TNA – Unstoppable: The Best Of Samoa Joe

Once again I’m going to journey into TNA Wrestling’s archives and check out this DVD. It’s advertised as a Samoa Joe Best Of…in actuality it’s simply a chronicle of his early TNA career from debut, through the initial impressive undefeated streak, and into his critically acclaimed three way feud over the X-Division Championship with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. This is back when TNA were actually building a star from within…and making Joe seem like THE next big thing in pro wrestling, as opposed to just another TNA guy.


Jeremy Borash is your host once again. Unlike the Best Of The X-Division DVD, where he seemed to be in someone’s basement, this time he’s in the Impact studio. He promises us carnage, destruction and exclusive access to Samoa Joe. Once again, Mike Tenay and Don West will be on commentary.


Samoa Joe vs Sonjay Dutt

Slammiversary 2005 (19th June 2005) – This would be Samoa Joe’s debut in TNA. He get a big pop and lots of chants. Mike Tenay puts over his history in ROH too which is a nice touch. Even with the rushed, generic TNA entrances, they do make his appearance feel like an event.


He floors Sonjay with kicks, then mauls him in the corner. Dutt knocks him back with a springboard kick…then runs into a NECK BUMP ST-Joe. Chop/kick/knee drop combo scores next…then the facewash in the corner. Tenay is doing an AWESOME job putting Joe over on commentary by the way. Dutt again tries to mount some offence, but gets shut down again with a rolling legsweep into a running senton for 2. Springboard enzi kick knocks Joe off the apron and into position for a RUNNING SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! The problem for Dutt is that Joe is so big, he almost bounces off him and off the protective mats to the exposed floor of the Impact Zone. Springboard dropkick gets 2 on the massive Samoan. Sonjay climbs the ropes for a 450 Splash, but again Joe kicks out. Hindu Press misses and Joe sweeps him into a powerslam. SPINNING MUSCLEBUSTER! CHOKE! Dutt taps at 06:24


Rating - ** - Impressive debut match for Samoa Joe. Mike Tenay was absolutely phenomenal on commentary going into Joe’s background and history, whilst Don West’s psychotic levels of over-excitement actually worked too. The match itself was never going to be anything more than an extended squash, and a chance for Joe to show off some of his offence to the TNA audience for the first time. And he did that just fine, showing off some power moves, some speed moves…and his impressive Musclebuster/Choke combo of finishers. He certainly made an impact.


Samoa Joe talks debuting in TNA, and having to deal with people being a little standoffish around him in the back. He says he was nervous about debuting, but felt he made a statement with the Dutt Match


Samoa Joe vs Delirious

TNA Impact (24th June 2005) – Impact matches are a nice bonus touch. I figure Delirious is serving as nothing more than enhancement talent here, as well as looking to get a few more bookings in Orlando. I guess that didn’t work out to well for him…


Delirious does the ‘losing his mind at the bell’ gimmick, much to the bewilderment of the TNA crowd. He ends up running straight into Joe’s rolling legsweep. Bootscrapes follow into the chop/kick/knee drop TO THE NECK combo. Abdominal stretch WITH neck crank next, as Joe starts to establish his ‘Samoan Submission Machine’ persona. Delirious escapes one charge, only to walk into an ST-Joe. Joe hoists Delirious into the MUSCLEBUSTER! CHOKE! He taps at 03:34


Rating - ** - Basically a shorter, more emphatic version of the Sonjay Dutt match. Unlike Sonjay, Delirious wasn’t allowed any offence, meaning we were treated to the full three and a half minutes of uninterrupted Samoa Joe brutality…and it’s always fun watching him beat the snot out of someone.


Joe talks about growing up and as part of a family who operate one of the largest Polynesian dance troops in the country. He was actually part of the 1984 Olympic Games opening ceremony.


Samoa Joe vs Chris Sabin

No Surrender 2005 (17th July 2005) – I actually just reviewed this as part of my ‘Best Of The X-Division Volume 1’ review, so I’m just going to cut and paste that in. Not that I don’t want to watch this match again because it’s a LOT of fun.


