WWE Money in the Bank 2018 Profile: Samoa Joe is Someone You Don't Want to Sleep On

Eight superstars are heading into the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match looking to grab the briefcase. Samoa Joe is a man possessed and could take the match with relative ease.

At WWE Money in the Bank 2018, Samoa Joe will be one of four SmackDown Live superstars entering the titular ladder match. They will compete against each other, as well as four Raw superstars for a chance to grab the MITB briefcase, which contains a contract for a world championship match at any time or place. It’s almost a certainty that the briefcase winner will go on to become champion, so it’s a career-changing opportunity.

Of all the participants in the match, Samoa Joe has possibly the most decorated resumé in the bunch. His career goes back to the early 2000s, and he first became known nationally from his time in Ring of Honor. Joe turned what was supposed to be a one-time appearance into one of the greatest world title reigns in the modern era. As ROH World Champion for nearly two years, Joe defended against the likes of CM Punk (with one match being rated 5 stars by Dave Meltzer), Bryan Danielson, Colt Cabana, and AJ Styles before dropping the title to Austin Aries.

Joe then moved on to TNA, where he spent the better part of a decade. And once again, he became one of the standout stars of the promotion. Upon arriving in TNA in 2005, Joe had a 19-month undefeated streak. And before he left the company in 2015, Joe had won just about everything there was to win: TNA World Championship, Television Championship, World Tag Team Championships twice (including one reign by himself), and the X-Division Championship five times. He was the third man to complete both the TNA Triple Crown, and the TNA Grand Slam.

It was just a matter of time before Joe found his way to WWE, and in 2015 he joined NXT. From the beginning of his time in NXT, it seemed like Joe’s career was rejuvenated. He looked faster and more agile than he had in his last few months/years with TNA. And he seemed to have a fire back in his eyes. Eventually, this led Samoa Joe to become the first ever two-time NXT Champion.

A freak accident early in his NXT career may have derailed an earlier call-up to either Raw or SmackDown, though. In a dark match roughly a month after his NXT debut, Joe defeated Tyson Kidd via the Muscle Buster, but Kidd suffered what would be a career-ending injury. Even worse, the neck injury Kidd endured nearly paralyzed him — or worse. Whether this played any role in keeping Joe in NXT or not is uncertain, but you don’t really see the Muscle Buster anymore, do you?

WWE Money in the Bank 2018 Profile: Samoa Joe is Someone You Don’t Want to Sleep On

By Bryan Heaton | Jun 12, 2018

Eight superstars are heading into the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match looking to grab the briefcase. Samoa Joe is a man possessed and could take the match with relative ease.