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The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Top 5 Desired Samoa Joe Matches

March 6, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka

The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. We take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to participate and give us their Top 5 on said topic. So, onto this week’s topic…

Week 300 – The Top 5 Desired Samoa Joe Matches

Now that Samoa Joe has left TNA and is a free agent (for now), what are the top 5 Samoa Joe matches you want to see? Go.

Mike Hammerlock
5. Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk – If you’re running ROH, and Punk and Joe are both free agents, you should pay almost any sum of money to make that clash happen. They had the most iconic feud in ROH history back in 2004. Joe won all three matches. Life eventually took them to different federations, so we never got to see the next chapter. That door is open now. Seriously, this is the most made to order match imaginable for ROH Final Battle ’15. Empty a vault to make it happen. Empty a vein too. Technically this should be #1 on the list, but it’s so obvious I figured I should lead with it. It’s a license to print money. Any Joe match in ROH (Adam Cole, Michael Elgin, Jay Briscoe, Moose, Cheeseburger) would be an instant big deal, but put him against Punk and you need to find a sizable arena (hint: maybe one in Chicago) along with a highly scalable Internet streaming service. It’s the match that would tip the business on its head. It would be the biggest non-WWE wrestling match on American soil since WCW was in operation.

4. Samoa Joe/AJ Styles/Low Ki as the Living Legends in the Chikara King of Trios Tournament – Feel free to sub in Christopher Daniels if one of AJ or Ki can’t make it, but these three were the catalysts for the rebirth of independent wrestling we saw in 2000s. They were the new underground, purveyors of a high energy style that took over the entire industry. Once you saw them, it left you changed forever. It altered your perception of what can be done in a wrestling ring. King of Trios would be a dynamite place to see those three unite to show off what exactly made them the vanguard of an industry-changing movement. It’s a dream team for wrestling geeks. Also, those three guys tend to be deadly serious. It would nice to see them have a little bit of fun. Ashley Remington might blow Joe’s mind by repeatedly breaking on one. Living Legends vs. Devastation Corporation. Living Legends vs. the Colony. That’d get my money.

3. Samoa Joe vs. Eddie Kingston – If Joe’s going to spend any time in Chikara, then he probably ought to tangle with the Last of a Dying Breed, Eddie Kingston. Sure, I’d love to see Joe throw down against Cesaro or Kevin Owens, but he’s not going to WWE. So I’m trying to be a little more realistic about potential matchups. Joe vs. Kingston is probably a workable situation. It’s not a license to print money, but hardcore wrestling fans, even the ones who don’t follow Chikara, would recognize Joe vs. Kingston as being a potential slobberknocker. Somewhere along the way it would turn into a suplex party. Joe’s sweet spot is jumping fed to fed and taking on the hardest dude on the roster. Plus, imagine the Joe vs. Eddie comic Chikara could put out. That might even be better than the match.

2. Samoa Joe vs. Togi Makabe – Well, we all want to see this, don’t we? The Samoan Submission Machine vs. the Unchained Gorilla. That’s a super beef collider of a match. You may need to do geological testing to make sure they don’t activate a fault line in the city where they hold this match. They’re the human equivalents of two Pacific Rim kaiju. Both guys are allergic to taking a backwards step. On top of that, Gedo and Jado know how to book. They’d make that match a monument to brutality. Joe probably ought to go to New Japan because he’d slot seamlessly into Bullet Club and then he’d war against Makabe, Ishii, Honma, Suzuki, etc. They’ll know what to do with him. Career wise it almost makes too much sense.

1. Samoa Joe vs. Pentagon Jr. – Joe’s got that über-stiff style. So does Pentagon Jr. They’d chop each other into little pieces. Seriously, you’d find their nipples on the floor of the 3rd row after the match. It also would be a chance to see Joe bridge in Lucha Libre. He meshes so well with high flyers and Pentagon Jr. has that in his locker along with an MMA-inspired striking and submission offense. Imagine both guys mixing in high risk with buzzsaw attacking? Now go change your pants. Pentagon Jr. would push Joe into some interesting new territory. From a psychology standpoint, the luchador would test Joe’s cardio. Can Joe go like he used to? We’d find out. On the flipside, Joe would test whether Pentagon Jr. can return fire against a super heavyweight who has strong style for days.