Mike Tenay says Joe is 6’8? On what planetary system is Joe nearly 7 feet tall? Sabin starts the match by concentrating on staying out of the clutches of the powerful Samoan. He tries some shoulder tackles with zero success, but manages to dropkick Joe into the turnbuckles instead. He tries to get Joe up for the Cradle Shock, but doesn’t have the strength to lift him. Jumping enzi by Joe, then a climbing knee strike in the corner. Bootscrapes then the running facewash leave Sabin incapacitated on the canvas. Rather than try anything fancy, Joe opts for simple neck vices, cranking Sabin’s neck in preparation for one of his finishing holds. Sabin hits a CRAZY springboard missile dropkick and knocks Joe to the floor. MISSILE DROPKICK OFF THE APRON INTO THE GUARDRAILS! He double stomps Joe’s back then heads upstairs again for a springboard leg drop which gets 2. But he still can’t get Joe up for Cradle Shock and gets dropped on his neck with a German suplex. Springboard DDT from Sabin gets 2. But he tries one aerial move too many and eats a massive powerbomb into the Samoan Submission combo. Sabin battles to the ropes and gets a big cheer. Musclebuster blocked so Joe SLAPS Sabin in the face. LIGERBOMB OUT OF THE CORNER! JOE KICKS OUT! Cradle Shock…blocked! Sabin goes upstairs again only for Joe to sweep the legs. MUSCLEBUSTER! CHOKE! Sabin is out at 14:05.


Rating - *** - Tremendously exciting little match there. Joe basically discovered this formula for the majority of the early days of his TNA tenure when he was booked as a dominant submission machine. The smaller guy would get some early shots in…Joe would dominate. The smaller guy would land some high impact moves…Joe would survive. Joe would win. It’s simple stuff. But you can’t deny that these two worked that formula to perfection. The fans loved both guys and genuinely didn’t seem to want the match to stop. I believe this was Joe’s outstanding match in TNA up to this point.


Next Joe talks about getting into wrestling whilst working as a mortgage salesman. He was actually looking to take some judo/jiu jitsu classes when he stumbled upon some pro-wrestling classes.


Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles – 2005 Super-X Cup Tournament Final

Sacrifice 2005 (14th August 2005) – Obviously the finals of a major X-Division tournament is a significant event anyway, but when it’s pitting AJ Styles, one of TNA’s frontline superstars, against the undefeated, unstoppable newcomer…this match is a pretty big deal. Current X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels joins Tenay and West for commentary having just beaten AJ for the belt, and having a scheduled match against the winner of this match at the next ppv.


AJ trades kicks with Joe, and outsmarts him by going into a rolling legsweep. But he looks for the discus lariat and gets cut short with a jab. BIG BOOT SENDS AJ CLEAN OUT OF THE RING! ELBOW SUICIDAAAA! He tries to whip AJ into the guardrail, but he hurdles it…then jumps back with an awesome flying forearm. Styles manages to heave Joe up for a vertical suplex and gets 2. Bridging deathlock applied…but Joe is almost too big for AJ to maintain the hold. Nip up rana next as Styles continues to use the explosive offence to stay on top of Joe. Dropkick scouted…but Styles BACKFLIPS and lands on his feet. But out of nowhere Joe scores with the ST-Joe. That’s a real leveller, and the Samoan establishes himself with a climbing knee strike then the facewashes. Styles tries a running start to get some momentum, only for Joe to walk right through him with a shoulder block. Powerbomb into the Samoan crab, and as Styles starts to power out, Joe switches to the STF. Quebrada DDT gets AJ a 2. Both men fight on the turnbuckles, with AJ knocking Joe back for a SPRINGBOARD somersault senton. He hurdles an attempted Joe kick into the Pele for 2. Styles Clash blocked…and Joe amazes everyone by sunset flipping into a rolling cradle. AJ is so dizzy he completely misses a second Pele. LARIATOOOOOOO gets Joe a 2. Styles tries to unload with forearm smashes. E HONDA STRIKES BY JOE! JUMPING ENZI TO THE FACE BY AJ! Joe is up first, but AJ evades the Musclebuster. HELICOPTER BOMB ON JOE! But he wiped out the referee in the process! Chris Daniels runs into the ring to take out AJ with an STO…then backs off rather than attack Joe. MUSCLEBUSTER FOR AJ! CHOKE! AJ TAPS! Joe wins the X-Cup at 15:04


