Samoa Joe has zero problem with someone being considered a locker room leader, but he has a big problem with the idea that leadership should come from fear. After decades inside some of wrestling’s biggest companies, Joe says the old image of a veteran controlling the locker room by threatening careers is a “ridiculous ideology.”
During an interview with SHAK Wrestling, Joe was asked about comments he previously made concerning the traditional role of a locker room leader. Specifically, Joe was asked what harm that old-school mentality may have caused and why it might not fit professional wrestling today.
Joe immediately clarified that he isn’t against the concept of locker room leadership. His issue is with how people sometimes define it. Joe explained that a real locker room leader is usually someone who has naturally earned the respect of the people around them through professionalism, fairness and decisions that benefit both the wrestlers and the company.
“I just, I think, I don’t think it’s, let me rephrase. I think being a locker room leader isn’t, I think, how a lot of people think it as is or is described. You know, the truth of it is the locker room leader is usually somebody that everybody kind of universally respects because, you know, they usually conduct themselves in a professional way. They have a fair and even mindedness about how they approach things and how they see situations and, you know, they make moves in an effort for the betterment of, you know, kind of all them, you know, people around them and for the benefit of the company and, you know, being making money, drawing money, all that kind of good stuff. Best for business, all the buzzwords.”
Joe continued by explaining that real leaders aren’t followed because people are scared of them. They’re followed because others respect their knowledge and actually care about what they have to say.
“And really that’s kind of, you know, I think what you would base it off of. And really a locker room leader, I, you know, I think no great men is led by fear. They’re usually led by people that they respect and that they find knowledgeable and that they, you know, that they give a [inaudible] about their opinion.”
From there, Joe explained that becoming a leader starts with something much simpler: earning basic respect and building relationships with the people around you.
“So I think it’s the first thing, just kind of, you know, establish some basic respect and establish a rapport with people and, you know, if they choose to respect you, they choose to like you and you find yourself in that position, then so be it.”
Then Joe went after the version of locker room leadership where one physically intimidating veteran controls everybody through fear, unwritten rules and the threat of hurting someone’s career.
“But I think this idea of, you know, this physically domineering presence who will bury your career if you don’t adhere to the unwritten book of laws is a ridiculous ideology. And I mean, I’ve never come up across it and I’ve never felt pressured by that or something like that. So, I just think it’s kind of a weird fallacy, you know.”
The Undertaker was then brought into the discussion, which made sense considering how closely his name has been connected to WWE locker room leadership over the years. Joe made it clear that he believes Undertaker earned that respect because of who he was, not because wrestlers feared what he could do to their careers.
“I think a lot of people respect the Undertaker because they respect the Undertaker as a person, you know, not out of some type of, you know, career fear.”
That distinction is especially interesting considering The Undertaker’s history running Wrestlers Court backstage in WWE. The Undertaker previously explained why he believed Wrestlers Court was necessary, saying it was intended as a way to correct problems without every backstage issue becoming an ugly confrontation. Joe has also been viewed as exactly the type of leader he described. Bobby Fish previously named Samoa Joe as the person he considered AEW’s locker room leader, explaining that if Joe had something to say, he was going to listen.
Joe has spent nearly three decades working inside wrestling locker rooms, and his definition of leadership has nothing to do with somebody being the toughest guy in the room. For Joe, the person worth following is the one who earns that position through respect, professionalism and actions rather than fear.
What do you think about Samoa Joe calling the intimidating version of a wrestling locker room leader a “ridiculous ideology?” Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
