they would make Joe wait and work for it and his track record shows that he shuts down when he isn’t motivated. That could be used against him. Maybe not as Booker T probably phoned it in more than anyone in TNA and he was brought back without a problem.