SAMOA JOE

For me, if you are not in it to be champion, you shouldn't be in it at all.

My first remit when I came to WWE was to help build up NXT as a global brand. It was a mission that I took on fully and was more than willing to attack, and lo and behold, here we are.

I've thought of the independents as a stable industry for a little over two decades, and that's because I stably worked in it, so I've understood it that way.

The sixth move of doom? Yeah. So John Cena went to China, took some lessons, and all of a sudden, now he's got a bad palm strike. Listen, I've been traveling the world for years and I've been beating up people with martial arts techniques from far superior styles and techniques. So, I ain't worried about that.

There is a good chance that, at 60, I will be in a wheelchair, but hey, I signed up for that. I know that.

Shinsuke - he is by far one of the best competitors in the world. It is no surprise to me that he found his way to WWE.

I've had the opportunity to wrestle Daniel Bryan through several phases of his career, except for his time in WWE. What I remember is that he was great the first time I wrestled him, and he kept getting better every match afterward.

When guys are in NXT - not me, but the guys who are signed to developmental deals that are there - they're setting up the ring. They're tearing it down. They're working every day at the PC. And it's arduous training, man. Those guys go through a lot.

Not a lot of people get into Brock Lesnar like I did. Brock is every bit as intimidating as you'd imagine he would be times two. No, I mean, he's a shaved gorilla. It's just, he's stronger than strong. I don't even think he even realizes how strong he is.

I think when it comes to comics, I've been a lifelong comic book fan.

I was a judo player as a kid, and I think a lot of the concepts in judo as a kid played over. It influenced my style and has been a center point of what I do.

NXT was at a really exciting place and transforming in and of itself, and I find it's always good to be around that kind of environment and those kinds of companies. It just felt right. It was a good fit.

In the U.S., I've had the opportunity to grow up around a lot of Arab families, and the one thing that always stood out to me is the incredible hospitality; it's out of this world.

For me, I've always been confident in my ability and what I've been able to bring to the table - what I can bring to a Brock Lesnar matchup.

If I do foray more into writing comic books, I definitely would hope that my acceptance is based more on my ability to write than my ability to schmooze my way in as a celebrity.

I think martial arts, in general, shaped my wrestling style. I think I grew up as a martial artist as a kid.

John Cena's match with me, the one that kind of got him hired with WWE, I remember they were there to look at John, obviously. He looked great - he was like the blue-chipper - and John was a good friend of mine, so I had no problem whatsoever helping him kind of highlight and do his thing.

If you were to ask me would I change anything or could I go back to the past and change anything, I really wouldn't.

I had the greatest deal in the history of professional wrestling. I could work for WWE, anybody else that I wanted to, and collect income from every one of those companies, including merchandise. It was a really good deal.

WWE is very good at doing things that are advantageous. If you have the ability to go out there and get on a mic and be captivating, then they're going to do everything in their power to support that ability and make it even bigger and seem better.

As a child, I think everybody imitates their favorite cartoon character in some form or another when they're playing.

It's funny how many people that I've come across in my time that have gone on to achieve great success.

The biggest thing here in WWE is that if they see some really valuable qualities in you, they're really going to do their best to maximize them and put you into the scenarios and into the situations where that's going to make the most impact. For me, they've definitely done that.

They've kind of backed off and allowed me to do what I do. I think that's the biggest testament is that they know when to have a hand in things, and they know when to back off, let me work, and let me do my thing. During my time in NXT, they have definitely done that.

People talk about the Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn relationship and how they'll be fighting forever, but in reality, when it comes to me and A.J. Styles, I defy anybody to find two guys who have been battling against each other longer than us.