Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe
Joe in June 2019
Birth name	Nuufolau Joel Seanoa
Born	March 17, 1979 (1979-03-17)
	Orange County, California, U.S.
Resides	Orange County, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Jessica Seanoa (m. 2007)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Samoa Joe
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	141 kg (311 lb)
Billed from	Huntington Beach, California
Trained by	Cincinnati Red Johnny Hemp
Debut	December 1999

Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by his ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler. He was previously best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Ring of Honor (ROH) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

He also wrestled internationally and on the independent circuit for various promotions, winning several titles, including the GHC Tag Team Championship with Magnus in Pro Wrestling Noah, an he was an inaugural NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champion with Keiji Sakoda in Pro Wrestling Zero1. 

Early life

Seanoa was born and raised in Orange County, California. He resided mainly in Huntington Beach and spent time during his childhood in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Seanoa's family founded a Polynesian dance troupe in the United States called Tiare Productions. Seanoa made his stage debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics opening at the age of five. He became a California State Junior Judo Champion and was an all league football player while attending Ocean View High School. Before becoming a wrestler, Seanoa worked as a mortgage broker.

Professional wrestling career

Joe was the first graduate of the UIWA West Coast Dojo, training under Cincinnati Red, along with Johnny Hemp and, occasionally, John Delayo. He debuted in December 1999 in a match against "Uncle" Jess Hansen just three months after beginning training.

Pro Wrestling Zero-One (2001–2002)

In June 2001, Joe made his way to Japan, wrestling for Shinya Hashimoto's Pro Wrestling Zero-One promotion, fighting in its Shingeki series of pay-per-views, as well as the annual Burning Heart tournaments.

Joe continued to work for the promotion throughout 2002, participating in a number of their biggest shows and tournaments. After forming a team with Keiji Sakoda, they became the inaugural NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champions, though their reign is no longer officially recognized by the promotion. He worked as both Samoa Joe and later King Joe, but ultimately chose to leave the promotion when he was asked to take on a more gimmicky character.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2007, 2012)

On October 25, 2007, Joe made his debut for Pro Wrestling Noah at the Yokohoma Red Brickhouse, where he teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama to take on the team of Mitsuharu Misawa and Takeshi Morishima. Joe captured the win for his team after pinning Misawa with an Island Driver. Two days later, Joe again faced Misawa, this time for the GHC Heavyweight Championship in a one-on-one match at the Budokan Hall. Both competitors had exchanged and overcame their respective signature moves throughout the match, but it was Misawa who won the pinfall after striking the back of Joe's head with his elbow thus marking his sixth successful title defense.

On July 22, 2012, Joe returned to Pro Wrestling Noah, when he and Magnus defeated Akitoshi Saito and Jun Akiyama to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. On October 8, Joe and Magnus lost the title to KENTA and Maybach Taniguchi in their first defense.

Personal life

Seanoa was married on July 27, 2007. He is close friends with fellow wrestlers CM Punk, Homicide, Christopher Daniels, A.J. Styles, and Rob Van Dam. He has appeared on Van Dam's Internet-based reality show RVD TV numerous times.

Seanoa avidly trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, and Muay Thai at LA Boxing in Costa Mesa, California. He is often noted as a sparring partner for Team Punishment member Justin McCully, and is often in attendance in the locker room for Team Punishment fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Kendall Grove, with whom he maintains friendships.

Seanoa made brief appearances on the American version of the television show Distraction, participating in the round where wrestlers perform moves on contestants while they answer questions.

