Impact Wrestling (stylized as IMPACT WRESTLING and formerly known as TNA iMPACT!)^[1] is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike.^[2] In total, it is viewable in over 120 countries and is available in 17 different languages. It has had great success in the United Kingdom as one of the most successful and most popular professional wrestling programs available on British television. Impact Wrestling is filmed at the Impact Wrestling Zone (Soundstage 21 at the Universal Studios Florida theme park of Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida) where admission is free.^[3] The show airs live on Thursdays at 8pm ET.^[4] The show's current opening theme is called: "Sinister Rise Above" by Dale Oliver.

History[link]

Fox Sports Net era (May 2004–May 2005)[link]

In May 2004, TNA announced that they had negotiated a television deal with Fox Sports Net (FSN) where they would get a one-hour timeslot on Fridays in most markets, putting TNA on unrestricted cable and satellite for the first time.^[5] TNA began taping TNA Impact! that month and aired the first episode on June 4, 2004. Impact! was also syndicated throughout Canada (on RDS) and Europe (on The Fight Network and, also later, both Bravo and Bravo 2 in the United Kingdom, as well as Eurosport). TNA's contract with FSN expired in May 2005 and was not renegotiated, with the last episode airing on May 27, 2005. The series as a whole gained little success, averaging a 0.3 household rating.

Webcasts (July 2005–October 2005)[link]

TNA was left with no television deal and, therefore, had no means of promoting their monthly pay-per-views (although Impact! did continue to air on certain regional networks in place of TNA Xplosion). On July 1, TNA began offering new episodes through their website, first using BitTorrent downloads, then by streaming through RealPlayer.^[6][7] To save on production costs, four hours of the show were recorded in a day and made available throughout the subsequent month.^[8]

Spike TV era (October 2005–present)[link]

At the same time, TNA began seeking a more profitable television outlet, finally negotiated a Saturday night timeslot with Spike TV, now known simply as Spike, and started airing Impact! on October 1, 2005. Two episodes were taped every other Tuesday, airing them on the subsequent Saturday.^[9] TNA's syndication contracts for the show on local TV channels, from after the FSN contract, were converted to contracts for their syndicated show, TNA Xplosion. They are no longer paying for the timeslot, though Spike controls their advertising revenue.^[10] Because of viewership growth, Impact! was moved to Thursdays in April 2006, and later to an earlier primetime slot in November. Tapings were moved to Tuesdays.^[11]

In June 2006, episodes became available at the iTunes Store.^[12]

Two hour expansion (October 2007–present)[link]

The show expanded to two hours on October 4, 2007, still starting at the same time.^[13]

On January 17, 2008, Spike presented an event entitled "Global Impact!", which featured TNA wrestlers in matches against talent of New Japan Pro Wrestling.^[14]

On March 27, Impact! aired live for the first time in the show's history in its regular timeslot.

Announced in a release on TNAwrestling.com on April 2, 2008, TNA came to terms on a deal that had the show airing in Australia starting April 5. Up until then, they had only broadcast their monthly pay-per-view events on Main Event. The contract expired in March 2011 and was not renewed.^[15] In May 2011, the show was picked up by FuelTV, which began airing it every Saturday at 8:30 AEST, starting on June 11.^[16]

On October 23, 2008, TNA aired its first Impact! outside of the Impact! Zone in Orlando. It was broadcast from Las Vegas, Nevada. They also made the transition to HD and announced that all episodes after this would be broadcast in High Definition.

Move to Mondays (March 2010–May 2010)[link]

On January 4, 2010, the show went head-to-head for the first time with TNA's rival-promotion WWE Monday Night Raw. This would be the first time since March 2001 that two major wrestling promotions went head-to-head in a Monday night television ratings competition. TNA advertised the debut of Hulk Hogan and his return to professional wrestling, while WWE promoted the return of Bret Hart to Raw, who last made an appearance in November 1997 before the Montreal Screwjob.^[17] On this night, Impact! was watched by more than 3 million viewers for the opening hour, afterwards towards the end of the show, the viewership declined to 2.2 million viewers, this was the highest viewership in the show's history; Raw was watched by 5.6 million viewers, the most since August 2009.^[18]

On February 15, 2010, TNA made the announcement that Impact! would move to Monday nights beginning on March 8, 2010.^[19] The show will air live on a bi-weekly basis and taped the other week. On the March 8 edition, Impact! debuted their new theme song.^[20] Beginning with the April 12, 2010 show, it was aired at 8:00pm Eastern on Spike TV. This change was made as a result of the increase in ratings from the March 29, 2010 show (which aired at 9:00pm Eastern) and the April 5, 2010 show (which aired at 8:00pm Eastern).^[21] The final Monday Impact! scored a 0.78 rating (rounded to 0.8) and after that, it was shifted back to Thursdays, the reason for this return to Thursdays was due to reduced television audience figures on Mondays.^[22]

Return to Thursday Nights (May 2010–2011)[link]

On May 3, 2010, TNA announced that the show would be returning to Thursday nights beginning on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 9:00pm Eastern.^[23] Commenting on the move in an announcement posted on the TNA website, Brian J. Diamond (Spike TV's Senior Vice President of Sports and Specials) said, "The fans have spoken and with their input we have determined the best time slot to maximize the TNA audience is on Thursday nights where we are confident it will be among the most-watched shows with young men". In the same announcement, TNA president Dixie Carter is quoted as saying, "Our fans made it clear that they preferred the Thursday night time period. By moving to Thursdays, this is a win/win opportunity for both TNA and the fans. We are looking forward to delivering what the fans are asking for!".^[23]

On June 24, 2010, Spike TV expanded “TNA Thursdays” to three hours with the addition of TNA Reaction (stylized as "TNA ReAction" or, alternatively, as "TNA ReACTION"), which will become a regular one-hour docu-series immediately preceding TNA iMPACT! from 8:00-9:00 Eastern. “ReAction" will focus on the stories and characters of TNA Wrestling and preview the upcoming episode of “TNA iMPACT!”^[23][24] TNA Impact! was also re-branded as "Thursday Night" Impact due to its return to Thursdays.

