Five best Samoa Joe matches in the WWE 

In a few weeks time, at SummerSlam, Samoa Joe will go one on one with AJ Styles for the WWE championship.

The two men have a well-documented history outside of the WWE, but this will be their first encounter inside a WWE ring.

Over the past few months, Joe has grown into one of the strongest performers in all of the WWE. Needless to say, his in-ring work is immaculate, and he has also become one of the company's strongest on the microphone.

The former NXT champion made his main roster debut at the start of 2017, and despite picking up several injuries, has quickly become one of the biggest stars on the main roster. He has had several excellent matches since making the step up to the main roster, so to prepare for his potentially show-stealing bout with Styles at SummerSlam, let's take a look at Samoa Joe's best matches in the WWE, and NXT so far.

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#5 Samoa Joe Vs Finn Balor Vs Bray Wyatt Vs Roman Reigns Vs Seth Rollins- Extreme Rules 2017

Samoa Joe earned himself a shot at Brock Lesnar's Univeral title at Extreme Rules 2017

Samoa Joe's first shot at main event gold in the WWE was earned thanks to his victory against four of Raw's top competitors at Extreme Rules 2017.

Heading into the match, many fans believed that Finn Balor was going to walk away victorious and finally get a chance to reclaim the Universal title belt that he never lost.

Samoa Joe had other plans though, surviving a brutal encounter, before putting Balor to sleep with his patented Coquina Clutch.

Given the talent involved, it was no surprise that this match turned out to be one of the best PPV main events of 2017, and it was arguably the bout that cemented Joe's place as one of the top stars in the WWE as well.

#4 Samoa Joe Vs Brock Lesnar- Great Balls of Fire 2017

Joe and Lesnar had a big fight feel at Great Balls of Fire 2017

While this match may not have been to everyone's taste, the encounter between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe felt like a legitimately big match, and it was perhaps, the only time in the last 18 months where it looked like Lesnar had an equal between the ropes.

The build to this match was its biggest strength, and when Joe attacked Lesnar at the start of the match, it felt as though we were witnessing one of the biggest fights in recent WWE history.

While the finish of the match, which saw Lesnar beat Joe with just one F5, was ultimately a bit flat, the rest of the encounter, despite being limited to a few simple moves, was edge of your seat stuff.

This might not be as technically sound as a lot of matches on this list, but it was a real sign of just how much of a draw Samoa Joe can be.

#3 Samoa Joe Vs Shinsuke Nakamura- NXT Takeover: Toronto

Samoa Joe shocked the world when he beat Nakamura at Takeover: Toronto

During 2016, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura were two of the biggest stars in NXT, and the two men were delivering consistently excellent matches whoever they came up against.

After Nakamura had defeated Joe at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 2, the two men met again in a match that was marginally better than its predecessor at NXT Takeover: Toronto.

The two veterans put on a brilliantly paced match, with Joe working on Nakamura's knee throughout the match, and shockingly defeating Nakamura to recapture the NXT title.

Joe's reign would only last two weeks, with Nakamura defeating him on a show in Osaka to reclaim the belt, but this match is still one of both men's finest in the WWE.

#2 Samoa Joe Vs Finn Balor- NXT Takeover: London

Finn Balor and Samoa Joe impressed the British crowd at Takeover: London

Finn Balor's feud with Samoa Joe back in 2015 has provided both men with some of their finest moments since joining the WWE.

NXT's first Takeover outside of North America is still one of their finest to date, and a big reason for that was the thrilling main-event between Balor and Joe.

The two men, both veterans of the indie circuit, put on an incredibly well-paced encounter that was a sign of the quality to come from the brand in the coming years.

Balor would go on to win the match, but Joe would capture the NXT title from him four months later at a house show.

#1 Samoa Joe Vs Brock Lesnar Vs Braun Strowman Vs Roman Reigns- SummerSlam 2017

Samoa Joe took part in an excellent main event at SummerSlam 2017

This time last year, Samoa Joe was one of the hottest acts on Raw. Despite failing to defeat Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire, he had given an excellent account of himself and had shown that he had what it takes to be a top guy in the WWE.

The main event of last year's SummerSlam was the perfect storm, with four of the WWE's biggest and baddest performers coming together for what was a beautiful display of destruction and carnage.

All four men beat each other to within an inch of their lives here, and this was wrestling entertainment at its best.

Lesnar, of course, walked away victorious, despite being destroyed by Braun Strowman, but everyone involved with this match came out looking like a star.