native name	''Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa'' Independent State of Samoa
common name	Samoa
image coat	Coat of Arms Samoa.svg
symbol type	Coat of arms
national motto	''Fa'avae i le Atua Samoa''()
national anthem	''The Banner of Freedom''
official languages	Samoan, English
demonym	Samoan
capital	Apia
latns	S
longew	W
largest city	Apia
government type	Parliamentary republic
leader title1	O le Ao o le Malo(Head of State)
leader name1	Tufuga Efi
leader title2	Prime Minister
leader name2	Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
area rank	174th
area km2	2,831
area sq mi	1093
percent water	0.3%
population estimate	179,000
population estimate rank	166th
population estimate year	2009
population census	179,186
population census year	2006
population density km2	63.2
population density sq mi	163.7
population density rank	134th
gdp ppp	$1.049 billion
gdp ppp year	2009
gdp ppp per capita	$5,782
gdp nominal	$558 million
gdp nominal year	2009
gdp nominal per capita	$3,077
sovereignty type	Independence
established event1	from New Zealand
established date1	1 January 1962
hdi	0.785
hdi rank	94th
hdi year	2007
hdi category	medium
currency	Tala
currency code	WST
timezone	UTC−11:00
utc offset	-11
timezone dst	UTC−10:00
utc offset dst	-10
drives on	left1
cctld	.ws
calling code	685
footnote1	Since 7 September 2009. }}

Samoa (), officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa and German Samoa, is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in Polynesia, Savai'i. The capital city, Apia, and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu.

Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was called ''Navigators Islands'' by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills.

History

The oldest date so far from pre-historic remains in Samoa has been ''calculated'' by New Zealand scientists to a likely true age of circa 3,000 years ago from a Lapita site at Mulifanua during the 1970s.

The origins of the Samoans is closely linked to modern research about Polynesia in various scientific disciplines such as genetics, linguistics and anthropology. Scientific research is ongoing although a number of different theories exist, including one proposing that the Samoans originated from Austronesian predecessors during the terminal eastward Lapita expansion period from Southeast Asia and Melanesia between 2,500 and 1,500 BCE. The Samoan origins are currently being reassessed due to new scientific evidence and carbon dating findings from 2003 and onwards.

Intimate sociocultural and genetic ties were maintained between the eastern Lapita colonies and the archaeological record supports oral tradition and native genealogies that indicate inter-island voyaging and intermarriage between prehistoric Samoans, Fijians, and Tongans.

Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century. Jacob Roggeveen (1659–1729), a Dutchman, was the first known European to sight the Samoan islands in 1722. This visit was followed by a French explorer by the name of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811), the man who named them the ''Navigator Islands'' in 1768. Contact was limited before the 1830s which is when English missionaries and traders began arriving.

Mission work in Samoa had begun in late 1830 by John Williams, of the London Missionary Society arriving in Sapapali'i from The Cook Islands and Tahiti. By that time, the Samoans had gained a reputation of being savage and warlike, as violent altercations had occurred between natives and French, British, German and American forces, who, by the late nineteenth century, valued Samoa as a refueling station for coal-fired shipping and whaling. According to Barbara A. West, "The Samoans were also known to engage in “headhunting,” a ritual of war in which a warrior took the head of his slain opponent to give to his leader, thus proving his bravery."

The Germans in particular began to show great commercial interest in the Samoan Islands, especially on the island of 'Upolu where German firms monopolized copra and cocoa bean processing; the United States laid its own claim and formed alliances with local native chieftains, most conspicuously on the islands of Tutuila and Manu'a (which were later formally annexed to the USA as American Samoa).

Britain also sent troops to protect British business enterprise, harbour rights, and consulate office. There followed an eight-year civil war, where each of the three powers supplied arms, training, and in some cases, combat troops to the warring Samoan parties. All three sent warships into Apia harbour, and a larger-scale war seemed imminent, until a massive storm damaged or destroyed the warships, ending the military conflict.

20th century

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Tripartite Convention partitioned the Samoan Islands into two parts: the eastern island group became a territory of the United States (the Tutuila Islands in 1900 and officially Manu'a in 1904) and is today known as American Samoa; the western islands, by far the greater landmass, became known as German Samoa after Britain vacated all claims to Samoa and accepted termination of German rights in Tonga and certain areas in the Solomon Islands and West Africa.

