Samoa Joe's Cageside Evaluation

What you loved:

1. In-Ring - I think what sets Joe apart from most wrestlers is he has many different styles in the ring. He can brawl, fight stiff, play the mat game, keep it slow or speed it up. His time in Ring of Honor and even early TNA were amazing. If you never caught his work, I highly recommend checking it out.
2. Speedy Hoss - Billed at 6'2/280 Joe is a big man that can move at a very fast pace. He has decent cardio as well.
3. Legit Threat - Kind of like Brock Lesnar, he's got that "don't mess with me" vibe. When the crowd yells out "Joe is gonna kill you" opponents should heed the warning.
4. ROH Run - He helped build Ring of Honor's credibility by staying their champ for 21 months and fighting all over the world with it during his reign. Again his matches were amazing, particularly with Kobashi and CM Punk.
5. Entrance Theme - I think this only got a mention or two, but I had to include the theme from Ring of Honor when he was the champ.

My favorite comment belongs to Hifismark - "Love: Freakish athleticism – a man of his size and bulk should not be able to move like a cruiserweight. He’s nearly at the level of Lesnar in that respect. Looks like he could kill you with his bare hands in a highly efficient and/or painful way and probably could. His intensity connects with the crowd big time: "Joe’s gonna kill you!" anyone? One of the best power games in the business but also a versatile and well-balanced mat technician."

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What you loathed:

1. TNA Run - I wouldn't say his whole run was terrible, but the last couple years have been uninspiring, at best. Part of it isn't Joe's fault, it's crappy booking, and unfortunately Joe is easy to read when he's not interested in the current storyline. Hopefully with his recent push this will change.
2. Weight - He's a big dude, and it wouldn't hurt to drop a couple. Might help him if he ever wanted to make a run in the WWE.
3. Promos - It's not that he's bad on the mic, but less is more.
4. Not in WWE - He is one of the better talents to have never joined up with the WWE. Some of you think his look wouldn't work there, but I hope for his sake, he gives it a try before he's over 50 and wearing a t-shirt. ;)
5. Attire - He's rocked pretty much the same thing since his indy days. A change could freshen up his look a bit.

My favorite comment (and great movie reference) goes to *Asterisk* - "As of 2014, Samoa Joe’s a fucking nobody. It’s not that he got fat, it’s not that his matches declined in quality: both those things happened to Mick Foley by the late 90s, and he was a bigger star than ever before. Samoa Joe’s problem is that nobody on Earth gives one shit about anything he does. Remember the end of Goodfellas? Remember how Ray Liotta starts off as a fucking lion and by the end he feels no greater revelation, and just gives up because he’s a fucking nobody, and giving up only makes his life worse? That’s Samoa Joe. Samoa Joe went to an Italian restaurant in Orlando last week and ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce: he got egg noodles and ketchup. Samoa Joe’s an average nobody…he’ll get to live the rest of his life like a schnook."

Finally, the poll. Joe's average score is 3.8. If he either got a strong push in TNA or made his way to WWE this could easily get above 4.

Thanks everyone for responding, tomorrow's pick is someone that causes us all to go; "wha...wha happened???"

Until then!