Steve-a-Mania reviews: Unstoppable- Best of Samoa Joe in TNA

The DVD covers most of Samoa Joe’s time in the X-Division as he took TNA by storm and dominated it’s best X-Division stars and the not so great ones too.

Samoa Joe vs. Sonjay Dutt- Slammiversary 2005

Mike Tenay does a good job of hyping up Samoa Joe. He talks about his ROH run and mentions Samoa Joe’s impressive Heavyweight title reign for the company. Joe dominates the majority of the match with Dutt getting little offence in. The match did it’s job of introducing Samoa Joe to the TNA fans and for him to showcase some of the things he can do.

Rating: ¾*

Samoa Joe vs. Delirious- TNA Impact (June 24th 2005)

This match turned out to be very similar to the previous match. Delirious was unable to get as much offence as Sonjay Dutt got. But, it was a serviceable squash match, with the same goals as the last match had. Showcasing Samoa Joe, getting him over as a bad ass.

Rating: ½*

Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin- No Surrender 2005

Chris Sabin shows little intimidation in the early going. But, Samoa Joe still dominates, Sabin uses his speed to overwhelm Samoa Joe. Mike Tenay casts doubts over Sabin being able to hit the Cradle Shock. Sabin attempts it several times but can’t lift the big man, leading to Joe running down Sabin with a series of power moves. Making quick work of the former X-Division champion.

I was surprised that Chris Sabin got so little offence. He isn’t just another X-Division scrub like the others. It was a similar match to the others, Sabin looked more dangerous than the others but not enough to believe for a split second he could beat Joe. It was a fun match for what it was, but I can’t help but feel they could have done more.

Rating: **½

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles- Sacrifice 2005 (Super X Cup Final)

Possibly Samoa Joe’s biggest test in TNA with a different kind of match expected was to be expected from it. AJ starts the match off strong, but is not long lasting as Joe shows off his agility to thwart any real advantage AJ may get. AJ really gets to show in the match just how good at bumping and selling he is, making Joe’s already devastating offence look even more so dangerous. AJ slips comfortably into the under dog role being punished with a series of submission holds. Very back and forth closing moments, despite a great show of resilience. Daniels interference is too much for AJ to handle.

I think their Turning Point match is a better one, but this was still a great match. Samoa Joe’s undefeated run really needed a match like this, to give it a sense of danger. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe fit their respective roles perfectly.

Rating:****

Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles- Unbreakable 2005

AJ and Joe start off the match in competition in the punishment of Daniels. All 3 guys really sync up very well together to make for some very exciting and entertaining sequences. AJ Styles sends the crowd into a frenzy with a springboard Shooting Star Press. AJ prevents a Samoa Joe win with a Spiral Tap onto Joe as he has the coquina clutch in. AJ and Daniels are battling on the outside as Joe cannonballs out of the ring onto them both. Tenay loses his mind in the process. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels have a speedy sequence with several near falls thrown in there. The closing moments see’s AJ reverse the Angels Wings into a pin.

All that could be said on how great this match is can’t do it justice. Arguably the best TNA match of all time and it’s not difficult to see why. Very fast and exciting stuff with the 2 and 3 man sequences being out of this world level of awesomeness.

Rating: *****

Samoa Joe vs. Jushin Liger- Bound For Glory 2005

Considered an International dream match of sorts. But, it didn’t come off that way. They didn’t seem to mesh very well which made for some rather awkward moments in the match. It came off as more of an evenly matched squash match that would likely to be seen on Impact. Failing to deliver on such high expectations for the match.

Rating: **

Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Alex Shelley & Roderick Strong vs. Sonjay Dutt, Austin Aries, Chris Sabin & Matt Bentley (Elimination X)- Genesis 2005

Fast paced stuff to start us off. Sonjay Dutt tries some flashy moves fall flat on his face, literally. The heels continue to dominate the faces thanks to Samoa Joe’s contribution. It doesn’t take long for all hell to break loose with move after move being hit. The faces dive to the outside on the heels. Austin Aries eliminates Roderick Strong with a brain buster followed by a 450 splash. Christopher Daniels, ever the opportunist rolls Aries up for his elimination. The faces are now the ones in control but can’t make the chances count as Alex Shelley makes Sonjay Dutt submit with a cross face. Matt Bentley quickly eliminated Alex Shelley with a super kick. Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels work well as a unit leading to Joe hitting the Muscle Buster on Bentley off of Daniels shoulders. Sabin fights off a 2 on 1 attack but such a thing cannot last long. Joe and Daniels save each other from a cradle shock, a leg trip from Bentley to Joe prevents him the pin. But, Daniels finishes him off with the Angels Wings.

Surprised at how long they gave the match. Not surprised at how fun it turned out to be, a very high tempo and great action thrown into the mix. The Joe and Daniels dynamic was very entertaining, leading to a Daniels face turn after Joe destroys him at the end.

Rating: ***½

Samoa Joe vs. Amazing Red- Impact (December 8th 2005)

Back to business as usual. Perhaps a little more interesting than the previous squash matches with Red being smaller and more flexible. Alex Shelley at ringside with a camera recording the match served some mild amusement.

Rating: ¾*

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles- Turning Point 2005- TNA X-Division Title

AJ goes straight at Joe showing no intimidation despite the clear advantage in size and strength Joe has. He puts that advantage to use to gain control of the match. Despite a strong start AJ is facing mission impossible to get any significant advantage. AJ uses his advantage in speed to out fox Joe and prevent any further domination. AJ shows he isn’t light on power taking Joe up for a power bomb. The momentum quickly shifts back to Joe though, AJ has his lip busted open badly. Joe shows some utter disbelief in the resilience that AJ is showcasing, but he can only do so much as Joe reverses a pin into the Coquina clutch.

Fantastic match. The thing that really put this above the Super X Cup match from Sacrifice is that they really told an incredible story. It was something we hadn’t seen in a Joe match so far with AJ really taking it to him. The intensity was elevated into a truly hard hitting match. I feel this match doesn’t get a lot of mention as regards to some great TNA matches, but really should do.

Rating: ****½

Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal- Impact (December 17th 2005)

Samoa Joe walks down to the ring as he comes face to face with the World champion Jeff Jarrett. They become locked into a stare down, planting the seeds for a potential feud. Which never really took off. Due to the gruelling match with AJ Styles this saw Lethal hitting more moves, but not notably more than the usual X-Division scrub.

Rating: *

Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels- Final Resolution 2006

Christopher Daniels had since turned face from the Elimination X match. He starts off with a quick flurry of offence on Samoa Joe. Joe puts the momentum to a halt. Joe tries to break down Daniels with a series of submission holds, living up to his moniker of the Samoan Submission machine. Joe sets Daniels up in a chair and kicks his head in the guard rail. Joe continues work on the head wound of Daniels, bringing AJ Styles down to the ring. After a series of knee strikes to Daniels and a muscle buster on the chair, AJ throws in the towel ending the match.

It doesn’t really compare to the Joe vs. Styles matches. But, it was still a great match. Showing the X-Division at it’s very peak. The referee ignoring the move on the chair was frustrating, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. That unfortunately doesn’t make it any less frustrating. The finish was great though with Joe just laying Daniels, proving Anton Chirguh has nothing on Joe as the ultimate Bad Ass.

Rating: ***¾

The 411: With only covering the first year of Samoa Joe’s run the matches they could show were limited. As a best of collection there were a lot of squash matches in the set. But, the matches with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels make this a worthwhile set and live up to the best of name. Just for those 4 matches and even the Elimination X match it is a worthwhile buy.
Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]