Samoa Joe recently asked for a raise in TNA. As it was recently revealed, despite winning the X Division Championship and being one of the top names in TNA, Joe is still being paid the same amount of money when he started out - somewhere between $500 and $700. Upon signing with TNA, Joe had agreed to that sum, however, only under the condition that it be raised if he proves himself to the company. It's obvious for everybody who's been following Joe in TNA that he has turned into one of their biggest names. Being a huge part of their last few PPVs, and winning the X Division Championship was enough in Joe's mind to show improvement, and he asked for a raise, hoping for a $1250 deal. He was denied.
Joe has his own ways of showing TNA how he feels about his treatment. It was recently revealed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Joe himself invited Brian Gerwitz to the ROH show, where the WWE upper management member was spotted. This was Joe's way of showing that he's pretty serious about his demands as a superstar, having in mind how much time, effort, and money both TNA and Joe have spent on his push. To compare the current state of the company, Jeff Hardy who has no-showed several events now, gets paid more than Joe, which is unacceptable to the Samoan.
To add to the fuel, Johnny Ace has always been high on Joe and has had an interest in bringing him into WWE for quite a while now. Ace has been quoted before saying that Joe is the "top level heel Rikishi could never pull off."
Joe has been pretty quiet on the subject of a WWE move, however, it is very true that often actions speak louder than words, and this could turn out to be quite the story.
Eddie
Levski11@aol.com
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