Rating - *** - Awesome effort from both men. I was all set to go 4* but the Daniels interference really annoyed me. I know they were building to the three way dance at the next ppv so we needed to progress the angle…but this match was SO good up to that point. Normally I try to look past a bit of outside interference, but in this instance, it so wasn’t necessary. Joe and AJ were tearing the place down in the finals of a major tournament. You had Daniels on commentary and could’ve run his attack on Styles/chickening out with Joe segment after the match. If I gave half stars I’d go ***1/2 here, but I don’t. Definitely worth checking out though, as this was superb up until that point.


Next Joe talks about the AJ/Daniels/Joe three way from Unbreakable that we’re about to see. He says the goal was to use the match to show off the kind of matches they’d been having on the indies for years. They were given the main event and really wanted to pull of a memorable match.


Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe – TNA X-Division Title Match

Unbreakable 2005 (11th September 2005) – Although this was originally scheduled to be Daniels defending the belt against the winner of the Super-X Cup, TNA officials ruled that AJ deserved to be here too since it was Daniels’ involvement that cost him the match. Daniels and Styles had been feuding for some time at this point, but now have to contend with the undefeated favourite for the match, Samoa Joe. This is the one that many people call TNA’s best match ever by the way…


By this point Daniels had been X-Division Champion for 6 months – the longest reign in TNA history. Unfortunately he’s not very popular, meaning Joe and AJ both can’t wait to get their hands on him. They take turns in a who can kick Daniels the hardest contest, leaving him on the floor. AJ goes for pins on Joe…who turns him into a nice Rings Of Saturn variant. Daniels tries to re-enter, and is kicked out of the ring with a jumping enzi strike from the Samoan. Finally the champion gets some momentum going, propelling himself off Joe into a bulldog on AJ for 2. But he tries the same thing a second time, only for Styles to shove him into the ST-Joe. Joe then DUMPS Styles into the turnbuckles with a belly to belly suplex. He goes for the running facewash…but Daniels cuts him off with a shoulder tackle that sends him outside. ARABIAN PRESS TO THE FLOOR! Not to be outdone…here comes Styles with a SPRINGBOARD SSP ONTO BOTH OF THEM! And with Joe now groggy, AJ is able to put together his dropkick sequence for 2. Daniels monkey flips AJ…INTO A RANA ON JOE! Daniels then backflips Styles all the way to the floor! Joe slaps the sh*t out of Daniels…CHOKE! AJ BREAKS IT WITH THE SPIRAL TAP! The champion wisely flings Styles to the floor again, but AJ comes back before he can hit the BME on Joe. Daniels into the tree of woe…only for Joe to knee his way past AJ to hit a running boot into Fallen Angel’s face.


But Joe goes for one too many knee strikes and Daniels muscles him up into a DVD, leaving all three men down. Daniels goes for a pescado and misses. AJ goes for a moonsault off the apron and misses. RUNNING CORKSCREW PESCADO FROM JOE! The roof almost blows off the Impact Zone with that. Daniels blocks the Musclebuster with a thumb to the eyes then has to battle Styles on the top rope…until Joe climbs to back drop BOTH of them into the ring. FOREARMS BY AJ. E HONDA SLAPS BY JOE! AJ MISSES THE ENZI THAT SCORED AT SACRIFICE! GERMAN SUPLEX! MUSCLEBUSTER! Daniels tries to use the championship belt…but Joe drops him with a powerslam. DANIELS KICKS THE BELT INTO JOE’S FACE! With Joe out Daniels puts Styles in position. BEST MOONSAULT EVER SCORES! But Joe breaks the pin almost before it begins. LAST RITES ON JOE…who rolls to the floor to avoid being pinned. Styles scores his first significant offence for a couple of minutes with the quebrada DDT for a nearfall on the champion. Daniels hits a superplex from the top, but it’s a move that winds up injuring both of them to the point that Joe almost manages to sneak in and pin both of them. STF on Fallen Angel, who battles to a bottom rope. Styles comes back with a Pele on Joe…then the HELICOPTER BOMB FOR 2! AJ crucifixes INTO THE STYLES CLASH ON DANIELS! JOE BREAKS THE FALL AT 2! Angel’s Wings COUNTERED TO A PIN! AJ WINS! AJ WINS! 22:49 is your time.


