WRITTEN PODCAST RECAP: Talk Is Jericho with Samoa Joe on why he thinks he wasn’t hired sooner, who helped him get in WWE, being left off WrestleMania (Apr. 27)

Talk is Jericho with Chris Jericho

Guest: Samoa Joe

Release Date: April 27, 2017

Recap by: Armando G. Ureña, PWPpodcast.com Reporter

Top Newsworthy Items

-Samoa Joe would love to have a match with Brock Lesnar.

-Joe trademarked his name and had no problems keeping it in WWE.

-Joe’s theme is inspired by the Toho Studio Godzilla Theme.

-Jericho informed Vince McMahon that Nakamura can speak English.

Timestamps

00:00: Sponsor Ads
00:37: Podcast Introduction
03:22: Samoa Joe Interview Part 1
19:35: Sponsor Ads
24:18: Samoa Joe Interview Part 2
1:11:04: Sponsor Ads and Closing

Show Highlights/Rundown

Podcast Introduction

Jericho recaps what we can expect to hear on the podcast including stories of Samoa Joe’s first days in the WWE, working with Shinsuke Nakamura at the Inoki Dojo, Godzilla, and Joe being the only WWE Samoan who is not related to the other Samoans. Jericho then advertises for DDP yoga.

Samoa Joe Interview Part 1

This podcast is a follow-up to the Mar 6, 2015, episode. This episode is mostly about Joe coming into WWE, his time in NXT, and stories from his early work on the main roster.

Jericho and Joe talk about problems getting into the building for a show in Illinois with “Tollbooth Willy” guarding the entrance to the gate. He was being extra aggressive with them, as they didn’t have any sort of pass to prove they were wrestlers.

Joe thinks he wasn’t brought into the company because of a cultural posistion they had. Basically, past TNA guys in the company hadn’t done so well and the promotion wanted to build talent “from scratch.”

When he came in they wanted him to help grow NXT, but no promises were made about the main roster. They initially told him they didn’t think it would go much beyond that. He said he wasn’t worried about it, as he would show them how good he could be. His communication with WWE started by sending a Twitter message to Paul Heyman. His second conversation with someone in WWE was Joey Mercury. He was eventually brought in before other TNA talent (like A.J. Styles, Eric Young, and Bobby Roode). Jericho said Joe had the “TNA stamp” on him. 

Joe talked about coming in on his first day, saying you’ll probably meet 200 people and hope to remember four of their names. Joe and Jericho joked about trying to remember people’s names. 

Samoa Joe Interview Part 2

Jericho asked if there was talk about not using the Samoa Joe name. Joe said that was not the case because he trademarked his name beforehand, so keeping his name was easy. He leases it to WWE and they use it.

Joe and Jericho start talking about NXT stars. Tye Dillinger and American Alpha are guys Joe is not surprised to see on the main roster. Joe was in NXT for almost two years. Jericho says Joe, Finn Balor, and Shinsuke Nakamura stayed longer than necessary to help draw for shows. Jericho said he talked to Vince McMahon a year prior to bring up Nakamura. Joe compares NXT to ROH, where they build stars, but when opportunity calls they leave the promotion and they have to start from scratch. Joe said that in NXT they travel by tour bus, though he had the option to travel on his own. 

Joe and Jericho talk about Nakamura and him having the “X-factor.” They said in terms of Japanese wrestlers coming to America, only Great Muta is somewhat comparable. Jericho says he is easy to work with because he does not do a lot, most of his offense is knee strikes, but he is over because of his movements, and making everything he does look great. Joe knows Nakamura from his time in the Inoki Dojo, where Nakamura, along with Lyoto Machida, were brought in as special projects. Joe talked about going out and partying with Japanese wrestlers who trained at the dojo. He has a bunch of photos taken with Nakamura where they’re “blitzed.” Jericho said he basically informed Vince that Nakamura could speak English. 

Samoa Joe was made aware of his main roster debut the day of NXT Takeover: Toronto, two days before his RAW debut. Joe told a funny story about a stage hand taking him to a mall to buy Joe a suit for television. He talks about how the stage hand would keep out pulling twenties to get the seamstress to finish the suit in two hours.  

Joe said he was happy with the response he got on his first night on the roster. He said it was “trippy.” Joe talked about putting together a match and thinks matches lose something when they’re overly-rehearsed. He likens it to musicians playing a jam session and some of the best stuff coming from there.

Joe said he wasn’t a fanatic of WWE growing up but was a fan. He said WWE was one of the few things he could enjoy watching together with his dad. He said Arn Anderson was one of his favorites as a kid. Jericho thinks he was a lot better than the role he was given. Joe also liked Ricky Steamboat.

Joe and Jericho joke about Joe not being related to any of the other Samoan wrestlers. Joe and Jericho talk about WrestleMania. Joe was disappointed that he did not make the show. He said it was like being at the Super Bowl but not being able to play. Joe gives a big compliment to the stage production of WrestleMania, saying KISS doesn’t even put on a production like that. He admires the ability of WWE to get a city invested in their show for a weekend.

Jericho asks about Joe’s theme music and how that came to be. Joe said he gave WWE some samples of music to help them come up with something fitting. Joe did not like the initial song. Triple H asked for more samples. One of them was a song Joe used on the indies, which included a sample from the Toho Godzilla theme in the intro. CFO$ used that and put Joe’s current theme together in a few days. They then start to talk about the Godzilla movies.  

Jericho asks if Joe would want to have a match with Brock Lesnar, to which Joe replies “absolutely.” Jericho thinks that would be a great match. Joe was asked about his Misawa and Kobashi matches. Jericho asked who he liked working with more. Joe said Kobashi, because he could really get the crowd behind him. 

Joe talks about his favorite match in NXT, which was against Finn Balor. He was hit in the right spot in the match and started bleeding. At one point in the match, he tossed Balor over the barricade and said it was close to Linda and Stephanie McMahon. He ensured Triple H and Vince McMahon that it was an accident. The two did not hold it over his head. Joe talks about his interactions with the trainer, who was thankful for Joe being cooperative since the last man he had to work with was Brock Lesnar, who threw him halfway across the ring. The trainer said he was nervous that Joe was going to “murder him.”

Jericho and Joe closed the show again by taking another shot at the guy in the toll booth.

Memorable Quotes:

“I don’t mind being under promised, I despise being overpromised”- Samoa Joe

Score and Review (7.5/10)

Another solid episode of Talk is Jericho. Because Samoa Joe was on the podcast before, this episode centered more on Joe’s time in WWE, focusing more on his history with guys like Shinsuke Nakamura, and his interactions with WWE management. The podcast was funny and an easy listen. If you heard the previous podcast Samoa Joe was on, it would be good to follow up on that by listening to this one. A good podcast for wrestling fans and fans of Samoa Joe.  

 

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