On April 1, 2014, We Want Insanity announced the launch of Samoa Joe's official Twitch video game streaming channel.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Chimera–Plex (German suplex followed into a dragon suplex and finished with a bridging straight jacket suplex) – Independent circuit; used as a regular move thereafter
  • Coquina Clutch (Rear naked choke, usually performed with bodyscissors and sometimes performed with a mount) 
  • Island Driver (Sitout spike side powerslam or an over the shoulder reverse piledriver, sometimes done from the second rope)
  • Muscle buster, sometimes from the second rope or on the apron
• Signature moves
  • AA / Anderson Spinebuster (Catching spinebuster)
  • Belly-to-back suplex dropped into a backbreaker
  • Burning Lariat (High-impact short-range lariat)
  • Corner forearm smash – adopted from Kenta Kobashi
  • Crossfaces (Clubbing blows to an opponent slumped under him)
  • Death Valley driver, sometimes from the second rope or dropped in a leg cradle
  • Discus back-handed chop
  • Elbow Suicida (Suicide dive transitioned into an elbow smash) – adopted from Mitsuharu Misawa
  • European Uppercut (Forearm uppercut, sometimes in a wind-up variant)
  • Flapjack, usually done as as counter for a leap frog
  • Folding powerbomb transitioned into either a Boston crab, an step-over toehold facelock or a crossface
  • Forearm smash
  • Headbutt
  • Huracánrana (Jumping tijeras (backwards takedown from the opponent's shoulders), sometimes done in a spike variant (Frankensteiner) or as a counter to a standing or running powerbomb)
  • Inverted atomic drop followed by a running single leg dropkick followed by a running senton
  • King Kong Kneedrop (Jumping knee drop, sometimes from the top rope) – adopted from Bruiser Brody
  • Knife-edged chop, sometimes done multiple time in succession to a standing opponent's chest or a sat-down opponent's back
  • Multiple kicks
    • CCS Enzuigiri (Twisting enzuigiri while facing away from a cornered opponent, usually executed after Joe does a back body avalanche on the opponent)
    • Enzuigiri, can be performed after a series of rapid open-handed slaps or in a twist
    • Facewash, usually followed up by a basement kick to the cornered opponent – adopted from Shinjiro Otani
    • Forced big boot onto an opponent slumped on the ropes
    • Gamengiri
    • Kawada Kicks (Multiple kicks done in succession to the head of a slumped-down opponent) – adopted from Toshiaki Kawada
    • Olé! Kick (Running big boot to the face of an opponent seated on a chair next to a guardrail) – parodied from El Generico / Sami Zayn
    • Roundhouse
    • Shoot, sometimes performed multiple times in succession
    • Single-leg drop
    • Soccer to a sat-down opponent's back, chest or head
    • Spinal Tap (Snapmare back)
    • Sweeping heel
    • Thrust
  • Multiple knee strike variations
    • Diving
    • Grounded
    • Jumping side to a standing or running opponent
    • Multiple in succession to a slumped-down opponent
    • Regular
    • Running rope-assisted to a cornered opponent
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Backdrop Driver (High-angle belly-to-back)
    • Capture
    • Coquina (Sleeper)
    • Dragon, sometimes in a bridging variant
    • Exploder
    • German
    • Half-nelson
    • Head and arm
    • Overhead belly-to-belly
    • Release gourdbuster
    • Release overhead belly-to-belly
    • Snap
    • Vertical
    • Vertical Spike (Brainbuster)
  • Open-handed slap to the face
  • Right-hand punch / knife-edged chop combination done multiple times to a cornered opponent
  • Running senton
  • Running twisting pescado
  • Samoan drop
  • Samoan Elbow (Running delayed high-impact elbow drop, with theatrics) – parodied from The Rock
  • Scoop powerslam
  • Short-arm lariat
  • Sit-out double kneebreaker with the opponent's legs in a cradle
  • Stand Cry Combo (Multiple punches to the chest of a corner opponent, done in succession followed by a rope-assisted enzuigiri)
  • Standing release sidewalk slam
  • Step-over toehold facelock – STF
  • STJoe / Space Tornado Joe-Gawa
    • Side slam from out of the corner, as a counter to an oncoming opponent)
    • STO – Space Tornado Ogawa, sometimes done in a release variant
  • Tiger Driver '91 (Kyuju-ichi) (Kneeling double underhook sheerdrop piledriver)
  • Thrusting palm strike to an opponent's chest
  • Ude-hishigi juji-gatame (Cross armlock); can be used a finishing maneuver
  • Ultra Combo (Joe performs a knife-edged chop to the back of a sitting opponent, soccer kicks them in the chest to lay them down, and then performs a King Kong Kneedrop)
  • Uraken (Spinning backfist) – adopted from Aja Kong
  • Ura nage
  • Yokosuka Cutter (Canadian backbreaker / powerbomb-lift dropped into a sideways cutter) – adopted from Susumu Mochizuki/Yokosuka
• With Magnus
  • Double team finishing moves
    • Snapmare by Joe followed by a diving elbow drop by Magnus
• Nicknames
  • "The Samoan Submission Machine"
  • "The One True King Of Television"

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Feud of the Year (2007) vs. Kurt Angle
  • Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2006)
  • PWI ranked him #4 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 and 2008
• Pro Wrestling Noah
  • GHC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Magnus
• Pro Wrestling Zero-One
  • NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time)¹ – with Keiji Sakoda
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 5 Star Match (2004) vs. CM Punk at ROH Joe vs. Punk II on October 16
  • 5 Star Match (2005) vs. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels at TNA Unbreakable on September 11
  • 5 Star Match (2005) vs. Kenta Kobashi at ROH Joe vs. Kobashi on October 1
  • Best Brawler (2005, 2006)
  • Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kenta Kobashi, ROH Joe vs. Kobashi, October 1
  • Most Outstanding Wrestler (2005)

¹ After the title was vacated, Joe and Sakoda's reign was stricken from the promotion's records.

² Joe held the title by himself during his first reign.