The first German Governor was Wilhelm Solf who later went on to become Secretary for the Colonies of Imperial Germany. New Zealand troops landed on 'Upolu unopposed on 29 August 1914 and seized control from the German authorities, following a request by Britain for New Zealand to perform their "great and urgent imperial service."

By 1912, one of the changes the German administration had apparently achieved was its long-term objectives of understanding the traditional forces in Samoa politics, while maintaining a semblance of local participation in government. There was no more ''Tupu'', nor even ''alii sili'', but the two ''Fautua'' were appointed. Tumua and Pule were for a time silent; all decisions on matters affecting lands and titles were under the control of the Governor. To complete the process, the ''Fa’alupega'' for all Samoa was revised. The ''Fa’alupega,'' which had been nationally accepted from at least the late 19th century (and probably for much longer than that), was as follows:

"''Tulouna a Tumua ma Pule'', ''Tulouna a Itu’au ma Alataua'', ''Tulouna a Aiga-i-le-Tai'', ''Ma le Va’a-o-Fonoti'', ''Tulouna a Tama ma a latou aiga'' ''Po’o aiga ma a latou tama''".

This ''Fa’alupega'' firstly recognized the authority and identity of principal districts of Samoa through their spokesmen – Tumua ma Pule, Itu’au ma Alataua, Aiga-i-le-Tai, ma le Va'a-o-Fonoti – and the highest titles which were bestowed by these groups. It concludes with the recognition of the great maximal descent groups of Samoa and their “sons” who had been chosen to hold the highest titles.

The new ''Fa’alupega'' of German Samoa apparently required for Malietoa Tanunafili and Tupua Tamasese to be sworn on oath and to change this Samoa’s historical ''Fa’alupega'' to the new ''fa’alupega'' as follows:

"''Tulouna a lana Maiesitete le Kaisa o le tupu mamalu o lo tatou malo kasialika aoao''. ''Tulouna a lana afioga le kovana kasialika o le sui o le kaisa I Samoa nei''. ''Susu mai Malietoa, Afio mai Tupua'' ''Ua fa’amanatuiana ai aiga e lua I o oulua tofiga Kasialika o le Fautua''. ''Tulouna a le vasega a Faipule Kasialika o e lagolago malosi I le Malo''. ''Afifio mai le nofo a vasega o tofiga Kasialika o e usu fita I le tautua I le malo''".

From the end of World War I until 1962, New Zealand controlled Samoa as a Class C Mandate under trusteeship through the League of Nations. There followed a series of New Zealand administrators who were responsible for two major incidents. In the first incident, approximately one fifth of the Samoan population died in the Influenza epidemic of 1918-1919. In 1919 The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Epidemic concluded that there had been no epidemic of pneumonic influenza in Western Samoa before the arrival of the 'SS Talune' from Auckland on the 7 November 1918, which was allowed to berth by the NZ administration in breach of quarantine; that within seven days of this ship's arrival influenza had become epidemic in Upolu and had then spread rapidly throughout the rest of the territory.

The second major incident arose out of an initially peaceful protest by the Mau (literally translates as "strongly held opinion"), a non-violent popular movement which had its beginnings in the early 1900s on Savai'i and led by Lauaki Namulauulu Mamoe, an orator chief deposed by Solf. In 1909, Lauaki was exiled to Saipan and died en route back to Samoa in 1915.

By 1918, Samoa had population of some 38,000 Samoans and 1,500 Europeans. By the late 1920s the resistance movement against colonial rule had gathered widespread support during the mistreatment of the Samoan people by the New Zealand administration. One of the Mau leaders was Olaf Frederick Nelson, a half Samoan and half Swedish merchant. Nelson was eventually exiled during the late 1920s and early 1930s, but he continued to assist the organization financially and politically. In following the Mau's non-violent philosophy, the newly elected leader, High Chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi, led his fellow uniformed Mau in a peaceful demonstration in downtown Apia on 28 December 1929.

The New Zealand police attempted to arrest one of the leaders in the demonstration. When he resisted, a struggle developed between the police and the Mau. The officers began to fire randomly into the crowd and a Lewis machine gun, mounted in preparation for this demonstration, was used to disperse the Mau. Chief Tamasese was shot from behind and killed while trying to bring calm and order to the Mau demonstrators, screaming "Peace, Samoa". Ten others died that day and approximately 50 were injured by gunshot wounds and police batons.

