Samoa Joe On Why WWE Shifted Focus On Signing Indie Wrestlers
During the ROH Supercard of Honor Post-Show Media Scrums, newly signed AEW and ROH wrestler Samoa Joe spoke about his debut at tonight's show, his time in NXT and WWE and revealed what his plans are now that he's in AEW and ROH. The Samoan Submission Machine also spoke about rumors regarding WWE moving away from signing independent wrestlers.
It was reported in August of last year that WWE has decided to change the direction they were making with signing talent, moving away from signing indie wrestlers right now. It was said they would be taking it on a case-to-case basis and would be moving towards scouting talent by their looks and not because talent has gotten over elsewhere. Given his most recent role with the WWE as a behind-the-scenes coach in NXT helping out with talent tryouts, Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman asked the former NXT Champion about the rumors regarding WWE losing interest in signing independent wrestlers.
"You also have to understand the major shift was mainly because many of the better independent wrestlers are working for AEW," Joe said. "So I mean, let's just be honest here, when we were tapping into a market and looking for new athletes when I was with WWE at the time, when the markets tapped, you try to find a new market.
"That really was probably a lot of the appetence why they chose to switch directions so if there's not a lot of gold in the well, you start digging somewhere else."
Having now officially signed with AEW and ROH, Samoa Joe revealed why he's excited to work with the talent in the company and believes that he thrives in these situations given his history of working with younger up-and-coming talent.
"I'm more than excited, these are the environments that I love," Joe said. "A lot of guys, they get to a certain point in the industry, they don't want to put themselves in situations where they've got young hungry guys wanting to come up and tear their throat out for a spot. I've never had an issue with that and it's a major reason why I'm here. Talking with Tony, I understand the lay of the land and the athletes that have been attracted to AEW and ROH. I knew that it was a place that I wanted to be.
"A lot of familiar faces, a lot of new burgeoning stars that are coming into their own and these are the environments that I thrive in. When I came into NXT it was very much the same thing, when I came into WWE, everywhere I go I'm searching out for those types of matchups and those types of individuals. AEW is flush with them and ROH is flush with them and now I have this grand opportunity to pursue those targets on both brands."
Full ROH Supercard of Honor results are here. You can watch the full scrum below. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.