TNA Wrestling president Dixie Carter announced on January 13, 2011 that on February 24, 2011, the promotion would be holding Impact! tapings at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.^[25]

Re-branding to Impact Wrestling (May 2011–present)[link]

On May 3, 2011, at the tapings of the May 12 edition of Impact!, the show was re-branded Impact Wrestling with the slogan "Where Wrestling Matters", with the color scheme changing from red to blue, white and gray. This led to the URL of TNA Wrestling's website, tna wrestling.com to be named impactwrestling.com.^[1][26][27] On July 11, 2011, it was announced that TNA would hold Impact Wrestling tapings on August 25 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on September 21 at the Knoxville Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee, and on October 26 at the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia.^[28] On January 6, 2012, TNA announced the first international Impact Wrestling tapings as taking place on January 28 at the Wembley Arena in London, United Kingdom.^[29] From May-October 2011, the name TNA was slowly phased out and was only mentioned on pay-per-views, the TNA logo appeared sporadically. From Bound for Glory 2011, the TNA name was brought back along with the logo. On May 17, 2012, TNA announced that Impact Wrestling would air live through the summer of 2012, starting on May 31, when the show will move to a new time slot at 8pm ET.^[4]

Content[link]

Generally, the show features four to seven matches over the course of the two hours, as well as numerous interviews and segments interspersed between the matches.^[37] Due to the nature of the wrestling business, advertisements for merchandise and upcoming pay-per-view events often serve as bookends for the commercial segments.

When the show was on Fox Sports Net, all matches had a time limit (10 minutes for normal singles matches and 20 for tag team matches and the main event) and the station's Fox Box was used.^[38] In the event of a time limit draw, the winner was determined by the NWA Championship Committee, a group consisting of three veteran wrestlers. Since leaving the channel, TNA discarded the time limit concept, but in late 2009, they brought back the time limits.

Roster[link]

Commentators[link]

Management Director[link]

Special episodes[link]

Recurring segments[link]

International broadcasters[link]

In addition to being broadcast on Spike in the United States,^[51] the show is also broadcast internationally in many different countries.

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• TNAwrestling.com (Official Website of TNA Wrestling)
• TNA.Spike.com (Official TNA/Spike TV Website)
• Impact Wrestling at the Internet Movie Database
• Impact Wrestling at TV.com

"King Joe" redirects here. For the monster, see King Joe (Ultra monster). For the New Zealand professional wrestler who competed in Australasia during the 1970s and 80s, see Samoan Joe.

Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe at a TNA live event in 2007.
Ring name(s)	King Joe[1] Samoa Joe[2] Samoan Joe[3] Joe Seanoa[2]
Billed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[4]
Billed weight	280 lb (130 kg)[4]
Born	(1979-03-17) March 17, 1979 (age 33)[2] Orange County, California[1]
Resides	Orange County, California[4]
Billed from	The Isle of Samoa
Trained by	Cincinnati Red[2] John Delayo[2] William Regal[5] Yoshiaki Fujiwara Johnny Hemp[2]
Debut	September 1999[2]

Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa^[6] (born March 17, 1979)^[1] is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Before debuting in TNA in June 2005, Seanoa competed in the Ring of Honor (ROH) independent promotion, where he held the ROH World Championship for a record 21 months. Upon joining TNA, Seanoa embarked upon an 18 month-long undefeated streak, in which he never lost a match by pinfall or submission. That streak came to an end at the Genesis event in 2006, when he tapped out to Kurt Angle's ankle lock submission hold.

Throughout his career, Seanoa has won numerous championships, including the Ring of Honor World championship and the Pure championship. Within TNA, he is a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, a four-time TNA X Division Champion, and a two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He has also won the 2005 Super X Cup Tournament, the 2008 King of the Mountain match (the only one to retain the world championship in the match), and the TNA Triple Crown.

Early life[link]

Seanoa was born and raised in Southern California. He resided mainly in Huntington Beach and spent time during his childhood in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Seanoa's family founded a Polynesian dance troupe in the United States called Tiare Productions. Seanoa made his on stage debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics opening at the age of five. He became a California State Junior Judo Champion and was an all league football player while attending Ocean View High School.^[7] Before becoming a wrestler, Seanoa worked as a mortgage broker.^[8]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Joe was the first graduate of the UIWA West Coast Dojo, training under Cincinnati Red, along with Johnny Hemp and, occasionally, John Delayo. He debuted in December 1999 in a match against "Uncle" Jess Hansen just three months after beginning training.

Ultimate Pro Wrestling (2000–2001)[link]

Joe quickly signed with former World Wrestling Federation developmental affiliate Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he feuded with John Cena and made an appearance on WWF Jakked against Essa Rios,.^[9] He tagged with Mike Knox at UPW Proving Ground on December 12, 2000 in the Galaxy Theatre of Santa Ana, California and defeated the debuting Al Katrazz with Basil. He eventually captured the UPW Heavyweight Championship.^[10] He later became the longest reigning UPW Heavyweight Champion ever.

Pro Wrestling Zero1 and Pro Wrestling Noah (2001–2002)[link]

In June 2001, Joe made his way to Japan, wrestling for Shinya Hashimoto's Pro Wrestling Zero1 promotion, fighting in its Shingeki series of pay-per-views,^[11] as well as the annual Burning Heart tournaments.^[12] During this time, Joe also began wrestling for southern California promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he had an on-screen rivalry with Super Dragon.