That day would come to be known in Samoa as Black Saturday. The Mau grew, remaining steadfastly non-violent, and expanded to include a highly influential women's branch. After repeated efforts by the Samoan people, Western Samoa gained independence in 1962 and signed a Friendship Treaty with New Zealand. Samoa was the first country in the Pacific to become independent. In 2002, New Zealand's prime minister Helen Clark, on a trip to Samoa, formally apologised for New Zealand's role in these two incidents.

In July 1997, the constitution was amended to change the country's name from ''Western Samoa'' to ''Samoa''. The U.S. territory of American Samoa protested the move, asserting that the change diminished its own identity. American Samoans still use the terms ''Western Samoa'' and ''Western Samoans'' to describe the independent State of Samoa and its inhabitants.

While the two Samoas share language and ethnicity, their cultures have recently followed different paths, with American Samoans often emigrating to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland, and adopting many U.S. customs, such as the playing of American football and baseball. Western Samoans have tended to emigrate instead to New Zealand, whose influence has made the sports of rugby and cricket more popular in the western islands. Travel writer Paul Theroux noted that there were marked differences between the societies in Samoa and American Samoa.

21st century

Effective 7 September 2009, the government has changed the driving orientation for motorists and Samoans now drive on the left side of the road. This brings Samoa into line with many other countries in the region. Samoa is the first country in recent years, and the first country in the 21st century, to switch to driving on the left.

From 29 December 2011, Samoa plans to jump forward by one day when the nation moves to the west of the International Date Line. This is anticipated to help the nation boost its economy by doing business with China, Australia and New Zealand. Currently, Samoa is 21 hours behind Sydney, but the change will mean they are three hours ahead. The current timezone was agreed on 4 July 1892, to work in line with American traders based in California.

Politics

20th Century politics

The 1960 Constitution, which formally came into force with independence from New Zealand in 1962, is based on the British pattern of parliamentary democracy, modified to take account of Samoan customs. The national modern Government of Samoa is referred to as the 'Malo'. Samoa's first Prime Minister was Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu’u II, one of the four highest ranking paramount chiefs in the country. Two other paramount chiefs at the time of independence were appointed joint heads of state for life. Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole, who died in 1963, leaving Malietoa Tanumafili II sole head of state until his death on 11 May 2007, upon which Samoa transitioned from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. The next Head of State Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi was elected by the legislature on 17 June 2007 for a fixed 5 year term.

The unicameral legislature (Fono) consists of 49 members serving 5-year terms. Forty-seven are ''matai'' title holders elected from territorial districts by Samoans; the other two are chosen by non-Samoans with no chiefly affiliation on separate electoral rolls. Universal suffrage was extended in 1990, but only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Samoan seats. There are more than 25,000 matais in the country, about 5% of whom are women. The prime minister is chosen by a majority in the Fono and is appointed by the head of state to form a government. The prime minister's choices for the 12 cabinet positions are appointed by the head of state, subject to the continuing confidence of the Fono.

Prominent women in Samoan politics include the late Laulu Fetauimalemau Mata'afa (1928–2007) from Lotofaga constituency, the wife of Samoa's first prime minister. Their daughter Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is a paramount chief and a long-serving senior member of cabinet. Other women in politics include Samoan scholar and eminent professor Aiono Fanaafi Le Tagaloa, orator-chief Matatumua Maimoana and Safuneitu'uga Pa'aga Neri, the current Minister of Communication and Technology.

The judicial system is based on English common law and local customs. The Supreme Court of Samoa is the court of highest jurisdiction. Its chief justice is appointed by the head of state upon the recommendation of the prime minister.

Political districts

Samoa is made up of eleven ''itūmālō'' (political districts). These are the traditional eleven districts that were established well before European arrival. Each district has its own constitutional foundation (faavae) based on the traditional order of title precedence found in each district's faalupega (traditional salutations).

The capital village of each district administers and coordinates the affairs of the district and confers each districts' paramount title, amongst other responsibilities. For example, the District of A'ana has its capital at Leulumoega. The paramount title of A'ana is the TuiA'ana. The orator group which confers this title - the Faleiva (House of Nine) - is based at Leulumoega. This is also the same for the other districts. In the district of Tuamasaga, the paramount title of the district - The Malietoa title - is conferred by the FaleTuamasaga based in Afega.

