10 Things We Learned From NWA Worlds Champion Nick Aldis (Exclusive Interview)
5. Samoa Joe Was Key To His Development
Having trained under the tutelage of the Knight family, having sat under the learning tree of Harley Race, and having worked with some of the biggest names in the business, Nick Aldis credits Samoa Joe as being the person who took him to the next level as a performer.
Doug Williams, AJ Styles, and Alex Shelley are cited as being major influences on Aldis' career, yet it's his time in a makeshift tag team with the Samoan Submission Machine in 2011 that the Brit pinpoints as the period where he learnt so much.
With both men frustrated at not being used in any meaningful way at that time, Vince Russo made the call to have Nick Aldis and Samoa Joe team together. At this point, Aldis was, in his own words, like an excited puppy at the prospect of working alongside someone who he was such a huge fan of.
Reflecting on this time teaming with, and later feuding against, the current WWE Raw star, Aldis said, "We just found that chemistry. Joe's one of the best. If Joe doesn't go into coaching when he finishes up his in-ring career, it'll be a massive loss to the business. He's the best coach I've ever had. He has a way of articulating the mechanics of a wrestling match so much more than anyone I've ever met. I'm lucky. He refused to have anything he's involved with be s**t, so he forced me to be good. That's sort of the approach I have now."