Joe continued to work for the promotion throughout 2002, participating in a number of their biggest shows and tournaments. After forming a team with Keiji Sakoda, they became the first-ever holders of the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, though their reign is no longer officially recognized by the promotion.^[13][14] He worked as both Samoa Joe and, later, King Joe, but ultimately chose to leave the promotion when he was asked to take on a more gimmicky character.

In October 2007, he made his debut for Pro Wrestling Noah at the Yokohoma Red Brickhouse, Joe teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama to take on the team of Mitsuharu Misawa and Takeshi Morishima. Joe captured the win for his team after pinning Misawa with an Island Driver, one of his finishing maneuvers. Two days later, on October 27, Joe again faced Misawa, this time for the GHC title in a one-on-one match at the Budokan Hall. Both competitors had exchanged and overcame their respective signature moves throughout the match but it was Misawa who won the pinfall after striking the back of Joe's head with his elbow thus marking his sixth successful title defense.

Ring of Honor (2002–2007)[link]

Back in the United States, Joe joined the ranks of the East Coast-based Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion in 2002. He made his debut at "Glory by Honor" as Christopher Daniels's "hired assassin", brought in to take out Daniels's chief enemy, Low Ki.^[15] Originally booked for just the one match against Low Ki, Joe impressed fans with his extremely stiff and hard-hitting style that resembled a mixed martial arts fighter more than a wrestler, which led to ROH booking him full time.^[16]

Joe quickly rose through the ranks and became ROH Champion, defeating Xavier for the belt, which soon became the ROH World Championship on May 17, 2003 after defeating The Zebra Kid at "Frontiers of Honor" in London, England.^[17][18] He held that title for twenty one months before losing it to Austin Aries at "Final Battle 2004" on December 26, 2004.^[18] During this time, he had a trilogy of title defenses against CM Punk (the second match earning a 5 star rating from Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the first American match in seven years to do so).^[15] Soon after losing the ROH World Championship to Austin Aries, Joe became the promotion's fifth Pure Champion, defeating his on-screen protégé Jay Lethal for the belt on May 7, 2005 at "Manhattan Mayhem" in New York City.^[19][20] He held the title for over three months before losing it to Nigel McGuinness on August 27 at "Dragon Gate Invasion".^[19][20]

In October 2005, when Japanese heavyweight superstar Kenta Kobashi made a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip to the United States, he was signed to two Ring of Honor shows. ROH officials selected Joe to face him in a singles match on the first night and a tag match on the second.^[15][21] Joe proved to be a formidable opponent for Kobashi, in a back and forth match, which Dave Meltzer again gave a five-star rating. The match went on to win the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for "Match of the Year". In 2006, Joe was one of the principal wrestlers representing Ring of Honor in their war against rival Philadelphia promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). The war culminated in a five-on-five Cage of Death match at "Death before Dishonor IV". Joe helped ROH dominate in the match, until, after picking up CZW wrestler Chris Hero for one of his finishers, the Muscle Buster, he was attacked by fellow ROH wrestler Bryan Danielson. Danielson repeatedly hit his injured knee with a steel chair, forcing him to quit the match. Joe was later replaced in the match by Homicide, who went on to win the match for ROH.^[22] Joe later teamed with Homicide to fight against the Briscoes, and, like Homicide, found himself back in the ROH world title hunt. Joe, however, came up short against champion Bryan Danielson in several matches, including a match that went to a 60 Minute Draw and the final one being a cage match on December 8.^[15] At the December 9 show, Joe called out the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion, claiming "Ring of Honor is right here!" This was not his first encounter with NOAH; at the September 16, 2006 ROH show, after a speech by wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino, Joe got into an argument and pull-apart brawl with Noah star Takeshi Morishima. Subsequently a match was signed for February pitting Joe against Morishima which Joe won.^[15]

On January 31, Joe announced that he would no longer be a full time performer in ROH after March 4.^[23] All shows that led up to that date would be billed as the "Samoa Joe Farewell Tour". On March 4, he beat longtime rival Homicide in his final ROH match with a Muscle Buster from the second rope.^[15] On November 22, Joe made a one night only return for Rising Above, defeating Tyler Black in a non-pay-per-view main event.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–present)[link]

Undefeated streak (2005–2006)[link]

On June 14, 2005, it was announced that Joe had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).^[24] He made his official debut five days later at the Slammiversary pay-per-view, defeating Sonjay Dutt in a match that saw him dubbed "The Samoan Submission Machine" by announcer Mike Tenay.^[25] Joe was a participant in the Christopher Daniels Invitational Super X Cup, defeating Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley to advance to the tournament finals at Sacrifice. Joe won the tournament by defeating A.J. Styles, but only with help from Daniels.^[26] As a result of Daniels' interference, however, TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko made Daniels defend his X Division Championship in a three-way match against both Joe and Styles at TNA Unbreakable. This match marked Joe's first title shot in the company, though Styles was booked to win the match. Joe's undefeated streak was still officially intact, as it was Daniels that had been pinned, not Joe.^[27] This match is to date the only match in TNA's history to receive a rating of five stars from Dave Meltzer.^[28]