Upolu (including minor islands) Tuamasaga (Afega) A'ana (Leulumoega) Aiga-i-le-Tai (Mulifanua)1 Atua (Lufilufi)2 Va'a-o-Fonoti (Samamea)

Savai'i Fa'asaleleaga (Safotulafai) Gaga'emauga (Saleaula)3 Gaga'ifomauga (Safotu) Vaisigano (Asau) Satupa'itea (Satupa'itea) Palauli (Vailoa)

¹ including islands Manono, Apolima and Nu'ulopa ² including the Aleipata Islands and Nu'usafe'e Island ³ smaller parts also on Upolu (Salamumu (incl. Salamumu-Utu) and Leauvaa villages)

Geography

The country is located east of the international date line but in 2011, Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele announced his country would move the International Date Line to the east of the country, so that Samoa would lie to the west of the date line.

Samoa is south of the equator, about halfway between Hawai‘i and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The total land area is 2,934 km² (1,133 sq mi) (slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Rhode Island), consisting of the two large islands of Upolu and Savai'i which account for 99% of the total land area, and eight small islets. The land area is about the size of the two Hawaii islands Oahu and Maui combined.

These are the three islets in the Apolima Strait (Manono Island, Apolima and Nu'ulopa), the four Aleipata Islands off the eastern end of Upolu (Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua, and Fanuatapu), and Nu'usafe'e (less than 0.01 km² - 2½ acres - in area and about 1.4 km (0.9 mi) off the south coast of Upolu at the village of ''Vaovai''). The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population, and its capital city is Apia.

Climate

The climate is equatorial/monsoonal, with an average annual temperature of 26.5°C (79.7°F), and a rainy season from November to April. Savai'i is the largest of the Samoan islands and the sixth largest Polynesian island after New Zealand's North, South and Stewart Islands and the Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui. The population of Savai'i is 42,000 people.

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Geology

The Samoan islands have been produced by vulcanism, the source of which is the Samoa hotspot which is probably the result of a mantle plume. While all of the islands have volcanic origins, only Savai'i, the western most island in Samoa, is volcanically active with the most recent eruptions in Mt Matavanu (1905–1911), Mata o le Afi (1902) and Mauga Afi (1725). The highest point in Samoa is Mt Silisili, at 1858 m (6,096 ft). The Saleaula lava fields situated on the central north coast of Savai'i are the result of the Mt Matavanu eruptions which left 50 km² (20 sq mi) of solidified lava.

Economy

The country currency is the Samoan tālā, issued and regulated by the Central Bank of Samoa. The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on agriculture and fishing at the local level. In modern times, development aid, private family remittances from overseas, and agricultural exports have become key factors in the nation's economy. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labour force, and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, noni (juice of the ''nonu'' fruit, as it is known in Samoan), and copra.

Outside of a large automotive wire harness factory (Yazaki Corporation), the manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. Tourism is an expanding sector which now accounts for 25% of GDP. Tourist arrivals have been increasing over the years with more than 100,000 tourists visiting the islands in 2005, up from 70,000 in 1996.

The Samoan government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline. Observers point to the flexibility of the labour market as a basic strength for future economic advances. The sector has been helped enormously by major capital investment in hotel infrastructure, political instability in neighboring Pacific countries, and the 2005 launch of Polynesian Blue a joint-venture between the government and Virgin Airlines.

Samoa is a fertile, fruitful, productive archipelago. In the period before German colonization, it produced mostly copra. German merchants and settlers were active in introducing large scale plantation operations and developing new industries, notably cocoa bean and rubber, relying on imported labourers from China and Melanesia. When the value of natural rubber fell drastically, about the end of the Great War (World War I), the New Zealand government encouraged the production of bananas, for which there is a large market in New Zealand.

Because of variations in altitude, a large range of tropical and subtropical crops can be cultivated, but land is not generally available to outside interests. Of the total land area of 2,934 km² (725,000 acres), about 24.4% is in permanent crops and another 21.2% is arable. About 4.4% is Western Samoan Trust Estates Corporation (WSTEC).

The staple products of Samoa are copra (dried coconut meat), cocoa bean (for chocolate), and bananas. The annual production of both bananas and copra has been in the range of 13,000 to 15,000 metric tons (about 14,500 to 16,500 short tons). If the rhinoceros beetle in Samoa were eradicated, Samoa could produce in excess of 40,000 metric tons (44,000 short tons) of copra. Samoan cocoa beans are of very high quality and used in fine New Zealand chocolates. Most are Criollo-Forastero hybrids. Coffee grows well, but production has been uneven. WSTEC is the biggest coffee producer. Rubber has been produced in Samoa for many years, but its export value has little impact on the economy.

