Samoa Joe
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Great Britain's The Sun conducted an interview with new TNA Champion Samoa Joe this week. Here are some highlights from it:

Whether TNA Wrestling waited too long to put the title on him: I’ve really never been concerned with that. A lot of fans say this title run is long overdue and that they can’t believe TNA haven’t given it to me until now. But, for me, that’s part of the build and anticipation. When things are overdue, and the fans want it bad enough, then that’s the time to make it happen.

On whether TNA's "homegrown" talent can reach the recognition level of Kurt Angle and Sting: It’s going to be a slow steady process. The company has hopes of brilliant leaps and bounds in a short space of time, but in reality it takes years to build that fan base and recognition.

On whether he has been approached to work for WWE: We’ve had talks. Right now, for where I’m at in my career and the position I’m in, TNA is better for me. As a performer you always want to work with everybody and get a shot at doing everything. But I’m in no real rush. I really enjoy working in TNA. And now I’ve got the belt – it’s time to make a legacy.

Samoa Joe always comes across well in interviews. He's candid about the industry and open about his hopes in it.  We wish him a long title reign.

During an interview with The Stranglehold radio show on KFNS radio in St. Louis, Samoa Joe said he'll be signing a new contract with TNA Wrestling. He explained the holdup in negotiations has been an issue with trademarks.

"I believe tomorrow me and TNA will be coming to terms," Joe said. "We had some trademark issues to work out and that's actually been stalling the process... I had trademarks pending and now they got put through, and just the timetable wasn't right. TNA, of course, they want to get me signed and locked down. I mean, I do have their championship. I believe by tomorrow I should be signed, sealed, and delivered to TNA."

Samoa Joe was featured in the Spike TV/TNA Wrestling monthly conference call. Here are a few highlights from it:

- Said he hopes Sunday's match will be a pro wrestling match. He said Kurt Angle has been lobbying management for an MMA match, but at the end of the day it's still pro wrestling. He later said they will push the boundaries.

- Joe said he's reaching the end of his TNA contract they still have a few things to work out.

-  Said he likes Kevin Nash a lot more now than he did the first time he met him.

- Identified A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels as two of his favorite opponents. He also put over his past matches with Kenta Kobashi and Homicide.

- Said winning the TNA title would represent opportunity. He wants the opportunity to prove he can make Samoa Joe work in a national company.

- "I'm overly excited about the TNA video game," Joe said. He said he's never been a big fan of the WWE game and believes they've come up with a better product.

- Regarding the match stipulation that he has to leave pro wrestling if he loses on Sunday: "I was thinking about hiring myself out as a sparring partner around my neighborhood."

It might be a bit much to say that Samoa Joe is the future of wrestling. But this TNA Wrestling superstar has already established himself as a main event grappler for years to come.

Here's an array of Samoa Joe photos for fans to enjoy. Click on the thumbnails now for larger versions...

Thanks to pwtorch.com for the following news item...

With Scott Hall no showing the TNA Wrestling pay-per-view Sunday night, management told Samoa Joe to cut a promo on Hall. The goal? To put over the guys on the roster and then to introduce Eric Young as his replacement partner.

However, Joe's promo went about five minutes longer than originally planned and it incorporated a lot more material, especially aimed at Kevin Nash. Reportedlt, Nash was legitimately upset that Joe turned Hall's no-show into a rant against him for some reason.

After Nash returned to the back following the main event, he confronted Samoa Joe and a heated verbal exchange with some shoving ensued between the two. Joe soon backed down to prevent the situation from escalating.

From there, Samoa Joe gave an emotional apology at an all-talent meeting because he felt he went overboard with his promo from the night before.

Is Samoa Joe really on his way to a WWE ring?

The TNA star was offered a restructured and extended contract. His current deal has two years left and he opted to not renegotiate. The restructured contract is said to have offered more money, but also had more dates and/or more limitations that Joe didn’t want.

It’s also believed that Samoa Joe wants to see where he stands in TNA when his deal expires and what options he has at that point.

There's been talk that Samoa Joe would accept any entry level offer from WWE to jump ship from TNA.

Here's what the superstar had to say about this on his MySpace page:

Buuuuuuuuuull*****, Are you crazy? I really really like money! You see, the goal as a career pro wrestler is to work hard, make money, and hopefully have a life that is somewhat of a comfortable experience in your latter years. Do many of us succeed? Well, no but a Kid can dream can't he?

The only reason why I choose to openly refute this rumor is because in all honesty it makes me look SO UNCOOL around the office! I mean when you make up cool rumors that make me seem all super rebellious and anti authority I just ride with it, but when you make up rumors that I am going to work just as hard for less money, well that just make me feel that you think I would be dumb enough to do something like that.
In closing,

My name is Samoa Joe
and You can watch me & TNA Wrestling on SPIKE TV