Rating - ****1/2 - I’ve seen almost stupid amounts of hyperbole about this match. Some have called it match of the decade, many have given it 5*. My personal opinion – it’s good, but it’s not THAT good. What you get here is an outstanding, MOTYC quality level match. It’s not overly cerebral, but it’s three amazing talents putting on a stunning display of offensive wrestling, with terrific timing and a wonderful ability to build and build, constantly keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats. It’s a style of wrestling which TNA is well served pushing as the main events on their ppvs as it’s the one thing they can do which WWE just couldn’t compete with. At this point in particular, WWE just didn’t have wrestlers of the standard of an AJ, Joe or Daniels. They didn’t have anyone who could literally take a wrestling match and knock your socks off with it. These three wrestled like they wanted to prove a point – to the higher ups in TNA who’d spent a year pushing the likes of Jarrett, Nash and DDP, and to the wider wrestling audience who’d maybe missed out on their exceptional talents on the independent circuit. It remains one of TNA’s all time classics and definitive matches. It’s on a number of their DVD compilations and is really compulsory viewing for any fans of the promotion…with good reason.


Joe discusses his submission-based wrestling style. He doesn’t have a single defining influence, but bases his style on a number of his favourite wrestlers and the kind of wrestling he likes to watch.


Samoa Joe vs Jushin Liger

Bound For Glory 2005 (23rd October 2005) – This was in the same month as his career-defining spectacular in ROH against Kenta Kobashi. Here Joe is faced with another puro legend. Should also be familiar to the US fans having appeared in a number of independent promotions over the years, as well as intermittent appearances for WCW in the 1990’s.


Joe rocks a STUNNING entrance with the rest of his Polynesian dance troop that leaves people visibly stunned by his nimble feet. Hearing Liger’s trademark music in the Impact Zone is surreal…and Liger gets absolutely DROWNED in streamers. Intense lock ups…with Joe powering Liger back into the corner. He effortlessly floors Liger with shoulder blocks next…so the puro legend uses his intelligence and drop toeholds him down. He tosses Joe to the floor then dropkicks him into the guardrail. TOP ROPE PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! They land right in front of NJPW President Simon Inoki. Liger goes for a second crossbody back into the ring, this time getting caught into a Samoan drop from Joe. Tenay puts over Liger for being part of the first ever Monday Nitro match in WCW, as Joe crushes him with a powerslam for 2. Liger evades Joe’s climbing knee in the corner and hits a capo kick. Fisherman buster nailed for 2. FROG SPLASH SCORES! But Joe kicks out again. Joe ducks the Shotei and levels him with an enzi kick. Liger manages to lift Joe out of the corner into a powerbomb for 2. SHOTEI COMBO gets 2 again! But Liger make an error by going to the ropes again. MUSCLEBUSTER! INTO THE CHOKE! Liger is unconscious…Joe wins at 07:11.


Rating - **** - I seem to remember there being an absolute uproar at the time at how short this match was. Of course I’d have loved this one to go longer…but this is a national US promotion on one of their biggest ppv’s of the year. It’d be a HUGE gamble to give a Japanese guy who a large percentage of their fanbase had never heard of much more ring time. Although this was short, it was PACKED with quality and non-stop action from bell to bell. Although Liger took the fall, Don West pointed out on commentary that he had been as successful in repeatedly knocking Joe down as anyone thus far in his TNA career. If you were expecting a 15-20 minute all time classic I guess you’d be disappointed. As is, I’m probably over-rating it and will draw a lot of criticism, but this is a near-perfect ppv opening match, and as good as wrestling can get in so little time.


Back to the interview segment with Joe going through a list of wrestling injuries he’s sustained.


