10 Things You Didn't Know About Samoa Joe

By Alexander Podgorski /

2. He Was Told He'd Never Make It In The Wrestling Business

While Joe was training in UPW alongside the likes of John Cena, he was approached by then-road agents Bruce €˜Brother Love€™ Pritchard and Jim Ross, who told him that exact phrase. Maybe it was his lack of the Vince-approved physique, or maybe it was because he didn€™t have that much charisma when he first started. Whatever they thought Joe lacked, Pritchard and Joe thought they€™d find in guys like Nathan Jones and Heidenreich. Yes, you read that correctly: Jim Ross and Bruce Pritchard thought Nathan Jones and Heidenreich would be big stars in the wrestling business, while guys like Samoa Joe weren€™t cut out for it. Considering how things turned out for both of those men, as well as how well Joe€™s pro wrestling career would end up going, those two must certainly be eating their words now. Even though he has yet to start wrestling on the main shows or enter a major feud, Joe€™s signing with WWE proved a major point: that yes, you can in fact become a big star in the pro wrestling business, even if you lack the chiseled physique that€™s so greatly desired by many a promoter. Let€™s just hope that WWE does the right thing with him and emphasizes his skills over his appearance when he debuts on the main shows.