TNA iMPACT!
Talking to the big man.
Updated on
After the press conference, we caught up with TNA heavyweight champ Samoa Joe - who is frankly one of the biggest men we've ever met, and we've been to Texas - for a chat about TNA, videogames, and selling mortgages.
EurogamerWhat makes TNA different from the other wrestling shows that people might be more familiar with, like WWE?
Samoa JoeAs far as us, personally - I think TNA as a whole and our entire wrestling style is much more action-packed, it's much more death-defying and risk-taking than you'll see in WWE. We have athletes who will just go above and beyond to entertain the crowd, and if anything, I think, comparatively speaking our style of wrestling is much more high-impact, definitely more adrenaline-filled. For the most part, it's just more exciting. We're made or broken on what we do in the ring. We don't do a lot of jawing, we don't do a lot of talking - we just go into the ring and we wrestle, and we do what we do best, which is to entertain the fans.
EurogamerSo there's a lot less of the showboating and posturing stuff.
Samoa JoeYeah, and I will say this - it's evident in our product that we don't mess around. We've got guys who go in there and just do things that you've never seen done anywhere else in the world. I think we have the roster and the athletes that WWE just doesn't have, and that really makes for an amazing product.
EurogamerTalking about being action-packed and death-defying sounds like you're describing a videogame already.
Samoa JoeAbsolutely! I think that's actually the major draw that Midway had to us. When you watch our product compared to WWE, we take risks that nobody in this industry really takes. From the Ultimate X to some of the scaffold stuff we do, to some of the amazing ladder matches that we have within the confines of our ring... As a whole, I feel that TNA and our product and our wrestling style is revolutionary. It's far above what you see currently in WWE.
EurogamerIf you're spending that much time in the air, there must be some pretty good injuries to show for it.
Samoa JoeOh yeah. I've had, let's see... Four broken ribs, two bone ACLs [Anterior Cruciate Ligament, which sounds like a Harry Potter spell but is actually very sore, we're reliably informed], broken wrist, broken...
EurogamerAll at the same time?
Samoa JoeActually I just broke my finger the other night! [Joe waves a disturbingly broken-looking finger in our horrified faces.] The list of injuries is so extensive at this point that you almost forget about old injuries. It definitely takes its toll, but at the same time, we're dedicated to delivering something different and alternative to what you see out there today. Those are the knocks that go along with it.
EurogamerTalking about your own career, Wikipedia claims that you used to be a mortgage salesman.
Samoa JoeYes, absolutely. At one time, I would call you at all hours of the night, I would offer to refinance your house - and if you said no, I'd say "okay, nice talking to you", and I'd be calling you tomorrow during dinner too. I think that helped me with being an evil character in wrestling, because I definitely had no problem with being an absolute voracious asshole on the phone, and I figured that would translate well into television! So yeah, it helped in that aspect - it was one of several jobs I held before becoming a professional wrestler.