Scott Rutherford
5. Tomohiro Ishii – Ishii is a someone that’s cut from the same cloth as Joe. Tough, no nonsense ass kickers that will drop you where you stand. The level of violence would be off the charts as they would just go out and punch, chop and kick each other to kingdom come and they would enjoy it. This is one of those dream matches that could very well happen in the near future as Joe has yet to commit to any one organization and I could see Samoa Joe doing a year in NJPW making good money and having insanely good matches almost at will.

4. CM Punk – This is a fairly obvious one. After a storied rivalry in ROH, these two sort greener pastures in WWE and TNA respectively. While each achieved top honors in their respective promotions, people always wanted to see these two hook-up one more time. Most of us thought it would be Samoa Joe trying his hand in WWE but now that Punk and Joe are free agents they could literally promote this themselves. I wouldn’t put it past Punk too book the Hammerstein Ballroom, get Joe in on the act, and set up a killer indie show on iPPV and both of them laugh all the way to the bank.

3. John Cena – Another obvious match but one that’s more in the minds of the hardcore fan than the mainstream WWE watcher. It’s a pity that Vince has completely given up on old-school booking that saw promotions bring in a fresh face, have them go over several mid-carders, destroy everyone in their path and then set them up against their champ or #1 star. You could make this match a dream for casual fans and this could be the hard-hitting super-brawl that the WWE seems to think that Rusev can offer. Get Joe, give him an proper push and then let these two have at it. It will be good. Fans will care. I promise.

2. Rey Mysterio – I know the popular thing these days is too forget that Mysterio is a once in a lifetime talent that could make anyone, big or small, look good in the ring and give us the fans, exciting and thrilling matches almost at will. When I think of Rey even in his reduced capacity going up against a killer like Joe in a match I get nerd-giddy with the potential awesome that can be had. Talk about opposing styles complimenting each other, I can’t think of a negative here. Add in the fact this is a dream match that people probably didn’t even think of since both men were married to TNA and WWE, it would be something fresh and new that could really sell some tickets. I wonder if ROH had thrown some feelers out for the 13th Anniversary Show but didn’t have time to put it together?

1. NXT Crew – I could have easily filled out the top five with the NXT roster and be done. However, I don’t think it’s a cheat to do it this way. People seem to think that Joe going to WWE is a long shot. However, HHH does all the scouting and signing and he’s already shown he’ll chance his hand on indie talent. If I were HHH, I’d see if Joe wants to come in on a low money deal. If he does all his inexperienced crew get to work with one of the best wrestlers in recent memory in the US. Joe for his part gets exposure on WWE TV since so many people tune in to watch NXT and its specials. What Joe misses out on in terms of pay he certainly gets his name and face out on a global platform. If anyone says they wouldn’t be interested in Joe squaring off against Finn Balor, Adrian Neville, Hideo Itami, Kevin Owen and Sami Zayn, then they’re fucking lying.

Jeremy Lambert
5. Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar – This would take on the same feel as Joe vs. Angle did back at Lockdown 2008. Joe has proven that he can work a MMA style match and obviously that’s what Brock specializes in. These two would basically beat the hell out of each other, trade a bunch of suplexes and submissions, and then one man would be standing at the end of it all.

4. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor – Balor might be the most complete wrestler in North America today. He’s a star in waiting and is at the top of his game right now on just about every level of sports entertainment. So why wouldn’t I want to see him and Joe go back-and-forth for 20-30 minutes in a hard hitting affair?

