TheFranchise 0 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 Let's go back a few years. I'll start with a photo of Samoa Joe. I think this photo sums up old Joe. Power, emotion, agility.. Wrestling. This wasn't that long ago at all. I've always been a Joe fan, but because i'm exposed to him every single week, i've not truly seen the differences between now and a few years ago. I popped in a DVD of Joe from 2005, which featured his matches against Liger and the three way Unbreakable match. Joe was awesome, a great wrestler, a great fan favourite, and he gave you entertaining viewing no matter what he did. In 2009? Yes, this is what we're left with three or four years later. The photo explains it. Knife-wielding maniac? Crap angles? Hell, he's even lost his decent ring-shape. Joe was never known for being in great 'wrestling' shape before but at least his work made up for it. His appearance now is just noticeable wrong. The fans probably don't even care about Joe any more. His angles are painful to watch and I will even fast forward over them in some cases. He's the babyface, yet i'm hoping the Main Event Mafia wipe him out, especially after he promised to 'kill' every single member. Joe went from being insanely over in 2005 to being a complete joke in 2009. Can the Samoan Submission Machine be what he once was, and so much more? Has the Samoa Joe boat passed now? Can he be salvaged? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedJed 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2009 This apparent injury of his may be a godsend, if it keeps him out until, say, Bound for Glory. If he can't work any further at this point, it ended on a strong note as basically he took out Nash, Booker, and Steiner all by himself, also is gunning for Angle and Sting at the same time. So conceivably, he could come back strong because of these things, build to something significant at Bound for Glory against either of those guys or whoever the world champ would be, Foley possibly would be a possibility too, be it Foley as champion or not. The problem is that they have totally killed off any potential with this new gimmick, not so much the gimmick as the accessories with it. The tattoo....the pajama pants.....buzzed haircut that makes him look even MORE like a 5 year old fat kid.........and of course the knife/machete/weapon of killing. Some of his interviews are really off the mark now too in how fans are supposed to get behind him, and its making it hard to do so. If they wouldn't have tried to give him this ridiculous makeover along with his weird promos, the gimmick itself might have actually worked tons better than it has as it's basically just an offshoot of Taz anyway when you break it down a bit. Speaking of Taz, he's really going to be the litmus test if he can save this Joe pseudo push that is more burial than not as he's "pushed." Knowing the history of the company to dull down any significant name that comes into the company these past 3-4 years, chances are more likely than not that it won't work having Taz either as his manager/etc or even in working a program with him eventually, at least in terms of actually getting Joe over strong in the long haul. It could potentially be a really cool idea either having them paired up or working a program against each other, though, if done properly. Especially considering Taz hasn't done shit except mundane WWE announcing for almost a whole decade, he may really be motivated to make this work. The damage may have already been done too much for anything to matter at this point, but if they could take him off TV, at least until Taz is ready to show up (which is going to be in about a month apparently) and then have both of them show up at the same time as kind of non-company vigilantes that randomly come out from the crowd to attack guys for awhile and plan their strikes on whoever without even having to wrestle matches for months, that might work. But whatever the case, upon a return, they need to turn Joe away from the really awful look they have him doing right now and, if anything, just have him dress like a common fighter, much like you would just see a UFC fighter outside the ring. That is step one. Joe never needed a flashy look, that was the whole point in why whatever gimmick he had (which was basically just a really tough bigman who was no frills) worked. Things sometime happen for a reason in this sport we all love in very ironic ways, Think of the ways, particularly, that a guy like Steve Austin just fell into two significant moments of his career - the KOTR win and his famous speech after (which was all supposed to be for HHH), as well as his match and the bloody image of him at Mania 13 against Bret Hart (which was of course supposed to be Shawn Michaels) and I think the wrestling gods above demanded a Joe injury right now to save his career, so the company can take a step back and push him right, upon a return. Time will tell, I guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Masked Heel 0 Report post Posted June 15, 2009 I had a scary thought watching Impact this past week. First of all yes he can be salvaged, anyone in pro wrestling is just a few months away from being a unstopable killer, in a good way. Will he be salvaged is the better question to ask because we all know Joe has the skills. Anyway back to my scary thought, we all assume that Joe is talking to Taz who is unseen and just off camera. What if Joe's "higher power" ends up being Shane Douglas and him and Joe end up teaming up to take out AJ and Daniels? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheFranchise 0 Report post Posted June 15, 2009 I can't see it happening. Shane Douglas, I believe, isn't even signed to the company full time. By the time Joe recovers from his injury, I think Douglas might even be gone. It seems they've invested enough time with this angle to change it now, it'll most likely be Taz, but then, where do they go from there? Even if Taz was in ring shape, is he physically able to compete? And if he was able to compete, could he still hang with the likes of TNA's upper midcard? I imagine Taz will simply be an adviser, rather than a physical one. I'm looking forward to seeing Taz in a non-commentating role again, definitely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedJed 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 Yeah its definately Taz as the guy Joe is talking to, that has been been the plan all along, but he can't debut until the non-compete clause is up in early July with WWE. WON and other places have all pretty much confirmed it. With that said, its not to say they still may do Styles/Daniels v. Joe/Taz feud though, I could see it happen. Taz could be protected to do just a little bit of working at a time and Joe could easily be the workhorse of that team. I do kind of somewhat expect Taz to work an occasional match here and there for some reason. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheFranchise 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 Well, it's a nostalgia type moment with Taz. It's common knowledge that Taz can't work a real series of matches, and save the One Night Stand match, we haven't seen Taz wrestle a match for a long, long time. I hope he's using this time away from the camera to really improve his physique. Taz was never known for having the best body, but a little improvement could really go a long way. One question, though.. Will this eventually lead to Taz vs Joe? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Masked Heel 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 Well if Taz can't go he can't go, neck problems right? A tag match here and there I could see because he could be very protected, a straight one on one match with Joe(who's not known for working the softest in the first place) I really can't see happening. BTW I only threw out the Shane Douglas scenario because it was a thought I had watching Impact and TNA has been known to do some screwy things in the past. I'm just saying if it goes down like that I'm physic or something Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheFranchise 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2009 I saw some real glimpses of the old Joe tonight (Thursdays edition) on iMPACT! in the main event. Looked motivated and interested again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
