Unlike Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe actually knows tons of shoot-fighters in real life, and could likely claim to be "a fighter" more than Owens ever could. If WWE were smart, they'd go to Joe's hometown of Huntington Beach and hunt down guys like Tito Ortiz that Joe actually knows and get them on camera putting over his talent. Joe's very uniquely skilled. He's also someone who's spent 20 years of his life in the brightest of spotlights in the non-WWE fighting industry. At a time where WWE selectively uses MMA to put over talents like Brock Lesnar and Charlotte, Samoa Joe could likely benefit from this connection, too.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
