WWE NXT Champion Samoa Joe recently spoke with Scott Fishman of Channel Guide Magazine to promote this weekend’s NXT “Takeover: Back To Brooklyn” event. The full interview is at this link and below are highlights:
Takeover opponent Shinsuke Nakamura:
“I think Nakamura’s talent speaks for itself. I think it’s a match that I’ve very much been looking forward to. Very much like Finn, I have a ton of history with Nakamura. I’ve seen him develop form being a New Japan green boy to being the superstar that he is today. And at no point during that development have we gotten in the ring and locked horns one-on-one. So it’s something I’m very much looking forward to and I think the fans in Brooklyn will not be disappointed.”
Where WWE is at now:
“There is this reaching out to the industry as a whole and bringing in other people from other companies. Just the Cruiserweight Classic and bringing in all these faces from around the world and who you would never ever expect to see, let alone featured in a running series on the Network. It’s a very exciting time because WWE is trying a lot of new and interesting things. To be here at this time I think, it’s special to me because I am kind of in the middle of it and can see it all and watch it materialize right in front of me.”
WWE trusting in his abilities, allowing him to flourish:
“It was really WWE kind of taking their hands off and letting me do me. They kind of gave me the reins to be Samoa Joe and do what I needed to do. They let me keep my moniker. I think the biggest thing is they respected me and my artistic integrity. It has been very welcome to see while working for WWE. …The majority of my career, you see people released or on their way out of the company saying various horror stories about how things are. So my expectations were pretty low. But being a part of the company has far exceeded my expectations. It has been a blast the entire time I’ve worked here. I’m not one to grumble and complain much, but I have to admit it has been refreshing just being a part of the company and being part of the NXT brand.”
