The Joe Show with AEW Champion Samoa Joe
All Elite Wresting comes to Boston on Wednesday March 13th for “Big Business“. I had a chance to sit down with the face of the company, AEW World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe. The Samoan Submission machine is big in stature at 6″ 2 280 pounds. I sat across from him and at times thought I was looking at myself, accept he was wearing his platinum championship.
Samoa Joe has never been afraid of the big stage. At the age of 5, Joe and his family performed in front of 93,000 people at the 1984 summer olympics. His family owned a Polynesian dance troupe and Joe was a part of the family business. Joe continued his dance career but went on to become the California State Junior Judo Championships as a teenager. He then became a mortgage broker in the 2000’s while looking to take up Jiu-Jitsu. After the Jiu-Jitsu class, thats where Joe started to learn about wrestling as the pros would work out at the same gym. Joe went on to quit his job as a mortgage broker and became a professional wrestler.
Samoa Joe went on to become the longest reigning champion in Ring of Honor. His matches with CM Punk are considered some of the best of all time. He had a ten year run in TNA/Impact wrestling staying undefeated the first 18 months and winning every championship in the promotion. He was also part of the match that included the legendary “Steiner Math” promo by Scott Steiner.
Samoa Joe signed with WWE in 2015, a promotion which he was told years ago he would was a not a fit for him. He went on to win the NXT Champion in Lowell, Massachusetts against Finn Balor. He went on to WWE and became United States Champion and a three time NXT Champion. Joe was also named commentator of the year in 2020 and was released by WWE in January of 2022. He signed with All Elite Wrestling in April of 2022 and became the Ring of Honor television champion. He vacated the title to challenge for the AEW Championship where he defeated MJF by submission to became AEW Heavyweight Champion.
Samoa Joe may be the next wrestler to turn actor, has a starring role in the Peacock series “Twisted Metal,” and is involved in the “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” video game. Not bad for someone who went from dancing, to mortgages and now the face of professional wrestling.
