Top 5 AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe matches
When AJ Styles defends his WWE Championship against Samoa Joe at SummerSlam, both of them will feel like it is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication to their craft. And in the process, the two will rekindle a rivalry that can be traced back to more than a decade.
It was on the back of these two talents that TNA managed to built a formidable #2 wrestling company in North America, before blowing it all away with the infamous signing of Hulk Hogan in 2010.
Yet the rivalry these two shared is fondly remembered by TNA fans, and it's something every wrestling fan should check out at least once.
Here we look back at five of the greatest matches they have had over the years.
#5 AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christopher Daniels (TNA Against All Odds 2006)
These three together had some of the greatest matches in TNA history. At this point, Samoa Joe was the invincible monster who nobody in TNA seemed to know how to get the best of. Yet he had a history of coming up short whenever these three had had a match together in the past.
This added to the drama of the contest as there was genuine belief that any of the three men could walk out of Against All Odds as the X-Division Champion. And all three men did come within seconds of taking home the title, with the match gaining break neck speed in the final stretch.
For almost 20 minutes, the three men left it all in the ring, trying to win the championship. But ultimately, Joe did manage to retain his title after sending Daniels to the floor and getting the pin on Styles after a devastating Muscle Buster.
#4 Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles (TNA Sacrifice 2005)
Samoa Joe and Styles faced off at TNA Sacrifice in 2005, in the finals of the Super X Cup. This tournament was being held to determine the number 1 contender for the X Division Championship.
Christopher Daniels who had dubbed the tournament as the 'Christopher Daniels Invitational', was on commentary, scouting the next challenger for his X Division Championship.
These were early days in Joe's TNA run, and fans did not know what expect from 'The Samoan Submission Machine' back then.
This match certainly must have given a clear indication of what to expect from Joe in the future as he defeated AJ Styles in a 15 minute classic to lift the Super X Cup and become the number 1 contender to the X-Division Championship.
Daniels' interference at the end of the match to cost Styles the match also laid the foundation for the three-way rivalry that would go down as one of the greatest in wrestling history.