Nicknamed “The Samoan Submission Machine,” Samoa Joe first started generating buzz in Ring of Honor in the early to mid-2000s and is now seen on WWE television, where he’s a former three-time NXT Champion as well as a two-time WWE United States Champion. Before that, however, he spent a decade in TNA (now known as Impact Wrestling), where many mainstream wrestling fans saw Joe for the first time.
Samoa Joe was a special star in TNA, an extremely talented wrestler who was “homegrown” in the sense that he wasn’t a former WWE or WCW competitor. Fans could see he was shaping up to be one of the greats, but TNA certainly made a lot of mistakes with Joe, from poor booking decisions to baffling creative choices.
10 Losing to Kurt Angle
When Samoa Joe debuted in TNA, he instantly tore through the whole roster, racking up an 18-month long undefeated streak. It was awesome, and of course, it was eventually going to come to an end, but unfortunately, it came at the hands of Kurt Angle at Genesis in 2006.
Angle was, of course, already a highly decorated WWE star, and the controversial ending to the bout -- Joe tapping clean to the ankle lock -- ended up killing the young star’s momentum.
9 Dropping the World Title to Sting
Samoa Joe did end up winning the TNA World Title, albeit in 2008, which felt a little too late for a star who started his time with the company with such a dominant run.
This reign would last about six months and conclude with a loss against 49-year-old Sting at Bound for Glory. Sting was always great, but taken as part of TNA’s history, the title win was just business as usual in many fans' eyes, putting the gold on aging name-brand stars
8 Never Putting The World Title On Him Again
That aforementioned run with the TNA World Title would prove to be Samoa Joe’s only stint with the championship. He’d have sporadic title shots against wrestlers like AJ Styles and Magnus, but he’d always come up short.
While that wouldn’t be the final title reign of Joe’s TNA career -- he’d capture the TV Title and the X Division Title several times -- these would not really serve to elevate him beyond the midcard.
7 Nation of Violence
In 2009, months after losing the World Title, Samoa Joe debuted a new “The Nation of Violence” gimmick as an uber-violent sadist with a big knife, as well as tribal face paint that some fans thought looked a little too unintentionally phallic.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad gimmick on paper, but for many fans, it felt a bit like they were trying too hard to sell Joe as a heel when he was already an expert at doing that himself.
6 Losing Joe
In 2015, after about a decade with TNA, Samoa Joe parted ways with the company. It was part of a trend at the time, with the struggling company low-balling its stars and proposing severe pay cuts.
This would drive away guys like AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, and even Samoa Joe straight into WWE’s arms, as the company had recently warmed up to the idea of hiring ex-TNA talent after years of looking down on them. In other words, bad timing for TNA to stop valuing its talent.
5 Kidnapping by Ninjas
During a backstage segment on a 2010 episode of Impact, a van full of ninjas suddenly drove up, abducting Samoa Joe and driving off. It’s unknown what this was supposed to mean, as months later Joe returned to the show and no mention of the ninja-based kidnapping was made.
While there’s no guarantee that what was supposed to transpire wasn’t going to end up on this list, at least that would have meant TNA finished what it started.
4 Beat Down Clan
In 2014, TNA introduced an underrated but sadly short-lived new heel stable in the form of the Beat Down Clan, consisting of MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Kenny King. Before long, the group would add new members, including Low Ki and Samoa Joe.
While Joe was a great candidate for being in a group of dudes whose desire to beat people up was in the name, he largely felt like a henchman, which felt like an odd choice to make for a veteran star.
3 Negative Points in Bound for Glory Series
In 2011, TNA introduced the Bound For Glory series, a round-robin tournament where TNA stars earned points for winning matches, G1 Climax style. In this first outing, Joe managed to lose every single one of his matches, which resulted in him ending the tournament at the very bottom.
Worse than having zero points, the losses in BFG subtract points, so Joe actually had -10 points. Second to last was Scott Steiner, at 21 points.
2 Kevin Nash as a Mentor
After teaming up against the Angle Alliance in a six-man tag match at Turning Point 2007, Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash formed a partnership that involved tagging together in a title match against AJ Styles and Tomko. Nash would betray Joe mid-match, but despite that treachery, Samoa Joe -- after winning the World Title -- would accept Nash as a mentor.
It should be no surprise, then, that Nash would betray Joe again in his final title match against Sting. Overall, it did not make Samoa Joe seem like a very smart character.
1 Relegating Him to the X Division
As stated earlier, Samoa Joe would leave TNA a five-time X Division Champion, and put on some seriously great matches in the division, including the three-way classic with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels at Unbreakable 2005.
While the X Division was one of the more beloved aspects of TNA and had a lot of value when it came to elevating young stars, often it felt like Joe was being held back by still competing in the division as late as 2014.