3. Samoa Joe vs. Hideo Itami – Believe it or not, Joe and the former KENTA have never had a one-on-one match. They’ve been opponents in a triple threat match and have been on opposite sides in a couple of tag matches, but they’ve never squared off in a singles match. As someone who used to follow the Indies a lot more, I feel cheated that I’ve never seen this match and would love for it to happen just once. We know it’d be a hard-hitting “fighting spirit” affair.

2. Samoa Joe vs. Rusev – Like Lesnar vs. Joe, this would just be too big hosses beating the hell out of each other until one man is left standing. Rusev has proven himself as a solid worker who is at his best when he’s facing a fellow athletic heavyweight. Not only is Joe that guy, but also Joe is also good enough to carry Rusev through potential dull moments

1. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels – I know we’ve seen this match a handful of times in TNA, but this remains one of the top rivalries in TNA history and all of the matches these three had together were great. They’re 10 years older, AJ Styles is putting together a fantastic run, Daniels is still a solid pro, and I still have faith in a motivated Samoa Joe. Even if they can’t “go” like they used to, they could still tell a great story and a hot Indy crowd would eat this thing up. I also think all three would have an extra pep in their step just to spite TNA because 10 years ago, they were tearing down the Impact Zone and should’ve been the building blocks for TNA this past decade. Instead, they were misused or pushed aside, but they can still produce a classic.

photo Joe vs. AJ vs. Daniels_zpsnvykpq3i.jpg

Kevin P
5. Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar: Stay with me people, this is easily the most far fetched match on this list. The chances of Samoa Joe signing with the WWE are kind of slim and the chances of Brock Lesnar sticking around are reportedly slim as well. The chances of both happening, Joe making it to the main roster and being positioned as a guy to face Brock are astronomical and highly doubtful. Even with that, it’s something I would like to see. Both guys are ruthless and it would be similar to Brock/Angle when it first happened. Okay, now that I’m done with the fantasy matchups.

4. Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe: Yes, this is something that we have seen before. I remember a particularly bloody war they had inside of a steel cage. That being said, while Samoa Joe has mostly wasted his prime over in TNA, Jay Briscoe has vastly improved and become one of the top guys in ROH history. He’s been around since day one and is a two time World Champion. I fully believe that if they were to meet again, it would be even better. While Joe may have fallen some, Jay’s rise to his very best will give this a much different feel than their old bouts, which interests me.

3. Samoa Joe vs. Togi Makabe: Granted, I only recently got into NJPW and Togi Makabe in general but this is still something I’d like to see. Togi had a hard hitting match at WrestleKingdom 9 and captured the NEVER Openweight Championship. I enjoyed it and loved his brutal style. I feel like that could work wonders against Samoa Joe, who has some of the hardest hitting matches I can recall. Mainly the one with Kenta Kobashi comes to mind. I honestly think that a trip to NJPW would be the best thing for Joe’s future.

2. Samoa Joe vs. Alberto El Patron: Much like AJ Styles a year or so ago, Alberto El Patron has had a bit of a career resurgence. I’ve always been a fan of the man’s work, but since leaving the WWE, he has captured the AAA Title and has a shot at the ROH TV Title at the 13th Anniversary Show. Throw in his work with Lucha Underground and the guy has been everywhere. I never thought about this as a match I’d want to see, but with it being an actual possibility now, I’d be all for it. The Rear Naked Choke vs. The Cross Armbreaker? I’m sold. But you already knew that. ::Insert wink::

1. Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk: Anyone who saw their classic trilogy in Ring of Honor will know exactly why this tops the list. Back when they had their series of clashes, it put ROH on the map and who wouldn’t love to see them have just one more? While Joe is a hot commodity, there is none hotter than Punk. He has been a big deal since the podcast with Colt Cabana and the signing with UFC, so anything he’s involved in will be a big deal. The odds that a fourth match in their series is possible was something unfathomable a while back but the opportunity is there. I’d order an ROH show with it. It may not live up to their past matches but it should still be damn good and it’s the one I’d want to see most.

