NXT champion Samoa Joe recently spoke with VIBE & Wrestling about a wide range of topics, including who he hopes to face in the brand this time around and how it differs from his first run that began in 2015.
Discusses the potential matchups he could have in NXT:
“At this point, there are no dream matches, it’s all reality matches. If you talk about Ciampa, Ciampa is right here, he is ready. If you talk about Pete Dunne, Pete Dunne is ready. WALTER, he’s ready. Roderick Strong, he’s ready. Let’s stop dream match talk. Dream match is something you hope will happen one day, but all these are gonna go down, it’s inevitable with the level of competition on NXT. The guys want to prove themselves. When I walk through the locker room, it’s a bunch of dudes, kind of sitting there, rubbing their hands and licking their chops way too much for my liking. They understand, they understand the opportunity that’s in front of them and they’re ready to take advantage of it.”
Compares his two NXT runs:
“Yeah, we’re not doing as many shows — for obvious reasons — so I’m a little less active. Obviously, I would love to be more a little more active, safety permitting. Completely different faces [for me]. Even when I came back to NXT the first time, there was a lot of familiar faces around me. Now, I’m genuinely dealing with a lot of people that I’ve never had a lot of experience with. The majority of the roster; little bit younger, little bit newer, just kind of coming into their own so it is kind of newer environment for me this time around.”