Samoa Joe Finally Leaves!

Former TNA and Ring of Honor champion Samoa Joe announced this afternoon that he has left TNA.

On Twitter, Joe wrote, "I have decided to part ways with @ImpactWrestling. My very best to them moving forward, and my eternal thanks to the fans."

PWInsider.com has confirmed the departure is legitimate, so this isn't a case of Joe being the latest wrestling personality to be hacked on Twitter. The parting was described to us as "amicable."

Joe debuted in TNA in 2005 following an awesome run in ROH. He held every championship TNA had to offer and was one third of the most celebrated match in TNA history, facing AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels at the TNA Unbreakable PPV. Joe also had a lengthy feud with Kurt Angle, leading to Joe's TNA title win at Lockdown 2008.

Of late, Joe had been wrestling as part of MVP's Beatdown Clan.

So welcome back to ROH another former champion returning as of late.

Couple years too late, hope to see him in NJPW, ROH or Lucha Underground.

This is very exciting news.

What a shame for TNA. Most of their key homegrown, original talent are now gone from the company. Joe is just another name to add to that list over the past year.

I assume Joe will likely return to ROH, as well as do some work in Japan. Perhaps he will do some work with New Japan, given their working relationship with ROH.

Hopefully, leaving TNA will re-invigorate Joe. It appears that over the past few years of his TNA run, he's been going through the motions. Despite that, he's still put in some solid work. Imagine what he could do if he's motivated once again.

From what i understand, Joe's back is pretty messed up* so I'm not sure a simple change of scenery is going to revitalize his career.

*DON'T DO THIS EVERYONE

I cringe every time. Dear God.

I suspect he will be in ROH or join GFW I don't see him in wwe
I did forget that his back was /or is messed up, which was why he dropped the x division.
so hopefully he leaving do due to health.

swarles, was the image from bfgIV in chicago? it looks familiar not to mention I was right around that area when he did the jump from the seats to sting

That fall is from Bound for Glory 2008. The day Joe's career died.

yep that was at sears centere I was there they came up to to stands right where I was sitting
joes leap was 3 or rows behind me.

from pwinsider

In regard to all the emails we've received asking about what happened that led to Samoa Joe leaving TNA, we are told that in many ways, it was a similar situation to the one that led to AJ Styles leaving the company in 2013, i.e. the company was not going to be able to match what Joe had been making and in the end, Joe made the call that it was time, after nine years, to leave TNA.

We are told that the two sides negotiated and attempted to come to terms on a new deal all the way to the end, and that it remained friendly the entire time, but they weren't able to find a common ground that would have each side happy. The landscape of the company and what it could feasibly offer Joe this time around vs. the last time his contract came up has completely changed. The company, after making their final offer, left it to Joe to make his decision.

When Joe made the decision to leave, it was made clear to him there was absolutely no heat and that TNA was considering the door open so that one day, they could work with Joe down the line. I was told that the company has all the respect for Joe in the world and they are sorry to see him leave, but understand that in February 2015, it's the best move for both parties.

I was told that another, lesser factor involved was the company is seeking to invest more in newer talent coming in. Joe had been an awesome hand for the company for years, but for much of his tenure, was mishandled creatively by previous creative regimes. Although the current regime had tried to reboot Joe and get him back towards his strengths, they had been unable to overcome the scorched earth left by the past sins of their predecessors. The hope internally is that, down the line, if Joe returns to the company, the past will be washed away and all parties can start fresh.

I don't think anyone can argue that Joe's handling over the years by TNA has been nothing short of terrible and the idea of Joe in a fresh environment is something that, based on emails we've received, has gotten a lot of fans excited.

The reality is that much like AJ Styles in 2013, Samoa Joe now finds himself in the driver's seat with the ability to recreate himself and excite fans with lots of fresh matches, just as Styles has in New Japan, Ring of Honor and elsewhere. If you are a fan of Samoa Joe, it's going to be a very interesting year.

At one time Joe was THE FUCKING MAN in pro wrestling, nobody could touch him IMO, sadly for whatever reasons he hasn't been that guy in a while and I doubt he ever will be again, but I hope this is a fresh start for him, but you have to wonder how much this guy still wants to wrestle, I remember back in 05 everyone talked about the fact that he was ready to quit pro wrestling before the TNA thing came along, maybe there would be enough money in the indies to keep him happy now, but I really wouldn't be surprised if the guy just did Lucha Underground because it's close to where he lives(or did he move to Florida?)

Come on guys, this is just a storyline. Joe's going to win the belt at Bound For Glory!

read somewhere Trips is keen on asking joe to NXT to see what he can do but Vince isn't.

BIG DAVE MELTZ says that after his current six ROH dates Joe has offers from WWE, AAA, LU, NJPW and more so basically he hit the jackpot by leaving TNA.

SBR wrote:BIG DAVE MELTZ says that after his current six ROH dates Joe has offers from WWE, AAA, LU, NJPW and more so basically he hit the jackpot by leaving TNA.

Shocking.

So like I guess I have to go to Baltimore on Saturday.