Ryan Byers
5. vs. Rusev – I imagine that, when most people see this topic, they’ll envision Joe going up against either international stars or wrestlers who have backgrounds on the US independent circuit as opposed to pure WWE products. However, Joe landing in the big league is a possibility, so I thought that I would give some consideration to who I would like to see him wrestle there. One of the first names that came to my mind was Rusev, who in a very short time has proven himself to be a great heavyweight big match wrestler. The Bulgarian Brute’s array of throws and kicks, accented by a hint of sambo influence, would be a fine match for Samoa Joe’s arsenal. However, perhaps the most important attribute that Rusev would bring to the table in a match against Joe is his ability to project the aura of a badass, which is second only to Brock Lesnar in the current WWE landscape. You can pretend it’s all about holds and highspots, but, at the end of the day, a lot of what makes pro wrestling matches is good old fashioned atmosphere, and Rusev can create that in abundance.

4. vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – In my mind, there are three types of matches in which Samoa Joe excels, and my next three choices on this list represent an effort to book him in one of each of those three types of matches. The first is the classic, technical catch-as-catch can pro wrestling encounter, which Joe demonstrated his aptitude for against the likes of CM Punk and Kurt Angle. When you think of superior technical style wrestlers in 2015, you have to think of Zack Sabre Jr. (if you’ve seen him), the British independent wrestler who has also put in appearances with Germany’s wXw and Pro Wrestling NOAH over in Japan. Sabre can take it to the mat like few others and get the crowd into a frenzy without even so much as hitting the ropes, and that is one of the main environments in which Joe can and does thrive.

3. vs. Kota Ibushi – How did Samoa Joe make his name? He really did it by acting as a base for smaller, flying wrestlers, first as the World Champion in Ring of Honor and later during his lengthy X Division Title reign in TNA. Thus, it was only natural when compiling this list to have at least one entry that put Joe against the best flying wrestler of the modern era. I went back and forth as to whether I would put Ricochet in the position but, ultimately, I went with the two league superstar of New Japan Pro Wrestling and DDT, Kota Ibushi. Ibushi is a spectacular flyer who would be a near perfect dance partner for Samoa Joe, incorporating many of the elements that made Joe vs. Low Ki and Joe vs. Austin Aries so great over the years. Plus, when Ibushi is not flying, he’s still got a heck of a ground game, which would either help add an element of diversity to a one-off match or could be used to differentiate subsequent matches in a series from one another.

2. vs. Tomohiro Ishii – Aaaaand the third type of match that Samoa Joe excels at is the straight up, hard hitting badass brawl. This man is not afraid to hit or be hit – just ask former opponents like Kenta Kobashi and the Necro Butcher. (And when did you ever thing you would see THOSE two names in the same sentence?) In 2015, when it comes to intense brawls that make you fear somebody’s nipple will be chopped clean off his chest, you think of Tomohiro Ishii. If you ponder it for a bit, you come to realize that Ishii and Joe are mirror images of each other in many ways. Their in-ring styles are similar. Their builds are similar. Their perseverance and ability to work through pain is similar. You could put Samoa Joe into a match with just about anybody on the current New Japan roster and it would produce a ****+ bout, but Tomohiro Ishii may be the best possible test of Joe’s mettle.

1. vs. John Cena – I fully admit that, of all the matches on my list, this one would probably be the weakest from a pure in-ring quality perspective. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m not the most interested in seeing it. My reasons for feeling that way have little to do with match quality and have much more to do with the history between the two competitors and my history watching them. Prior to these two men grabbing national attention in ROH, TNA, and WWE, they both got their first breaks of note in southern California’s Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), booked by Rick Bassman. While there, the two men traveled together and became friends, but, in the more than fifteen years have expired since they left SoCal, they have never interacted with each other professionally. Having seen both men in that promotion in their earliest days, I would have a strong personal interest in seeing them come together once more. Plus, for all of the flack that he gets for not being a good wrestler, Cena has had some great matches over the course of his career, and any of his greatest have come against some of Joe’s indy wrestling contemporaries. (I’m thinking, in particular, of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.) This demonstrates that Cena “gets” the style that Joe has been the most successful with during his career, meaning the match would probably be a damn good one . . . even if others lower down on my list may appear to be technically superior on paper.

