AEW star and reigning World Trios Champion Samoa Joe recently reflected on some of his most impactful career moments during an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri for SHAK Wrestling. Among the highlights, Joe discussed his memorable matches with Low Ki and Kenta Kobashi during his time in Ring of Honor.
Joe and Low Ki engaged in a hard-hitting Fight Without Honor match at ROH Glory by Honor 2002, which Low Ki ultimately won. When asked if they were aware of the predetermined nature of wrestling, Joe responded, “I mean, yeah, we were told, but then again, what I’m told and what I choose to do are vastly two different things. And I think we learned it.” Describing the intensity of that encounter with Low Ki, Joe characterized it as “another day at the office.” He further explained his approach: “I’ve always been a firm proponent of whatever energy you throw down the pipe at me is going to be coming right back to you. And I mean, that’s just that, what you get in, what you put in. And what I put back out is usually pretty much on par with what you put in. So, yeah, I mean, that’s what I tell everybody at that match, like if you want to go that route, we’ll go that route. If you want to go another route, we’ll go there, too. It’s just I’ll meet you wherever you want to meet me.”
Another iconic match Joe recalled was his classic encounter with Kenta Kobashi in October 2005, also in ROH. When asked if anyone else reached the standard of energy Kobashi brought to their match, Joe definitively stated, “No. No, dude. Get to Kobashi. What are you talking about, dude? Did any dude wearing a cut off sleeve t-shirt in the Midwest reach Kobashi standard? I mean, just listen to your own question. Stare in the mirror for a while. The answer will come to you, dude.” Joe also shared a moment where Bryan Danielson almost made him break character in the ring while in ROH. Danielson, known for pinning opponents with an inside package cradle pin, looked Joe in the face and said, “You think that you’re better than me. You think you can kick out of my inside cradle. Let tell you something, buddy. Around here they call me Mr. Small Package.” Joe noted, “He said that so close to my face, and I almost, it was everything I could do not to spit everything in my mouth at him, like dying laughing because one of the best stone cold delivered lines I’ve ever had done to me in a ring and cheers to him for it.”
