10 Best Big Men In Wrestling Today

1. Samoa Joe

brock lesnar
WWE.com

More than a decade ago, Samoa Joe broke out as an independent star while reigning as ROH World Heavyweight Champion. The young standout was noticed for his size, but his skill was amazing no matter what his body type. In a promotion dominated by men near or below 200 pounds, the heavyweight was more than able to keep pace with them. His athleticism and talent earned him comparisons to Japanese legend Shinya Hashimoto.

Joe joined TNA in 2005 but continued to work for ROH, having classic matches in both promotions. Eventually, though, he had to leave ROH, and while working solely for TNA, his stock fell. The company never used him correctly - they waited until 2008 to give him a run with their Heavyweight Championship, then spent years afterwards subjecting him to ridiculous storylines and frequent turns. Joe's performances started to suffer, and with TNA's audience being rather niche, he was out of sight and out of mind for many fans.

After a decade with the organization, Joe left and turned up in NXT. Within a matter of months, the 6'2", 282-pound star proved that the old Samoa Joe wasn't gone - he'd just been waiting for the opportunity to explode out. Joe became a force in NXT, and while he may have lost a bit of speed since his mid-20s, he made up for it with more aggression and wisdom than ever before.

Today, Samoa Joe is the NXT Champion, and once again, he's the best big man in wrestling.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013