Samoa Joe/Alex Shelley/Roderick Strong/Christopher Daniels vs Matt Bentley/Austin Aries/Sonjay Dutt/Chris Sabin

Genesis 2005 (13th November 2005) – I believe at this point Shelley, Strong and Aries had started to form a bit of a Generation Next tribute stable (which was obviously pulled early in 2006 when Aries and Strong were fired) so they may act as allies here. And all eyes will be on Daniels and Joe, who are still heated rivals and in the hunt for the X-Division belt. This is Survivor Series rules…


Sign in the crowd: ‘AJ Styles vs RVD – Dream Match’. Didn’t that happen in TNA recently? And really disappoint a lot of people? Joe doesn’t seem keen on teaming with Daniels, so Shelley and Strong desperately try to motivate him. Bentley and Roderick start with a nice exchange of headlocks. Dutt goes into a MENTAL assortment of revolutions…then appears to botch his attempted headscissors at the end. Shelley in to try and ground the high-flying Sonjay. Joe levels Dutt with the facewashes…but Dutt shows he’s learnt something from earlier exchanges and manages to catch Joe with a moonsault press. Aries tags and walks into a big boot/senton splash combo. That does some real damage to Aries, but the former ROH World Champion recovers to hit a springboard back elbow Daniels. Sabin tags in with an awesome combo of hurricanranas on Daniels. Impact Explosion Dropkick from Aries to Daniels. Strong blocks the Brainbuster until Shelley comes into level Aries with a kick. TORTURE RACK BACKBREAKER from Strong to Sabin but Bentley drops Strong after that with a flatliner. It’s a big brawl now with everyone in the ring ganging up on Joe. They toss him outside. TANDEM DIVES FROM ARIES, DUTT AND SABIN! BRAINBUSTER ON STRONG! 450 SPLASH! Aries eliminates Strong at 12:01.


Daniels sneaks in to pin Aries and eliminate him at 12:14. Dutt gets aggressive and manages to kick Joe off the apron, then nearly eliminates Shelley with a Red Star Press. He walks the ropes into a headscissors/armdrag combo on Shelley and Daniels. But Alex hits back with an Air Raid Crash for 2. BORDER CITY STRETCH! Dutt taps at 15:07 meaning it’s now Sabin and Bentley against Joe, Daniels and Shelley. Bentley levels Shelley with the Sweet Shane Music and takes it down to 2 vs 2 at 15:49. Tree of woe dropkicks from Sabin to Daniels, followed with a fisherman buster for 2. Joe tries to catch him with the climbing knee strike, but Sabin is familiar with it and rolls aside. Bentley with the top rope elbow drop for 2. Daniels with the BME on him, but he overshoots a little and only gets 2. They try to double superplex Daniels…but Joe arrives to DOUBLE POWERBOMB them into that superplex. Bootscrapes on Bentley…who hits back with SWEET SHANE MUSIC! Daniels saves at 2. He hoists Bentley into a MUSCLEBUSTER! CHOKE! Bentley taps at 20:37. And Daniels and Joe continue to work well as a team, mauling their sole surviving opponent. E HONDA SLAPS knock Sabin back into the corner, but he blocks the Musclebuster and lands a springboard missile dropkick to the neck. Daniels saves Joe from Cradle Shock. Joe saves Daniels from Cradle Shock! BENTLEY SAVES SABIN from the Musclebuster! ANGEL’S WINGS INSTEAD! Daniels gets the win at 23:15.


Rating - *** - Good match, and credit to TNA for letting these 8 guys have enough time to put together a decent effort. Had this match taken place in the WWE it would have got 10-12 minutes max and come off like a real clusterf*ck. As is, this wasn’t Dragon Gate levels of craziness, but was a solid contest. Everyone got to hit their spots, and there were some nice touches of psychology in there too. From Dutt and Sabin recognising trademark Joe spots from their singles matches with him and blocking them here, to Joe and Daniels putting aside their own differences to cement themselves as contenders to the X-Division Championship…everything about this match allowed the talent involved to look good, and in turn make the X-Division and the X-Division belt seem more significant. From a personal point of view I’d have liked to have seen more Aries and Strong, but that’s only because I’m an ROH fan. Their misuse in TNA led to them leaving Orlando for good in early 2006 (although now he’s out of ROH, I wouldn’t bet against seeing Aries try his luck there again in 2011).


