WWE superstar samoa joe has made an immediate impact since coming up from NXT. He jumped right into a main event storyline when he joined forces with Triple H to take out Seth Rollins and will wrestle at his first pay-per-view this weekend at "Fastlane." In a recent interview with FOX Sports, Joe said he wasn't in a hurry to move up to the main WWE roster and enjoyed his time in NXT.
Samoa Joe's road to the WWE
Samoa Joe had an impressive career before ever stepping foot into a WWE ring. He started out his career wrestling for Ring of Honor and then became one of TNA Impact Wrestling's biggest stars.
In Ring of Honor, he holds the record for the longest ever world title reign. In TNA Impact Wrestling, Joe was a former world champion and X-Division champion and proved he was a star in his matches against men like AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. He then finally decided to make his move to the WWE and they went him to NXT first.
Samoa Joe and his stint in WWE NXT
AJ Styles was really the only TNA Impact Wrestling homegrown star to jump straight to the WWE but that was mostly due to his stint in NJPW proving he was ready for the big lights of the WWE main roster. Samoa Joe was one of the first stars to show up in NXT and keep their name and gimmick. Bobby Roode, Eric Young, Roderick Strong, and more have followed, but Joe opened the door for everyone.
Joe was the first man to ever hold the NXT championship twice and helped the company as they hit the road for major events for the WWE in Dallas, Brooklyn, and more.
Samoa Joe finally makes it to the WWE
Joe made his debut at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable in May 2015 and won the NXT title the following April, less than a year after his in-ring NXT debut.
After his two title reigns and the ascension of Shinsuke Nakamura as the new face of NXT, Joe made his WWE main roster debut in January 2017 and has immediately become a star in just one month. After taking out Seth Rollins, he beat Roman Reigns on "Monday Night Raw" and recently beat Cesaro. Now, at "WWE Fastane" this weekend, Samoa Joe will battle Sami Zayn as the road to his first WrestleMania match is underway.
