During a recent appearance on the “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” podcast, AEW wrestler Samoa Joe commented on being a Samoan wrestler who is not related to a larger wrestling family in the business and wanting to forge his own name.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On being one of the few Samoan wrestlers not related to a bigger family: “I mean, there’s a few. But it just became a funny thing because when I came up in the indies, a lot of Samoan guys who were around would kind of claim, ‘Oh yeah dude, I’m Rock’s cousin.’”
On not wanting to live off of another family’s name: “And to me, I was always like, ‘I don’t want to be living off a family name that isn’t mine.’ So I was always real meticulous about being like, ‘Nah, I’m not an Anoa’i, but they’re an awesome family and they paved the way.’ But yeah, I was really kind of adamant, like, I was gonna make my own name.”
Leon Slater shared that winning the TNA X-Division Championship is a childhood dream of his. He will compete in the Ultimate X match at TNA Rebellion, where Moose will defend the title.
In a recent interview with Ash Rose, Slater expressed excitement and gratitude about being part of the iconic match. He said,
“I’m extremely excited. Not only because it’s my first Ultimate X match that’s going to take place at Rebellion, but it’s my second chance at the X Division title, which is something ever since I got to TNA, even before I got to TNA, that I’ve had my eye on since I was a child, right?”
He continued, “So, this is my second chance not only to win it, but to put my name in the history books and be the youngest ever X Division champion in TNA history. So I’m very excited for Rebellion. I’m very excited for April 27th because I truly believe that this is my time to put my name in the books.”
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