35 Current WWE Stars And Their '90s Counterparts

20. Samoa Joe/Taz

Samoa Joe and Tazz
WWE.com/WWE

With many of us wrestling fans still in shock that he’s now not known as Hawaiian Jim or Joe Samoan, Samoa Joe has finally arrived under the WWE umbrella. Sure, he’s in NXT for now, but having recently signed a full-time WWE deal and already impressed with shirt sales, it may not be very long until the Samoan Submission Machine is tearing through Raw and Smackdown.

For those who have yet to see Samoa Joe, he could very easily be viewed by many as a modern-day version of Taz(z). As well as both being submission specialists, the pair have a fear-inducing intensity, a penchant for suplexes and throws, an angry, explosive promo, made their names in lesser promotions, and neither have what would be called the traditional WWE look. Oh, and they also both have a thing for towels.

Unfortunately for Taz, he was given an extra Z and massively underutilised before injury brought his in-ring days to an end. Given how Triple H, and supposedly even Vince McMahon himself, is high on Joe, here’s hoping that he gets a chance to showcase just how awesome he can be.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.