Former WWE United States Champion was 'polished' from the beginning, says veteran Dutch Mantell (Exclusive)

Making it to WWE is the dream of many professional wrestlers, but only a select few manage to realize this. For one former champion, it was simply an inevitability, according to Dutch Mantell, who maintains that the star in question was "polished" from the get-go.

Samoa Joe spent several years in WWE before signing with AEW last year. Prior to this, he gained a cult following for his work in Ring of Honor and TNA.

Despite only being in the business for roughly five years by the time he joined TNA, he was already primed to be a top player in the sport of professional wrestling, says Dutch Mantell, one of the head bookers for the promotion at the time. The veteran said the following on Sportskeeda Wrestling's SmackTalk podcast:

“When I saw him in 2005, he was polished. He knew what he was doing. […] When he got to TNA, he was ready to go. He really was. Then he worked some great matches with AJ Styles, I know that. And he did it in TNA too – worked some great matches.” [From 01:02 to 01:40]

Check out the entire episode below:

The Samoan Submission Machine has since gone on to carve out a Hall of Fame-worthy career for himself, and with the Ring of Honor Television Championship currently draped over his shoulder, he is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

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Samoa Joe's unexpected departure from WWE

While Samoa Joe had a number of well-received feuds on WWE's main roster and in NXT, his tenure in the Stamford-based promotion was marred with several obstacles that eventually saw him exit the company.

After several injuries and a wellness policy violation, Samoa Joe was removed from in-ring duty and assigned to be a color commentator before being released in 2021. Triple H was reportedly unhappy with this and lobbied for Joe's return to NXT, where he would initially only compete sporadically.

However, this was unfortunately not the end of Joe's troubles. He spent time away from the promotion after contracting COVID-19, and with Vince McMahon redirecting NXT's creative, Samoa Joe was considered surplus to requirements. He exited the company once again in January 2022.

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