samoa Joe American professional wrestler

Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa(born March 17, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Before debuting in TNA in June 2005, Seanoa competed in the Ring of Honor (ROH) independent promotion, where he held the ROH World Championship for an unrivalled record of 21 months. Upon joining TNA, Seanoa embarked upon an 18 month-long undefeated streak, in which he never lost a match by pinfall or submission. That streak came to an end at the Genesis event in 2006, when he tapped out to Kurt Angle's ankle lock submission hold.

Throughout his career, Seanoa has won numerous championships, either on the independent circuit or on the national scene. During his time in ROH, not only did Seanoa win the ROH World Championship but he also won the ROH Pure Championship. His efforts in TNA have made him a one-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, a four-time TNA X Division Champion, and a one-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He has also won the 2005 Super X Cup Tournament, the 2008 King of the Mountain match (the only one to retain the world championship in the match), and the TNA Triple Crown.

In June 2001, Joe made his way to Japan, wrestling for Shinya Hashimoto's Pro Wrestling Zero1 promotion, fighting in its Shingeki series of pay-per-views, as well as the annual Burning Heart tournaments. During this time, Joe also began wrestling for southern California promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he had an on-screen rivalry with Super Dragon.

Joe continued to work for the promotion throughout 2002, participating in a number of their biggest shows and tournaments. After forming a team with Keiji Sakoda, they became the first-ever holders of the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, though their reign is no longer officially recognized by the promotion. He worked as both Samoa Joe and, later, King Joe, but ultimately chose to leave the promotion when he was asked to take on a more gimmicky character.

In October 2007, he made his debut for Pro Wrestling Noah at the Yokohoma Red Brickhouse, Joe teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama to take on the team of Mitsuharu Misawa and Takeshi Morishima. Joe captured the win for his team after pinning Misawa with an Island Driver, one of his finishing maneuvers. Two days later, on October 27, Joe again faced Misawa, this time for the GHC title in a one-on-one match at the Budokan Hall. Both competitors had exchanged and overcame their respective signature moves throughout the match but it was Misawa who won the pinfall after striking the back of Joe's head with his elbow thus marking his sixth successful title defense.