Andrew Shillinglaw
5. vs. Seth Rollins – When Tyler Black existed in ROH, I was never truly a fan. I was upset when he won the title. I found his matches to lack real structure and truly found Tyler Black void of talent. I was team Jimmy Jacobs all the way. I know it’s an unpopular opinion but you can’t help the way you feel sometimes. However, when Tyler Black came to WWE, took his time in developmental, and reemerged as Seth Rollins, I became a fan. Seth Rollins feels like a complete package, a complete package that could have a killer match with Samoa Joe. I really want this to happen. The two didn’t really cross over in terms of their independent wrestling generations, but the two could have a killer match now. I don’t think that Joe ends up in the WWE, but this is something I’d like to see if he does.

4. vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens – At some point over his career, Sami Zayn became the best babyface of our generation. He could eventually become the best babyface of all time. And to echo something I said earlier before the Steamboat loyalists jump down my throat, you can’t help the way you feel sometimes. Kevin Owens is the flip side to the Zayn coin. He represents everything that Zayn isn’t, and has since the days of Steen and Generico. The two are known for their storied rivalry and putting on amazing singles matches, but why not add Joe to the mix too? If you’re going to have him in NXT, have him wrestle these men. I’d enjoy every second of it. I understand that I sort of cheated by throwing two guys into one match, but I don’t care. There were no qualifiers in the rules!

3. vs. Rich Swann – I enjoy when Samoa Joe wrestles little guys who flip. It’s what the entire Samoa Joe X Division run was predicated on. He comes in and he murders these guys and he puts on amazing spectacles and matches. Right now, my favorite flipper in all the land is Rich Swann. Ricochet may be more talented, but Swann has what Ricochet lacks in terms of personality and charisma. Besides, Rich Swan once too sweeted me at a Dragon Gate USA event and for that I am forever a fan. Either way, this match would be phenomenal. Joe would let loose with everything he had and Swann would get that sympathetic reaction that every face lives and dies for. BOOK IT, BOOKERS!

2. Michael Elgin – POWER FIGHT! I almost went for Brian Cage here, because he’s the freakiest genetic freak on the scene (although if you look at his FCW footage, it’s quite clear that there are more than just genetics at work) but I went with Elgin instead. Elgin gets match structure and psychology far better than Cage does, and that’s very important on a list like this. Hell, Elgin’s got an undeserving Meltzer 5 star classic under his belt! Either way, this match would work on a ton of levels. Elgin is probably in my top 5 guys on the independent scene and can really work when the situation calls for it. He and Joe would have a bombfest in every amazing sense of the word. And I’d love to see Joe eating buckle bombs and Elgin taking Muscle Busters. I repeat what I said in my Swann paragraph. BOOK IT, BOOKERS!

1. AJ Styles – Everyone and their mother is going to want to put Punk in this spot, but I’m trying to stay realistic to a certain degree. At some point within the last year, AJ Styles reached the height of his wrestling power. His New Japan work has been on another level in comparison to the rest of his career, and that’s really saying something. In this past year, you can make a legitimate case for AJ being the best in the world at this moment, and that’s crazy to think. AJ and Joe have had classic matches before in TNA, and one would imagine that they could do it again now. The best thing about AJ as a matchup is that he also holds the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. So not only could they do the singles match, they could do it on a big stage for a big prize which always adds drama and intrigue, two necessary ingredients to a pro wrestling match. I’d love to think that AJ and Joe have already talked on the phone about Joe coming to Japan, and that this match is on the way.