Joe is pissed that after 20+ minutes of combat, it was Daniels rather than him that got the victory. He acts cool with it…the punts Daniels in the face. He busts him wide open with a steel chair, then, for the first time on the DVD we get the OLE OLE KICK! Musclebuster on the semi-conscious Daniels, and despite Tenay and West’s pleas for mercy, Joe lays out some jobbers then grabs Daniels for a MUSCLEBUSTER ON A CHAIR! Medics tend to Daniels as he lies in a pool of his own blood. Even AJ Styles is so disturbed by the attack that he comes to check on Fallen Angel…


Oddly we go from that powerful scene to a smiling Samoa Joe talking about his private life, paying bills, being booked across multiple promotions and the sacrifices of being a pro-wrestler.


Samoa Joe vs Amazing Red

TNA Impact (8th December 2005) – Here’s a match I always wanted to see in ROH but didn’t. The problem is, Red by this point was so decimated by knee injuries that he always seemed like a shadow of his former self. I’ve seen some of his 2009/2010 stuff and it does seem a lot closer to where he was back in 2002/2003 when he was a genuinely exciting young wrestler. Lets see if he showed any glimpses of that resurgence in form here.


Joe now comes to the ring draped in a towel covered in Christopher Daniels’ blood. He also has ‘AJ’ written all over his taped fists in preparation for his forthcoming X-Division Championship bout with Styles at the Turning Point 2005 ppv. Red lets loose a volley of kicks then EATS a Samoan lariat. Climbing knee strike in the corner, then bootscrapes. Alex Shelley is at ringside video taping the match for some reason, and distracts Joe significantly enough for Red to hit the BASEMENT RANA! RED STAR PRESS! FOR 2! MUSCLEBUSTER BY JOE! CHOKE! Red is out at 02:33


Rating - * - Total squash so too short to mean anything. I’m enjoying Joe’s aggressive, new, heel angle where he doesn’t ‘respect the code of the X-Division’. It makes him look like an absolute killer


AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe – TNA X-Division Title Match

Turning Point 2005 (11th December 2005) – This one comes about as a result of Joe’s actions at Genesis. AJ accused him of breaking the moral ‘code’ of the X-Division when he attacked Chris Daniels simply for winning a match. AJ deemed that the attack was so vicious and obscene that even he felt obliged to stand up for the Fallen Angel, with whom he’s obviously had a number of issues in the past. He wants to defeat Joe to send a message, and to get some retribution for Daniels.


No standing on ceremony for AJ, who attacks Joe almost before the bell rings. He almost takes Joe’s head off with the big dropkick, but even after two minutes of almost uninterrupted offence…Joe is right back on his feet and ready to go at it again. PALM STRIKE! KICKS OF TOTAL DEATH! AJ is on the ropes…JOE BOOTS HIM TO THE FLOOR! AJ tries a slingshot move, but gets his feet kicked out from under him and SWUNG into the guardrails! He beckons Styles to his feet for a big Yakuza kick on the floor. Back in the ring, and Joe is so on tonight that even his basic stock offence like the chop/kick/knee drop combo look like absolute killers. Facewash in the corner…but Styles catches the boot and lands some elbows. PALM STRIKE BY JOE! HORRIFIC RUNNING BOOTSCRAPE! AJ lands a single forearm, but immediately has to absorb a sickening kick to the stomach moments later. He tries a springboard and gets powerbombed into the Samoan crab. Finally Joe charges once too often, allowing Styles to back body drop him all the way to the floor. RUNNING SHOOTING STAR PRESS OVER THE ROPES TO THE FLOOR! Styles lands on his feet as Joe looks for the Chimera combo, then lands the quebrada DDT for 2. It’s been a few minutes of offence for Styles…and Joe as come through that and takes control by powerslamming him onto his neck. Styles tries to avoid Joe’s strikes now, ducking and weaving before levelling the Samoan with a spinning heel kick. He thinks about a Styles Clash…BUT SWITCHES TO A POWERBOMB FOR 2! And AGAIN Joe just levels Styles with a monster lariat. DOUBLE UNDERHOOK POWERBOMB…but AJ sits up! Choke locked in, but Styles won’t go down! PELE KICK! He tries to steal Joe’s Musclebuster which would have been a massive mistake. STYLES CLASH OUT OF THE CORNER! FOR 2! AJ had to modify it a little to accommodate for Joe’s size, and that may have impacted the effectiveness of the hold. He tries to roll Joe up…AND GETS FLIPPED INTO THE CHOKE! AJ fights it…but is finally out at 18:54.


