NXT Champion Samoa Joe spoke with Scott Fishman of Channel Guide Magazine about various topics. Here are the highlights.
On 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 from 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.”
On his character and booking:
“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.”
You can read the entire interview here.
