Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the AEW World Champion in his first reign.
| Samoa Joe | |
|---|---|
Samoa Joe in April 2016 | |
| Birth name | Nuufolau Joel Seanoa |
| Born | March 17, 1979 Orange County, California, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) |
Jessica Seanoa (m. 2007) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
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| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Billed weight | 282 lb (128 kg) |
| Billed from | |
| Trained by |
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| Debut | December 1999 |
Debuting in 1999, Joe joined Ring of Honor (ROH) soon after its formation in 2002, going on to hold the ROH World Championship for a record 21 months from March 2003 to December 2004 as well as holding the ROH Pure Championship; he was later inducted into the ROH Hall of Fame. At Slammiversary in June 2005, he joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he embarked on a 19-month-long undefeated streak that ended in a critically acclaimed feud with Kurt Angle. During his 10-year stint in TNA, he held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship once, the TNA X Division Championship five times, the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice, and the TNA Television Championship once.
After departing TNA in 2015, Joe began wrestling for WWE on its NXT brand. After winning the NXT Championship twice, he joined the main roster in January 2017, going on to win the WWE United States Championship on two occasions and headline several WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards. In 2019, he began working as a color commentator due to accumulated injuries. He was released from his contract in April 2021, but was rehired that June, winning the NXT Championship a third time before being released once again in January 2022.
Joe made his debut in AEW (and his return to ROH, by then AEW's sister promotion) in April 2022, going on to hold the AEW TNT Championship twice and the ROH World Television Championship once (at one time holding both titles simultaneously) and set a new record for the longest reign as ROH Television Champion. He defeated MJF for the AEW World Championship in December 2023, making him the only wrestler to have held the AEW, ROH, and TNA World Championships.
Outside of wrestling, Seanoa is an actor and voice actor; he is known for playing Sweet Tooth in the 2023 television series Twisted Metal and voicing King Shark in the 2024 video game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.