Samoa Joe has had a long career inside the squared circle, and he’s busted out some pretty impressive moves over the years. Joe certainly has some dangerous offense in his arsenal, and he’s used the uranage slam whenever it was needed.
Big E is also known for the uranage, and during an episode of The New Day: Feel The Power podcast he admitted that he straight up stole the move from Samoa Joe. According to Big E it was Joey Mercury who suggested that he use the move, and he never received any backlash from Samoa Joe for using it.
“The uranage, I just stole from Samoa Joe. Straight up. I felt bad once he got signed and he was using it. I was like, ‘Out of respect, maybe I should stop using it,’ but he never gave me any flack. Joe was always cool about it. Once, I tweeted him ‘Sorry, Uce’ and that was my way of saying, ‘Sorry, but I’m still gonna keep using it.’ It’s a great move. Joe is a stand-up dude, I feel like he would’ve said something.
Joey Mercury is the one who suggested I use it. Sue him, not me. I’m not saying I never thought Joe would get to WWE, but the thought then was…you could just take moves from guys on the Indies. Right now, if you have a real name on the Indies and you want to get to WWE, you’ll probably get to WWE. In 2009, it was a mark against you to have a name on the Indies or have success elsewhere. He was a guy where, I wasn’t worried about him coming to WWE and me having to stop doing the move. It was a different time. There’s this gray area about wanting to take a guy’s moves. You definitely don’t do it if a guy is already in the company if it’s a finisher or signature move. It felt like a free-for-all with guys on the Indies where you just take what you wanted.”
Who do you think does the move better, Big E or Joe? Sound off in the comments below.
H/T Fightful