Samoa Joe signing autographs for fans

At Genesis on November 13, he teamed with Daniels, Alex Shelley, and Roderick Strong (a team that Daniels called "The Ministry") against Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin, Matt Bentley, and Austin Aries in an eight man elimination match. Following the victory by Daniels and Joe (Shelley and Strong were eliminated earlier in the match), Joe attacked Daniels, beating him around the ringside area until he had busted him open. He then threw Daniels into the ring, and delivered a Muscle Buster. Joe then went out to grab a steel chair from ringside and brought it into the ring, after which he gave Daniels a second Muscle Buster, this time onto the chair, supposedly giving Daniels a level-3 concussion.^[29] In response to these actions, Styles called Joe out on an episode of Impact!, saying his attack of Daniels violated an unwritten code of respect in the X Division. Prior to Turning Point, Joe attacked Styles, saying he did not respect the X Division code (a vast departure from his Ring of Honor persona, who is a stalwart defender of their written Code of Honor). Joe defeated Styles at Turning Point and won the X Division Championship.^[30] Joe could not injure Styles, however, Daniels came out and stopped him.^[31] Daniels was later slated to face Joe at Final Resolution in 2006 for the X Division Championship. During the build-up to the match, Joe stated that he intended to end Daniels' career. During the match, Styles came down to the ring to cheer for Daniels. Not long after making Daniels bleed from his head, Joe stopped going for the pin, instead dropping knee after knee on Daniels' head. Styles, concerned about Daniels' health, signaled for the match to be stopped by throwing in the towel, allowing Joe to retain the X Division title.^[32] Joe proceeded to win rematch of the three-way at Unbreakable, thus retaining his title.^[33] This three-way feud continued until Destination X, when he lost the title to Daniels in an Ultimate X match, a match in which there is no pinfall or submission, thus keeping his undefeated streak.^[30][34]

Joe was then taken out of the X Division and matched with an initially unannounced opponent. On the March 25 edition of Impact!, it was announced that he would take on Sabu at Lockdown. Despite that, he still had a scheduled X Division title match, and, on April 13's Impact! (TNA's Thursday debut), Joe regained the X Division title after delivering an Island Driver from the middle turnbuckle to Christopher Daniels.^[30] Joe then successfully defended his X Division title against Sabu at Lockdown.^[35] At Sacrifice, Joe partnered with Sting in a tag team match against Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner. Joe and Sting were victorious, but after the match, Joe left the ring and allowed Sting to be attacked.^[36] Joe explained this by stating that he agreed to only watch Sting's back "from bell to bell" (implying that once the second bell rang, his duties were over), but still had issues with Steiner. Joe added Scott Steiner to his undefeated streak, at Slammiversary.^[37]

During the Impact! tapings on May 15, Joe was injured as he performed a kick, and it was reported that he tore every knee ligament except the anterior cruciate ligament. He suffered a first degree tear to the posterior cruciate ligament and a second degree tear to the medial collateral ligament. Joe would remain out of action for two weeks. After returning, Joe lost his X Division Championship in a triple threat match with Sonjay Dutt and Senshi. Senshi pinned Dutt to win the championship after Steiner laid out Joe with a steel chair.^[30] Joe would have his chance at revenge when he participated in a four-way number one contender match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship along with Sting, Christian Cage, and Scott Steiner at Victory Road on July 16. Joe lost this match when Sting pinned Steiner.^[38]

Title chase; World Heavyweight Champion (2006–2008)[link]

Joe beat Jeff Jarrett at No Surrender in a "Fan's Revenge Lumberjack match". After the match, he took Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight Championship with him, telling Jim Cornette that if Jarrett or Sting (Jarrett's scheduled opponent at Bound For Glory) wanted the belt, they could take it from him.^[39] On the October 12 episode, Joe agreed to return the belt to the Jarrett-Sting winner under one condition—the winner had to agree to give him a title shot. This offer was turned down, and finally Joe was given the choice of giving back the title or be fired. Kurt Angle made his debut and got into a brawl with Joe after he again refused to give back the belt, and during the brawl, Jarrett took the belt back. At Bound for Glory on October 22, Joe defeated Raven, Brother Runt and Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. The match ended when special referee Jake Roberts performed a DDT to Raven, allowing Joe to deliver the Muscle Buster to Raven for the pinfall. Later in the night, Joe was involved in a pull-apart brawl with Kurt Angle after Jim Cornette announced that he would be fired if he interfered in the main event match that involved Angle as special enforcer.^[40] At Genesis, Joe lost to Angle after tapping out to Angle's ankle lock. This ended his eighteen month undefeated streak.^[41] Throughout the rest of 2006 into 2007, Joe continued to feud with Angle picking up a victory by submission in their rematch at Turning Point,^[42] before suffering a legitimate knee injury in a tag team match that pitted Rhino and Kurt Angle against Joe and A.J. Styles. On January 14, 2007 at Final Resolution, Joe faced Angle in a thirty minute Iron Man match. With seconds remaining, Joe had Angle in the ankle lock. Although Angle tapped out, he did so just after time had expired. As a result, Angle won the match three falls to two.^[43]

On the February 14 edition of Impact!, Joe won a gauntlet match to become the number one contender to Christian Cage's NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Destination X. Joe lost to Cage after Cage reversed the Coquina Clutch into a pinning combination and used the ropes for leverage.^[44] On the May 24 edition of Impact!, Joe qualified for the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary by defeating Sting with a Samoan drop after Christopher Daniels hit Sting with a baseball bat; Joe lost the King of the Mountain match, when Kurt Angle hung the belt. He then qualified to compete in the Match of Champions at Victory Road by defeating Jay Lethal and Chris Sabin for the X Division title on the July 12 episode of Impact!.^[30] At the Match of Champions, Joe scored the winning pinfall on Brother Ray after Kurt Angle hit the Angle Slam and won the TNA World Tag Team Championship from Team 3D, making him the first wrestler in TNA to hold multiple TNA championships.^[30] He later opted to hold both the titles by himself. At Hard Justice, Joe put up the X Division title and both Tag Team titles against Kurt Angle's TNA World title as well as the IGF's version of the IWGP World Championship. Joe, however, lost all his titles thanks to interferences by Karen Angle, enabling Kurt to become the second TNA Triple Crown Champion. Joe became the first man to defeat Christian Cage by pinfall or submission in TNA, forcing him tap out to the Coquina Clutch at Bound for Glory, thus ending Cage's twenty-three month undefeated streak by pinfall or submission in TNA.

