Samoa Joe is not a member of the Anoa'i family, nor the Fatu family, and he never wanted to pretend that he was.
He didn't have either last name, so he wanted to make his own name and that's exactly what he's done.
That's what the former AEW Champion said on Insight with Chris Van Vliet when asked if he was the only Samoan wrestler not related to other wrestlers.
"I mean, there's a few. But it just became a funny thing because when I came up in the indies, a lot of Samoan guys who were around would kind of claim, 'Oh yeah dude, I'm Rock's cousin.' And to me, I was always like, 'I don't want to be living off a family name that isn't mine.' So I was always real meticulus about being like, 'Nah, I'm not an Anoa'i, but they're an awesome family and they paved the way.' But yeah, I was really kind of adamant, like, I was gonna make my own name" Joe said.
Joe did acquiesce that if his and Roman's "aunties" sat down and talked about it, the two Samoan Joes would end up being cousins.
To hear the full interview check out Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
Joe is currently signed to AEW and stars in the Peacock show 'Twisted Metal.'