Rating - ****1/2 - I’m sure there’s still a bunch of their matches from various promotions I haven’t seen, but in my estimation, THIS is the definitive AJ/Joe match. That was just an unreal match, in my opinion even better than the Unbreakable 3-way which gets all the plaudits. I don’t think they could have wrestled that any better. In truth I only didn’t go 5* because I wanted it to go a little longer and build the tension with a few more false finishes. Joe, in particular, was at his very very VERY best in this one. The hatred, intensity and determination to win the belt oozed from every move he made. Even with the most basic of moves you see him hit in every match, he even cranked those up a notch to make it seem like he wanted to KILL Styles. And much as with their PWG All Star Weekend match, AJ is just an awesome punching back, knowing how to take the kicking like a pro, and knowing how and when to execute tremendously exciting comebacks. They stole moves, they altered moves to get round an opponents familiarity…they carried the existing story of AJ defending the X-Division ‘code of honour’. Seriously…watch this match. It HAS to be one of the best TNA has ever produced.


And in a repeat of Genesis, Joe acts like he’s going to help AJ to his feet, before levelling him with the X-Division Championship belt. But he’s interrupted as Chris Daniels returns from the injuries he sustained at the hands of Joe at Genesis to fight the new champion away from AJ.


Joe talks about the high and low points of his career…and actually says that he was going to leave wrestling for a while right before his TNA opportunity came up. To the extent that he had college classes and a ‘regular’ job lined up. Given that 2005 was arguably the best year of his career (I know he had the ROH Title reign, the Joe/Punk trilogy etc in ’04, but for sheer volume of work across multiple promotions, I think 2005 was better), it’s scary to think he was days away from walking away…


Samoa Joe vs Jay Lethal

TNA Impact (17th December 2005) – Obviously we know the history between Joe and Lethal in ROH. Jay was Samoa Joe’s protégé, with the Samoan taking Lethal under his wing as his career looked a little lost after the break up of the Special K faction. Joe would go on to defeat Lethal for the ROH Pure Title, but it would be Lethal who would get the last laugh in December 2005 when he turned on his mentor to get a victory over him. Obviously none of this matters in the context of TNA, but it’s nice backstory. This is right after Joe won the X-Division belt, and before Lethal really took off in TNA (it’s his debut in fact), so expect this to be splat in the middle of squashville.


Joe has an intense stare down with NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett on his way to the ring. Joe and Lethal start at a hundred miles an hour, with Lethal actually hanging with the X-Division Champion. He finally falls under a barrage of powerful kicks from the Samoan. Dropsault from Jay, then a jumping heel kick. Joe ends Lethal’s offensive flurry with a Manhattan drop/mafia kick combo. Powerslam scores, then the Musclebuster/Choke combo. Lethal is done at 03:32


Rating - ** - Again, too short to be too significant, but Joe clearly has a strong relationship with Jay Lethal, as he worked REALLY hard in there to let Jay shine on his TNA debut. Obviously this was a Samoa Joe squash, but Joe was obviously doing all he could to let Lethal get some offence in, and show off some of his skills on his way to a resounding defeat. Fun little match.


Joe talks about choosing to join TNA, saying he didn’t want a huge push, just the opportunity to work some matches and time to be himself and get his stuff over – something he didn’t feel he’d get had he gone to WWE.


Samoa Joe vs Christopher Daniels – TNA X-Division Title Match

Final Resolution 2006 (15th January 2006) – Obviously this is the grudge match we’ve been building towards since Genesis. Joe basically reinvented his gimmick by destroying Daniels, breaking the X-Division ‘code’ and putting him on the shelf for a month with concussion. Whilst Daniels was off he continued his 6 month plus undefeated streak, taking the X-Division Championship from AJ Styles in the process. Fallen Angel returned after that title match and will now be looking for revenge, and to regain the belt he held for longer than anyone else in a single reign in TNA history.


