Samoa Joe

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Samoa Joe (real name: Nuufolau Joel Seanoa) is currently one of the top-tier wrestlers in TNA and before that, in ROH. He is notable for subverting the Wild Samoan stereotype by being a submission expert and for being one of the few well-known wrestlers of Polynesian ancestry (he was born in the United States) not to have any ties to the Anoa'i wrestling family.

You can learn more about him at The Other Wiki.


 * Aborted Arc: His Put on a Bus moment below was most likely a lead-in for Immortal's coming (his Blood Knight character after coming back seemed a lot like that of the eventual messenger of Immortal, Abyss). However, people cheered whenever he assaulted somebody so the bookers killed the angle.
 * Acrofatic: Unlike many large wrestlers, this is legitimate rather than an Informed Attribute. He's faster and more agile than you'd ever expect of a guy with his build.
 * Anti-Hero: Type III
 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Heel or face.
 * Badass: Samoa Joe was the first wrestler to hold the TNA tag team belts by himself.
 * The Big Guy: Face.
 * Blood Knight
 * The Brute: Heel.
 * Demoted to Extra: Joe's been one of the biggest draws through most of TNA's existence. Once Hulk Hogan came in, it didn't take long for Joe to get pushed down the card.
 * Expy: Of Mitsuharu Misawa, which is one reason Japanese fans don't love him, they've seen him before.
 * Finishing Move: The (Coquina) Clutch, The Muscle Buster.
 * Genius Bruiser
 * Genre Savvy: Before the onset of his Badass Decay, Joe was known for casually walking out of the way of his opponents' attempts at high-flying, leaving them to splat on the mat.
 * Shout-Out: The Dynamite Kid did the spot decades earlier, complete with the nonchalant expression.
 * Good Is Not Nice: Face.
 * Heel Face Revolving Door
 * Lightning Bruiser
 * Noodle Incident: What happened to Joe while he was in ninja captivity?
 * Odd Friendship: Samoa Joe is friends with John Cena, John's Catch Phrase, "The Champ is here?" was also once part of Joe's entrance song (and Mohammad Ali was before both of them).
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy
 * Put in a Van: He was kidnapped by ninjas on a live TNA program and stuffed into the back of a van. He wasn't heard from for several weeks, and for most of that time no mention of the incident was made. He finally appeared in a short video clip and proclaimed "They have spoken." He returned on the following Impact! as a surprise entrant into an eight-man tag match, and in subsequent weeks went on to randomly attack and destroy both faces and heels in the ring. The details of who took him, why, and what they did to him haven't been revealed.
 * As this was immediately before Abyss began proclaiming that "They have spoken", it's suspected that Joe's kidnapping was to have something to do with Immortal. The reasons why he ultimately was not involved haven't been revealed either.
 * The Rival: AJ Styles and Kurt Angle.
 * Scarf of Asskicking: Well, actually a towel but still.
 * Shout-Out: The Muscle Buster, a clear homage to Kinnikuman.
 * Joe's theme almost always starts with the opening notes of the Godzilla theme (or an arranged version of so in TNA).
 * Sobriquet: "The Samoan Submission Machine".
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Him and CM Punk, apparently he's a lover of various women on CM Punk's furniture.
 * Wild Samoan: Played with in his "Nation of Violence" gimmick. Generally averted otherwise.