Joe was then announced as the teammate of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in their match against the Angle Alliance at Turning Point. Hall, however, no-showed the event. Before the match, Joe was asked to cut a promo alleviating heat from the company and introducing Eric Young as Hall's replacement. Joe went five minutes overtime and ranted against Hall (whom he sarcastically referred to as "The Phantom of the Impact Zone"), Nash and some other superstars, which legitimately upset Nash and TNA President Dixie Carter at ringside. Before calling Young to come to the ring he told the TNA ringside staff, "Are you mad? Go ahead, fire me, I don't care". Joe, Nash and Young defeated the Angle Alliance when Joe pinned Tomko after a Muscle Buster. After the match, Joe and Nash briefly argued and shoved one another backstage, with Joe apologizing at a talent meeting the following day.^[45] On-screen, though, Joe continued to direct his frustration towards TNA management, going as far as to trash a Christmas party organized by Matt Morgan. In storyline, after complaining to Jim Cornette that he did not have a match at Final Resolution, Cornette decided to team Joe with Kevin Nash, who was to receive a title shot with Scott Hall when he returned. At Final Resolution, Joe, along with his tag team partner Kevin Nash lost to the team of A.J. Styles and Tomko. This occurred after Nash refused to tag himself into the match leaving Joe to fend for himself. In addition, Nash "flipped off" Joe whilst leaving the ringside area. After Nash had screwed Joe at Final Resolution, a furious Joe stormed to the backstage area on the hunt for Nash, only to find him welding a baseball bat for protection and refusing to fight Joe unless they got paid. Nash explained to Joe that he was teaching him a lesson about the wrestling business and told Joe he could help him to the top if he followed his direction. In good faith, Nash gave Joe the bat and implored to hit him if he was not satisfied with his explanation. Joe was still fuming, but let Nash go without incident. On the January 24 edition of Impact!, Joe went on a rampage, attacking several TNA employees, culminating in his attacking of Jeremy Borash after being announced as the MVP of 2007.

Joe at Bound for Glory IV.

At Against All Odds, Joe served as the special enforcer for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match where Kurt Angle defended his title against challenger Christian Cage. During the contest, A.J. Styles interfered and Joe fought Styles to the back, but Tomko came out and attacked Cage giving Angle the win. On the February 14 edition of Impact!, Joe formed an alliance with Cage and Kevin Nash, to compete with Kurt Angle's Angle Alliance. It was also announced that Joe would be given the next TNA World Heavyweight Championship opportunity against Angle. Over the next few weeks, Joe and his new found alliance would attack the Angle Alliance leading up to their match at Destination X. Joe vowed that he would eliminate the Angle Alliance so he would receive a fair title match with Angle at Lockdown. On the March 6 edition of Impact!, Joe, Christian, and Nash faced a member of the Angle Alliance to determine who would get a five minute advantage during their match at Destination X. Joe lost his First Blood match to Tomko, but Nash defeated Styles in a Street Fight while Cage defeated Angle in a Six Sides of Steel match. Joe's team won the match when he made Tomko tap out to the Coquina Clutch. Achieving his goal to eliminate the Angle Alliance, nothing now stood in the way of Joe getting a fair title shot at Lockdown.

At Lockdown, Joe defeated Angle to win his first TNA World Championship and become TNA's third Triple Crown Champion.^[30] The stipulation of the match was if Joe had lost, he would have had to retire from professional wrestling. He defeated Angle in a rematch on Impact! and then retained against Scott Steiner and Kaz at Sacrifice. At Slammiversary, Joe became the first champion to ever retain his title in a King of the Mountain match.<^[46] Joe was then challenged to a match by Booker T at Victory Road, which he accepted. At Victory Road the match went to a No Contest when Sting hit Joe with a baseball bat and Booker pinned him while Sharmell made the three count. At Hard Justice, Joe defeated Booker after a guitar shot, thus reclaiming physical possession of the title belt, which Booker had kept after Victory Road. At Bound for Glory IV, he fought Sting in a losing effort to defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, ending his reign at 182 days.

On the October 30 edition of Impact!, Joe and AJ Styles formed a faction of younger wrestlers also featuring Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Petey Williams, Eric Young, ODB and The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin), calling themselves "The Frontline", to oppose the The Main Event Mafia of Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T and Scott Steiner. At Turning Point Nash defeated Joe by pinning him with his feet on the ropes following a steel chair shot, a low blow and after ramming Joe's head to an exposed turnbuckle. At Final Resolution, The Front Line lost to The Main Event Mafia in a 4-on-4 tag match and Styles failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.^[47] On the December 18 edition of Impact!, Joe and Styles defeated Sting and Nash in a Six Sides of Steel match. Following the match, Joe was attacked by the members of the Main Event Mafia and suffered injuries which would sideline him for the rest of the year.^[48]

Nation of Violence (2009)[link]

On the January 29 episode of Impact!, a short video was shown in which Joe, sporting a new buzzcut hairstyle, tribal facepaint, and much heavier frame stated he would like to introduce the Main Event Mafia to both the "real" Joe and his "nation of violence".^[49] At Destination X, Joe got himself disqualified in his return match against his old rival and Main Event Mafia member Scott Steiner. That same week on Impact!, Joe once again got disqualified this time in a match with Sheik Abdul Bashir. He took him backstage, hung him upside down, and tortured him.

