5 Best Samoa Joe Moments in WWE

Samoa Joe is one of the most prominent pro-wrestlers in the industry. He has been a star since the start of his career in 2002. He earlier worked for TNA, where he won multiple championships.

Samoa Joe made his debut in May 2015 and signed a contract with WWE in June 2015. Throughout his NXT career, he won the NXT Championship numerous times. He was also the winner of the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside Finn Balor.

After joining RAW in January 2017, Joe headlined several WWE pay-per-view events. Following several injuries, he became a color commentator on RAW.

Samoa Joe was earlier released by the company in April 2021, before Triple H hired him back, and he went on to win his third NXT Championship. He had to vacate the title due to an injury and has been out of action ever since. On January 5, WWE released some big names, including Samoa Joe, William Regal, and Road Dogg.

As Samoa Joe was with WWE for over seven years, he had many memorable moments throughout his career:

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#5. Joe wins the United States Championship

On March 5, 2019, R-Truth shocked the world when he won the United States Championship by defeating Shinsuke Nakamura. The following week, he issued an open challenge, which was accepted by Rey Mysterio, Andrade, and Samoa Joe.

The Fatal-Four-Way match was made official. The whole match was dominated by Samoa Joe. After a hard-fought battle, Joe pinned Andrade. This was a big moment for Joe and his fans as it was his first championship win on the main roster.

#4. The Arrival of Samoa Joe in NXT

The main event of TakeOver: Unstoppable was Sami Zayn vs. NXT Champion Kevin Owens for the title. Sami and Kevin went toe-to-toe until Kevin hit Sami with a Pop-Up Powerbomb on the ring apron. This move dislocated Sami's shoulder. The match was declared a no-contest as Zayn was unable to move. Despite the injury, Owens kept ambushing Zayn.

A while later, Samoa Joe showed to stop Kevin. The crowd went into a frenzy seeing the Samoan Bulldozer in the NXT ring. The world was shocked as Joe made his NXT debut that night. He confronted Kevin, and then Owens left the ring. It was one of the biggest moments in NXT history.

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#3. Triumphing in NXT's first-ever Steel Cage Match

NXT Takeover: The End was its 10th professional event (June 8, 2016). Samoa Joe won his first NXT Championship in April 2016 by defeating Finn Balor. The rematch was scheduled for NXT Takeover: The End in a steel cage. This was NXT's first-ever steel cage match.

The Demon, Finn Balor's alter ego, fought Samoa Joe in the main event. It was a brutal match, where both men fought a fierce battle. In the closing moments, when Finn was trying to escape the cage, Joe hit the muscle buster from the mid-rope to retain the championship. It was a historic moment as Joe won NXT's first steel cage match.

#2. The Samoan Submission Machine collides with The Beast Incarnate

Brock Lesnar faced Samoa Joe at The Great Balls of Fire in a singles match and at SummerSlam in a Fatal-Four-Way. Lesnar retained the Universal title in both these matches. The clashing of these powerful titans was a delight for the WWE Universe. Joe's promos against Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were on fire.

Despite losing, Samoa Joe dominated Brock Lesnar in both these matches. It was an important moment as Joe's performance against Brock Lesnar was impressive.

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#1. Capturing the NXT title the third time

Joe was put on NXT as an authority figure in NXT after he was rehired by Triple H. Joe refused to replace William Regal and instead offered to be William Regal's bodyguard.

After weeks of provocation by Karrion Kross, he requested Regal to make him an active wrestler. He then challenged Kross for the NXT Championship. At NXT TakeOver 36, Samoa Joe defeated Kross to win the championship. It was one of the best moments of his career.