Samoa Joe On Why WWE Is Giving Him More Mic Time
As previously noted, WWE Monday Night RAW's Samoa Joe recently caught up with WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T on the five time, five time, five time champ's podcast, Heated Conversations. Among other things, Joe talked about his 2017, getting promo time in WWE, and feeling "comfortable" since joining WWE's RAW brand.
During the interview, Samoa Joe shared that he had a tumultuous albeit positive year in 2017.
"It really surprised me." Joe continued, "there were a lot of ups and a lot of downs, but I felt really good about it, man. I felt really good about what we put out on television and a lot of programs I've been involved with. It [has] been very, very fruitful so far."
According to Joe, he was getting mic time because WWE is very good about exploiting opportunities and providing a massive platform for talents to show off their wares.
"Nowhere is there so much focus being put on your ability to be a compelling character." Joe continued, "WWE is very good at doing things that are advantageous. If you have the ability to go out there and get on a mic and be captivating, then they're going to do everything in their power to support that ability and make it even bigger and seem better. I think that's the thing. In WWE, they're real big on letting you sink or swim and they let you go out there and they're going to give you the stick and a live mic in front of a packed house and millions watching at home and if you're not prepared for that moment, you're going to go down in flames. And if you are, you have a real opportunity to do something compelling for all the people watching."
The former NXT Champion said he has felt very comfortable in WWE because he knew so many people there from his various stops on his pro wrestling odyssey.
"It [has] been good," Joe reflected. "I think the biggest thing is kind of working everywhere and working with different people that when I did walk through the door at WWE and looked around, I didn't really feel that out of place because every second face I looked at is somebody I've known for over a decade or worked with or I've been around in some capacity in the industry. And for me, it felt like a real comfortable situation. I don't think that happens to a lot of people when they get to WWE, but, like I said, guys like [Booker] and other guys that I've worked with on the indies previous to coming to WWE."
Moreover, 'The Samoan Submission Specialist' claimed to be very lucky to have had such a smooth transition to WWE's so-called main roster.
"I kind of walked into a familiar situation with people that I was working with all around me," Joe recalled. "That kind of fostered a good environment with people who had good expectations, especially behind-the-scenes, people that I worked with for years knew my capabilities. It was surprisingly comfortable and I'm one of the few guys who can say that because, normally, it is a really intimidating process. It's a whole new environment, and people get caught up in pecking orders and not offending this guy or that guy, and when I got here, I was very, very fortunate that I was generally treated very well."
Check out the interview here. If you use any of the quotations that appear in this article, please credit Heated Conversations: Hosted By Booker T with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.