Sharks have been swimming within the seas of planet earth for 450 million years. Regardless of being probably the most historic species on Earth, sharks have advanced comparatively little in comparison with different animals, which means that they’ve been optimally designed for tens of millions of years. 

And very like the Nice White Shark, Samoa Joe has not wanted to evolve all through his wrestling profession, as a result of he’s good and has been good for a very long time. Joe has been wrestling for 25 years now, and in case you return to even his earliest days as a wrestler, little or no has modified about him. 

A enjoyable hear, nearly as enjoyable as watching Joe/Darby in Seattle. Joe is a Nice White Shark – no must evolve away from perfection. https://t.co/fDSXH87boT

— Bruce (@Contrasoma) March 19, 2024

It is because, from a really early stage, Joe has mastered the basic facets of professional wrestling. He exudes authenticity, each in his promos and in his wrestling model. As wrestling advanced all through the 2000s and 2010s, adopting a extra reasonable model and presentation, Joe was already miles forward of the sport. Joe’s character, of an ultra-serious, uncompromising ass-kicked, has been probably the most sturdy wrestling characters in fashionable wrestling historical past. 

He can win matches, he can lose matches, he could be a babyface, he could be a heel, it doesn’t actually matter as a result of he’s Samoa Joe. His confidence is clear in all the things he does out and in of a wrestling ring, the followers consistently have proven perception in him no matter how he has been booked and been prepared to purchase into him as quickly as any booker that has been lucky sufficient to have him on their roster has managed to get their head out of the sand. 

Every thing about Joe is crafted to perfection. His meat-and-potatoes wrestling model would recover from in any period; as would his reasonable promos. His look, full with dual-color quick tights and towel, completely symbolize who he’s. Even his title, Samoa Joe, is ideal. It’s memorable and the Samoa half provides the flavour, drawing recollections of skull-crushing robust guys from earlier eras, whereas the Joe half impresses an atypical, blue-collar perspective.

Joe’s wrestling persona appears primary–he’s fairly merely a harmful brawler with some form of ambiguous combat-sport background that takes his work very significantly. He’s not a very complicated character; but Joe’s enchantment has in some way remained elusive for some wrestling bookers over time. Whether or not it was Vince McMahon or the assorted retreads that got inventive management in TNA throughout Joe’s decade there, the apparent enchantment of Samoa Joe hasn’t been obvious to the important thing determination makers. 

The result’s Joe has been largely mishandled for an enormous bulk of his profession. There’s maybe no greater indictment of the inventive course of in main American wrestling over the last 20 years than the collective determination makers’ lack of ability to e-book Samoa Joe accurately. Samoa Joe needs to be a booker’s dream; a reliable skilled who followers have just about immediately accepted as a reputable star that’s extraordinarily sturdy and versatile in what may be completed with him. So why has a lot of Samoa Joe’s profession seemingly been targeted on the one factor he doesn’t have? 

The elephant within the room is that Samoa Joe by no means had the physique of what Vince McMahon would view as a high wrestler. Regardless of Joe being the standout wrestler as a trainee in Final Professional Wrestling, which on the time was a developmental affiliate of WWE, Joe wouldn’t be signed by WWE till 15 years into his profession. The apparent purpose was his physique, with McMahon keen to rent anyone with a bodybuilder physique and dismissive of anyone who lacked it. 

Not solely did that philosophy maintain Joe out of WWE, it additionally severely impacted his progress in TNA. Whereas he was pushed arduous at occasions in TNA, he was additionally continuously seemed over as varied clueless executives sought to create a brand new, breakthrough star, who coincidentally sometimes seemed like a wrestler Vince McMahon would wish to push. This turned excruciatingly apparent within the early 2010s, when Joe could be phased down the cardboard in favor of talentless hacks like Crimson, Gunner and Rob Terry. 

Joe’s physique has solely been a superficial subject within the minds of out-of-touch wrestling promoters. Regardless of this alleged enormous subject that stop Joe from ever getting over as a high star, the audiences which were paying to observe Samoa Joe for 25 years have surprisingly by no means had a tough time shopping for into Samoa Joe. His physique has solely held him again by way of how silly wrestling bookers assume how followers will react, whereas ignoring all actual proof on the contrary.

There have been loads of nice, important occasion stars which were fats. Mick Foley, Vader, Abdullah the Butcher, Dusty Rhodes; Joe is/was in higher form than all of them, however for some purpose bookers figured he couldn’t be a high star as a result of high stars must have abs, or no matter. 

In his well-known “Laborious Instances” promo, Dusty Rhodes talks about his enchantment to the viewers by saying “I admit that I don’t seem like the athlete of the day is meant to look. My stomach is just a bit massive, however heiny is just a bit massive, however brother, I’m dangerous they usually know I’m dangerous.” 

Samoa Joe is BAD. Folks knew he was dangerous. And regardless of how he was being booked in no matter firm he was in, he has managed to recover from. It’s absurd to assume that his physique would disqualify him from being pushed as a high star for his complete profession, and but it largely has. 

By the point WWE lastly signed Joe in 2015, he hadn’t advanced in any respect. The Samoa Joe in 2015 was the identical Samoa Joe WWE had handed on all these years earlier; his physique didn’t enhance, if something it obtained worse. The distinction was wrestling advanced, no less than sufficient in order that Joe might be taken extra significantly by the highest brass. 

His time in WWE could be surprisingly just like his time in TNA, as he was shuffled up and down the cardboard, however all the time was in a position to recover from on the high stage when wanted. His feud with Brock Lesnar in 2017 noticed RAW present important rankings progress, albeit for a brief time period after which Joe was ushered again down the cardboard. Nonetheless he proved to do some unattainable issues, together with with the ability to say WWE’s ridiculous scripted verbiage and nonetheless come throughout reasonable and plausible. 

With Joe signing with AEW, for the primary time since he was working for Gabe Sapolsky in Ring of Honor, he had a booker that grasped who Samoa Joe actually was. When MJF wanted to take day without work and AEW was in quest of a world champion, Joe emerged as an unlikely, however good individual to hold the title into 2024. Joe’s reasonable, genuine presentation served as a wanted distinction and palate-cleanser to the exaggerated melodrama that got here with MJF’s prolonged reign. Regardless of now being 45 years previous and with loads of tread on his tires, Joe has been a breath of contemporary air in the primary occasion image for AEW. 

Joe is pretty much as good as he has ever been, and is lastly, after 25 years, getting pushed on the highest stage as a legit and credible world champion. The way forward for AEW just isn’t Samoa Joe, his probability to be a real mega star on the extent his expertise deserved sailed a very long time in the past, however Joe remains to be going out every week and delivering an A+ efficiency, whether or not it’s reducing a promo, having a match, or simply needing to seem like a top-tier badass. Samoa Joe has all the time been good, it simply took some highly effective folks a lot too lengthy to understand it.