I don't care who you are. If you see that angry Samoan dude headed your way, you'd better run the fuck out or die trying. You never want to be on the receiving end of that Samoa Joe death stare and the beating that comes with it.
That's pretty much the message you get when you hear Samoa Joe's entrance theme. It's simple, and yet it's menacing because it communicates the exact vibe Joe wants you to feel from the moment the tuba is heard all over the arena.
In an interview with Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho, Joe explained the meaning behind that tuba intro to his entrance theme. Joe's a huge fan of Godzilla and he loves the feel that takes over the viewing experience when Godzilla comes on screen, particularly when Godzilla's theme plays.
Through the Godzilla Theme's first 30 seconds or so, you can pretty much hear it as a spiritual predecessor of Joe's theme. You can hear the tubas all throughout Joe's theme, along with a clip of a monster roaring—another obvious nod to Godzilla. The similarities end there, though. When the beat drops on Joe's theme, you get a sick hip-hop beat that makes you want to pop a cap in someone.
The slow and steady cadence of the beat fits well with Joe's pace whenever he marches to the ring. It's deliberate and calculated, not unlike the way he breaks his opponents down. As our Editor-In-Chief Ro Moran once said about this theme a couple of years ago, the beat even fits well with how the fans chant, "JOE! JOE! JOE! JOE!" whenever he appears.
Joe's theme sounds like the type of song you'd listen to if you need to get real A N G E R Y that it's knocked Mark Henry's theme, "Some Bodies Gonna Get It" off the top spot, at least according to some of us here at the Smark Henry Offices. Yes, the song is just a loop that keeps repeating over and over again. But, hey, it's good enough to influence a certain PWR entrance theme. I'll let you figure out which one that is on your own.
But with Samoa Joe, you don't need a complex song that takes you through several verses all the way to the bridge. All you need is something simple and effective, which is what this song is, much like how Joe himself is in the ring. All fear the Destroyer.
Photo from WWE
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Stan Sy (@_StanSy) is the Editor at Large of Smark Henry, and is also a radio DJ on Wave 89.1, an events host, a freelance writer, and one of the hosts of the Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast. He also used to be one of the hosts and writers of The Wrestling Gods on FOX. He enjoys watching WWE, NXT, Lucha Underground, and the occasional New Japan match. You can also catch him every month attempting to keep order in a fancy suit as PWR's General Manager. You can ask him questions about wrestling, Survivor (yes, the reality show), or whatever you like on his Curiouscat account.