The following week, he competed in a 20-man Six Sides Of Steel match where the last two men standing would be determined the captains of the Lethal Lockdown Match at Lockdown. He entered last and won the match by pinning rival Kurt Angle via the Muscle Buster. He then later stated backstage that he did not wish to be captain, but would still be part of the team. His teammates were Jeff Jarrett, A.J. Styles and the returning Daniels. They faced off against The Main Event Mafia at Lockdown, and won the match.^[50] At this time he also revealed that he was taking orders from a "secret advisor" who he was seen talking to many times backstage although the person's identity was not revealed. He then feuded with Kevin Nash as his next victim of the Mafia and finally beat his old mentor at Sacrifice.^[51]

At Slammiversary, Joe betrayed A.J. Styles and turned on all the fans by helping Kurt Angle win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in the King of the Mountain match, and thus turned heel.^[52] On the June 25 episode of Impact!, Joe officially joined The Main Event Mafia after having spent the last five months taking them out. This was revealed by Angle, to be a master plan to fool the TNA Frontline and the attacks were all planned by Joe and the Mafia in advance. Joe then went on to explain that he joined the Mafia for the money that was invested by Jenna Morasca and for the power and also debuted a new rap themed, entrance music. Throughout the night, he carried out attacks with the Mafia on Styles and Daniels and the leader of the Mafia, Sting, who was kicked out of the Mafia as leader and once again replaced with Kurt Angle.^[53] At Victory Road, Joe faced Sting in a grudge match. Late in the match, Taz made his TNA debut and helped Joe beat Sting, thus revealing himself as his new adviser.^[54] At Hard Justice Joe defeated Homicide to win the X Division title for the fourth time.^[55] After winning this title, Joe feuded with his longtime rival Daniels and defeated him at No Surrender.^[56] On the October 8 edition of Impact! Joe lost the X Division title to Amazing Red after Bobby Lashley interfered in the match.^[57] At Bound for Glory Lashley defeated Joe in a submission match with a referee stoppage.^[58] On the following edition of Impact! Kurt Angle turned into a fan favorite, thus signaling the end of the Main Event Mafia.^[59] The following month at Turning Point Joe unsuccessfully challenged TNA World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles for the title in a three-way match, also involving Daniels.^[60]

Various feuds (2009–present)[link]

Samoa Joe in October 2010.

At Final Resolution Joe took part in the "Feast or Fired" match and won the briefcase containing a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.^[61] After being off TV for several weeks, Joe returned on the February 4 edition of Impact!, by attacking A.J. Styles, who had recently turned heel with Ric Flair, and announcing that he would be using his "Feast or Fired" briefcase to get a shot at Styles' World Heavyweight Championship at Against All Odds, turning face in the process.^[62] At the pay-per-view Styles retained his title against Joe in a No Disqualification match refereed by Eric Bischoff.^[63] After losing a match against new TNA acquisition Orlando Jordan on the following Impact!, Joe was abducted by masked men.^[64] On March 29 he resurfaced in a video package on an episode of Impact!.^[65] Joe made his return on the April 19 edition of Impact! appearing as a surprise member of Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett and Rob Terry) in an eight man tag team match against Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm), in which he scored the deciding pinfall by pinning Roode after a Muscle Buster. Joe then left the Impact Zone and did not celebrate with his fellow team members.^[66] The following week Joe inexplicably assaulted the X Division Champion Kazarian, after his title match with Shannon Moore.^[67] In the following weeks Joe went on to randomly attack wrestlers like Douglas Williams, Brian Kendrick and Matt Morgan, the last of whom lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship thanks to the attack.^[68][69]

On the May 20 edition of Impact! Joe was ranked number ten in the first ever TNA Championship Committee rankings for a World Heavyweight Championship title shot.^[70] He began his climb up the rankings by defeating Hernandez on June 17, number four ranked A.J. Styles on July 1 and by wrestling number two ranked Jeff Hardy to a ten minute time limit draw on the July 22 edition of Impact!.^[71][72][73] After the match with Hardy, Joe was upset with the production crew for starting a countdown to the time limit draw, when Joe specifically requested not to start one because he thought it would reveal the ending of the match early. Because of his outburst, Joe was suspended from TNA indefinitely.^[74][75] Joe returned from his suspension on August 23 at the tapings of the August 26 edition of Impact! to defeat Orlando Jordan.^[76] The following week on Impact!, Joe aligned himself with Jeff Jarrett and Hulk Hogan in their war with Sting and Kevin Nash.^[77] At No Surrender Joe and Jarrett defeated Sting and Nash in a tag team match, when Joe choked out Sting, after Jarrett had hit him with his baseball bat behind Joe's back.^[78] At Bound for Glory Joe and Jarrett faced Sting, Nash and their newest ally D'Angelo Dinero in a handicap match, after Hulk Hogan, who was scheduled to team with Joe and Jarrett, was forced to pull out due to a back surgery. At the end of the match Jarrett abandoned Joe and left him to be pinned by Nash. Later in the night it was revealed that Hogan was in fact in the building as he helped Jeff Hardy win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and formed a new heel alliance with Hardy, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Abyss.^[79]