Daniels looks to stick and move, laying in the jabs before side-stepping anything Joe throws back his way. He continues using that speed to his advantage, hitting a satellite headscissors then a hurricanrana to counter a powerbomb attempt. He goes for a number of submission attempts but it turns out to be a mistake as Joe is able to capture him in the first submission hold of the match. Asai Moonsault press misses, allowing Joe to connect with a powerful kick to the chest. It’s noticeable that right after taking that impact on Daniels’ sternum with the missed moonsault, Joe aims the knee drop portion of the chop into kick into knee drop sequence right at the torso. Fallen Angel hits back with a lungblower on the champion and both men take their time in getting back to their feet. Arabian press gets Daniels a 2. Fall From Grace blocked so Daniels scores with a NECK DROP DVD! Amazingly Joe isn’t finished, and the champion shows enough presence of mind to prevent Daniels countering another powerbomb into a hurricanrana. STF locked in, with fist grinding into the side of Fallen Angel’s head. Daniels tries a powerbomb out of the corner, but this time it’s JOE countering with a hurricanrana. Urinage slam from the challenger. BME nailed for 2. Daniels has been so successful in this match that Joe actually rolls to the floor to escape. Joe has the Arabian Press to the floor scouted…and Daniels has an escape lined up for Joe’s legsweep on the apron. SLINGSHOT CACTUS ELBOW BY DANIELS! The force on Daniels’ landing was such that the move arguably did more damage to him than it did to the champion. OLE OLE KICK from Joe, busting Christopher Daniels open again. AJ Styles is at ringside, seemingly trying to motivate Daniels…who doesn’t have the power to lift Joe into the Angel’s Wings. Joe knees him in the face then lands the MUSCLEBUSTER! CHOKE! But Daniels is so desperate to win he has enough in the tank to find a rope. Joe goes for a chair and looks set to recreate the massacre at Genesis. CHAIR MUSCLEBUSTER! PUNTS TO THE HEAD! KNEE STRIKES! Joe is trying to give Daniels another concussion apparently. Styles throws in the towel for Daniels…so Joe wins at 15:35


Rating - *** - The finish was a striking few minutes of wrestling…but you can’t help but feel they sacrificed what could have been a great match in favour of that angle at the end. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good match, but nothing like the levels of greatness that Joe/AJ reached, or even close to the Joe/Daniels ROH Glory By Honor 2 match.


Joe’s closing sentiment is that he hopes that, when all is said and done, people remember him as a wrestler who busted his ass to entertain the fans.


Tape Rating - **** - Awesome little DVD compilation here. Obviously calling it the ‘Best Of’ Samoa Joe is a little excessive since the DVD covers barely more than a 7 month period. BUT, it’s a great look at the start of Joe’s TNA career. He was a favourite of mine in ROH, but I went into this a little hesitant about what to expect. Having seen what’s happened to Joe’s career now, I wasn’t sure how TNA were going to treat him as he looked to find his feet in the new promotion. I needn’t have worried. As they promised, they gave Joe enough ring time to get himself over and work great matches. He’s always been a guy who can work exciting, explosive and enjoyable 12-15 minute bouts, which is perfect for a television/ppv based national product like TNA. His style is so unique that he was a genuine selling point for TNA Wrestling at that time. They pushed him as the next big thing and it REALLY got him over. And there are some awesome matches on here too. From the balls to the wall pseudo-squash of Chris Sabin, to the fantastic little show-opening Joe/Liger match to main event quality, legendary TNA matches during the feud with AJ and Daniels. This DVD is packed with quality. In 2005 Samoa Joe was in sensational form as a pro-wrestler. This DVD is a wonderful snapshot of his work in Orlando during that period. Definitely a worthy purchase


Top 3 Matches

3) Samoa Joe vs Jushin Liger (**** - Bound For Glory 2005)

2) Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe (****1/2 – Unbreakable 2005)

1) AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe (****1/2 – Turning Point 2005)

Make a free website with Yola