Current NXT Champion Samoa Joe recently spoke with NOLA.com about his match with Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT TakeOver and more. You can check out the full interview here along with a few highlights below.
The atmosphere in the NXT locker room: “Some of these guys, it’s their first opportunity to see the rest of the country. The enthusiasm when you have such a younger roster is tenfold. And to be around them when it’s their first time is kind of invigorating, and the energy is infectious. It even manages to seep into me a little bit.”
Thoughts on joining WWE: “It was something I had resigned myself that if I don’t make it there, it wasn’t meant to be. (The talk with Ross), I never took that as a slight or an insult, I just (knew) there’s a lot more companies in the world that would appreciate my services, and I went full speed ahead and worked. To be here now, it’s a surprise to me as much as anybody. Now that I’m here, I kind of regret my thinking back then because (WWE) is a lot more than I thought it would be. And it’s been a real blast being here.”
His match with Shinsuke Nakamura: “I’ve known Shin since he first started in wrestling, and his accolades speak for themselves. He’s reignited any company he’s ever been with, and coming into NXT, he’s definitely added a lot of flame to our fire. But he says he’s the King of Strong Style. When you look at the history of wrestling and you see who brought the techniques and the style that was so prolific in Japan here to the United States, it was me. … For him to say he’s the King, by default, that makes me the Emperor.”