Joe tried to attack Jarrett on the October 21 edition of Impact!, but was stopped by TNA's security officers Gunner and Murphy, before being beat down by Jarrett.^[80] Joe returned two weeks later, attacking Jarrett, Gunner and Murphy.^[81] At Turning Point Jarrett defeated Joe, after choking him out with a baton, following interference from Gunner and Murphy.^[82] The following month at Final Resolution Joe faced Jarrett in a submission match. After a pre–match assault and later an interference by Gunner and Murphy, Jarrett managed to force Joe to submit with an ankle lock.^[83] Earlier that same day it was reported that Joe's contract with TNA had expired.^[84] On December 17, 2010, TNA president Dixie Carter announced on her Twitter page that Joe had re–signed with the promotion.^[85][86] Joe returned on the January 6, 2011, edition of Impact!, confronting D'Angelo Dinero and claiming that he had not been using his donations to help the needy, like he was supposed to.^[87] Two weeks later Okato was revealed as the camera man, whom Joe had hired to follow Dinero and from whom he had gotten the video footage to support his claim.^[88] On February 13 at Against All Odds Joe defeated Dinero in a singles match, but was afterwards attacked and bloodied by him.^[89] On the March 10 edition of Impact!, Dinero defeated Joe in a rematch between the two, after hitting him with a chain.^[90] On April 17 at Lockdown, Joe defeated Dinero in a steel cage match to end the feud.^[91]

Joe wrestling Crimson at Slammiversary IX.

Joe's next feud would be with the undefeated Crimson, whom he would abandon in the ring and the hands of Abyss on two occasions, claiming that he himself had not needed anyone's help during his own undefeated streak, becoming a tweener in the process.^[92][93][94] On June 12 at Slammiversary IX, Joe was defeated by Crimson in a singles match, and afterwards shook Crimson's hand.^[95] Afterwards, Joe began showing frustration as his losing streak continued with losses against Rob Van Dam, Devon, Kazarian and Bobby Roode.^{[96][97][98][99]} After losing all nine of his matches in the Bound for Glory Series to determine the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Joe finally ended his long losing streak on the August 4 edition of Impact Wrestling by defeating D'Angelo Dinero via submission, but the decision was reversed after he refused to release his hold following the match. Joe then accused TNA management of being against him and proclaimed that from now on the blood would be on their hands.^[100] After voicing his intention of ruining the Bound for Glory Series, Joe attacked its participants Devon, D'Angelo Dinero and rankings leader Crimson, who was forced to pull out of the tournament following the attack, after suffering a storyline ankle injury.^[101][102] On the final week of the Bound for Glory Series, Joe went to interfere in a match between Gunner and Rob Van Dam, but was stopped by guest color commentator Matt Morgan, who was sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle. This led to a brawl later in the evening, which ended with Joe hitting Morgan in the arm with a steel chair.^[103] On September 11 at No Surrender, Joe continued his losing streak as he was defeated by Morgan in a grudge match.^[104] On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Joe ended his losing streak by defeating Morgan in a submission match.^[105] After returning from his injury, Crimson scored two more victories over Joe, first defeating him in a singles match on the October 6 edition of Impact Wrestling, and then in a three-way match, also involving Matt Morgan, at Bound for Glory on October 16.^[106][107]

On the January 5, 2012, edition of Impact Wrestling, Joe and Magnus defeated A.J. Styles and Kazarian to win the four week long Wild Card Tournament and become the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship.^{[108][109][110]} Three days later at Genesis, Joe and Magnus failed to capture the TNA World Tag Team Championship from Crimson and Matt Morgan.^[111] Despite the loss, Joe and Magnus remained together as a tag team, attacking Crimson and Morgan on the next two editions of Impact Wrestling.^[112][113] On the February 2 episode of Impact Wrestling, Joe and Magnus defeated Crimson and Morgan in a non-title match to earn another shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship.^[114] On February 12 at Against All Odds, Joe and Magnus defeated Crimson and Morgan to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship.^[115] Joe and Magnus then defeated Crimson and Morgan in two rematches, the first on the February 23 episode of Impact Wrestling and the second on March 18 at Victory Road, to retain the championship.^[116][117] On the March 22 episode of Impact Wrestling, Joe and Magnus successfully defended their title against Mexican America (Anarquia and Hernandez).^[118] On April 15 at Lockdown, Joe and Magnus defeated The Motor City Machine Guns in a steel cage match to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.^[119] During the first "Open Fight Night" on April 26, Joe and Magnus successfully defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against the team of Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson, after which they were attacked by Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, who had asked for a title shot earlier in the event.^[120] On May 13 at Sacrifice, Joe and Magnus lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship to Daniels and Kazarian.^[121]

International Wrestling Association (2009)[link]

Joe debuted in the International Wrestling Association at Noche de Campeones, a special event held on February 14, 2009.^[122] There he was booked against El Chicano, the reigning IWA Undisputed World Unified Heavyweight Champion.^[122] Chicano won the match by pinfall.^[122] Prior to the show, Joe spent time with fans in a "Meet and Greet" event.^[123]

Personal life[link]

Seanoa was married on July 27, 2007.^[124] Seanoa is close friends with fellow wrestlers CM Punk, Homicide, Christopher Daniels, A.J. Styles, and Rob Van Dam.^[16][125] Seanoa has also appeared on Van Dam's internet based reality show RVD TV numerous times.^[125][126]

Seanoa avidly trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and Muay Thai at LA Boxing in Costa Mesa, California. He is often noted as a sparring partner for Team Punishment member Justin McCully and is often in attendance in the locker room for Team Punishment fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Kendall Grove, with whom he maintains friendships.^[125][127]

Seanoa made brief appearances on the American version of the television show Distraction, participating in the round where wrestlers perform moves on contestants while they answer questions.^[125]

In wrestling[link]

Samoa Joe prepares to perform a Muscle Buster on Kurt Angle.

Samoa Joe prepares to perform a Muscle Buster on Christian Cage.

Samoa Joe doing his signature dodge to an aerial attack by Rob Van Dam.

