10 Underutilized Wrestlers In WWE (Who Could Be Stars In AEW)
4. Samoa Joe
Eighteen months.
That is how long Samoa Joe remained undefeated upon his debut in TNA. Take notes WWE: it was better booking than just about all 52 of the months you have had him since.
Constantly reintroducing Joe repeatedly as a monster yet never booking him to win, WWE has fumbled on what could've been one of the best independent signings in the company's history. Strangely enough, NXT was handled very well with Joe although he never needed the "development".
Yet when longtime rival AJ Styles joined the company months after, he skipped right past NXT citing his age as the reason despite Joe being just two years younger. That should've been the writing on the wall for Joe, who has been stuck in the midcard while AJ has been in and out of the title picture.
Whilst Styles and Joe are not a one to one comparison by any means, their similar backgrounds and ties with one another are worth noting. Especially since Joe has more of the "WWE look" than Styles and theoretically would've been an easier fit.
But alas, Samoa Joe has yet to recapture the glory of his "Samoan Submission Machine" days due to the dreaded 50/50 booking curse. But AEW might be just what will make 40 year old Joe feel like his 26 year old self.
Joe would be an instant title picture candidate if he did sign with Cody and company. A similar undefeated streak would be a fitting resurgence to cap off an excellent career for the Samoan. But at this point anything is better than one of thousands of Shane McMahon's lackeys for the week.