• Finishing moves
  • CCS Enzuigiri^[2] (Jumping twisting enzuigiri while facing away from a cornered opponent) – Independent circuit; used as a regular move in TNA
  • Chimera-Plex^[2] (German suplex followed into a dragon suplex and finished with an X-Plex) – Independent circuit
  • Coquina Clutch (TNA) / The Clutch (TNA) / The Choke (Independent circuit) (Rear naked choke, sometimes transitioned into a suplex)^{[4][128][129]}
  • Island Driver (Sitout side powerslam, sometimes from the second rope, or an over the shoulder reverse piledriver)^[2][128]
  • Muscle Buster, sometimes from the second rope^[4][128]

• Signature moves
  • Atomic drop
  • Chop to the back of a seated opponent followed by a football kick to the chest and finished with a jumping knee drop or running senton
  • Death Valley driver,^[2] sometimes from the second rope^[130]
  • Elbow Suicida (Suicide dive transitioned into a flying forearm smash)^[131]
  • Facewash^[2]
  • Inverted atomic drop followed by a running single leg dropkick and finished with a running senton
  • Forearm smash to a cornered opponent sometimes followed by a CCS Enzuigiri^[2]
  • Lariat^[2][128]
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Dragon^[2]
    • Exploder^[132]
    • German^[133]
    • Half nelson^[134]
    • Head and arm^[131]
  • Olé Kick (Running arched big boot to the face of an opponent seated on a chair next to a guardrail)^[2]
  • Powerbomb followed into prawn hold transitioned into either a thigh-held single leg Boston crab, an STF or a crossface^[135]
  • Samoan drop^[136]
  • Samoan Elbow (Feint leg drop transitioned into an elbow drop to the opponent's chest)^[2]
  • Sidewalk slam^[2]
  • Snap scoop powerslam followed into either a cover attempt or a crucifix armbar
  • STF^[2][128]
  • STJoe (One-armed side slam, as a counter to an oncoming opponent)^[131]

• With Magnus
  • Snapmare (Joe) / Diving elbow drop (Magnus) combination^[114][115]

• Managers
  • Dave Prazak^[2]
  • Jay Lethal^[2]
  • Jeff Jarrett^[2]
  • Jim Cornette^[2]
  • Jimmy Hart^[2]
  • Kevin Nash^[137]
  • Okada / Okato^[2]
  • Taz^[2]

• Nicknames
  • "The Samoan Suplex Machine"^[138]
  • "The Samoan Submission Machine"^[2][128]
  • "The Nation of Violence"^[2]

• Entrance themes
  • Samoa Joe's various entrance themes in the past were typically customized to start with the menacing "Godzilla March Theme" horn riff, signifying Joe's presence while allowing for different tracks over the years. TNA would end this tradition with their own custom theme, though it starts with a similar riff.
  • "Another Body Murdered by Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.^[139] (ROH)
  • "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J^[139] (ROH)
  • "The Champ is Here" by Jadakiss^[139] (ROH)^[139]
  • "Crush You Up" by Dale Oliver (TNA)^[140]
  • "On Fire" by Dale Oliver (TNA)^[141]
  • "Nation of Violence" by Dale Oliver (TNA)^[142]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Joe with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

• Ballpark Brawl
  • Natural Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^1[143]

• Extreme Wrestling Federation
  • Xtreme 8 Tournament (2006)^[144]

• Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
  • Revolution Strong Style Tournament (2004)^[2]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #4 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 and 2008^[145][146]
  • PWI Feud of the Year (2007)^[147] vs. Kurt Angle
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2006)^[148]

• Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max
  • NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time)^2[13][14] – with Keiji Sakoda

• Pure Wrestling Association
  • PWA Pure Wrestling Championship (1 time)^[2]

• Ring of Honor
  • ROH Pure Championship (1 time)^[19][20]
  • ROH World Championship (1 time)^[17][18]

• SoCal Uncensored
  • Rookie of the Year (2000)^[149]

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[30]
  • TNA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – by himself (1),³ with Magnus (1)^[30][115]
  • TNA X Division Championship (4 times)^[30]
  • King of the Mountain (2008)^[46]
  • Maximum Impact Tournament (2011)^[150]
  • Super X Cup (2005)^[2]
  • Turkey Bowl (2007)^[2]
  • Wild Card Tournament (2011) – with Magnus^[110]
  • Triple Crown Champion (1 time)
  • Mr. TNA (2006)^[151]
  • Mr. X Division (2006)^[151]
  • Feud of the Year (2006–2007) with Kurt Angle^[151][152]
  • Finisher of the Year (2007) Muscle Buster^[152]

• Twin Wrestling Entertainment
  • TWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[2]

• Ultimate Pro Wrestling
  • UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[153]
  • UPW No Hold Barred Championship (2 times)^[153]

• United Independent Wrestling Alliance
  • UIWA Tag Team Championship (2 times)^[2]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • 5 Star Match (2004) vs. CM Punk at ROH Joe vs. Punk II on October 16
  • 5 Star Match (2005) vs. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels at TNA Unbreakable on September 11^[28]
  • 5 Star Match (2005) vs. Kenta Kobashi at ROH Joe vs. Kobashi on October 1
  • Best Brawler (2006)^[154]
  • Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kenta Kobashi, ROH Joe vs. Kobashi, October 1
  • Most Outstanding Wrestler (2005)

¹After being stripped of the title, Samoa Joe's reign was stricken from the promotion's records and the title returned to Eddie Osbourne, the man Samoa Joe defeated for the title.^[155]

²After the title was vacated, Samoa Joe and partner Keiji Sakoda's reign was stricken from the promotion's records.

³After winning the championship for the first time, Samoa Joe held the title by himself.

Notes[link]