Other agricultural industries have been less successful. Sugarcane production, originally established by Germans in the early 20th century, could be successful. Old train tracks for transporting cane can be seen at some plantations east of Apia. Pineapples grow well in Samoa, but beyond local consumption have not been a major export.

Components of the economy

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2006 was estimated at $1.218 billion USD. The industrial sector is the largest component of GDP at 58.4%, followed by the services sector at 30.2% (2004 est.). Agriculture represents only 11.4% of GDP (2004 est.). Samoan labor force is estimated at 90,000.

Demographics

Samoa has a population of 182,265 of which 92.6% are Samoans, 7% Euronesians (people of mixed, European and Polynesian ancestors) and 0.4% are Europeans, per the CIA World Factbook. About three-quarters of the population live on the main island of Upolu. Only the Māori of New Zealand outnumber Samoans among Polynesian groups.

Religion

Samoans' religious adherence includes the following: Christian Congregational Church of Samoa 35.5%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-day Saints 12.7%, Samoan Assemblies of God 10.6%, Seventh-day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, unspecified 0.8% (2001 census).

The Head of State until 2007, His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, was a Bahá'í convert. Samoa hosts one of seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship in the world; completed in 1984 and dedicated by the Head of State, it is located in Tiapapata, 8 km (5 mi) from Apia.

Culture

The fa'a Samoa, or traditional Samoan way, remains a strong force in Samoan life and politics. Despite centuries of European influence, Samoa maintains its historical customs, social and political systems, and language. Cultural customs such as the Samoa 'ava ceremony are significant and solemn rituals at important occasions including the bestowal of ''matai'' chiefly titles. Items of great cultural value include the finely woven '''ie toga''.

Samoan mythology includes many gods with creation stories and figures of legend such as Tagaloa and the goddess of war Nafanua, the daughter of Saveasi'uleo, ruler of the spirit realm Pulotu. Other legends include the well known story of Sina and the Eel which explains the origins of the first coconut tree.

Some Samoans are spiritual and religious, and have subtly adapted the dominant religion of Christianity to 'fit in' with fa'a Samoa and vice versa. As such, ancient beliefs continue to co-exist side-by-side with Christianity, particularly in regard to the traditional customs and rituals of fa'a Samoa. The Samoan culture is centered around the principle of vāfealoa'i, the relationships between people. These relationships are based on respect, or fa'aaloalo. When Christianity was introduced in Samoa, most Samoan people converted. Currently 98% of the population identify themselves as Christian. The other 2 percent either identify themselves as irreligious, or do not belong to any congregation.

Some Samoans live a communal way of life, participating in activities collectively. Examples of this are the traditional Samoan ''fale'' (houses) which are open with no walls, using blinds made of coconut palm fronds during the night or bad weather.

The Samoan word for dance is ''siva'' with unique gentle movements of the body in time to music and which tells a story, although the Samoan male dances can be more physical and snappy. The ''sasa'' is also a traditional dance where rows of dancers perform rapid synchronised movements in time to the rhythm of wooden drums ''(pate)'' or rolled mats. Another dance performed by males is called the ''fa'ataupati'' or the slap dance, creating rhythmic sounds by slapping different parts of the body. This is believed to have been derived from slapping insects on the body.

The form and construction of traditional architecture of Samoa was a specialised skill by ''Tufuga fai fale'' that was also linked to other cultural artforms.

Tattooing

As with other Polynesian cultures (Hawai'ian, Tahitian and Māori) with significant and unique tattoos, Samoans have two gender specific and culturally significant tattoos. For males, it is called the Pe'a and consists of intricate and geometrical patterns tattooed that cover areas from the knees up towards the ribs. A male who possesses such a tatau is called a soga'imiti. A Samoan girl or ''teine'' is given a malu, which covers the area from just below her knees to her upper thighs.

Contemporary culture

Albert Wendt is a significant Samoan writer whose novels and stories tell the Samoan experience. In 1989, his novel ''Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree'' was made into a feature film in New Zealand, directed by Martyn Sanderson. Another novel ''Sons for the Return Home'' had also been made into a feature film in 1979, directed by Paul Maunder. Other Samoan poets and writers include Sapa'u Ruperake Petaia, Eti Sa'aga and Savea Sano Malifa, the editor of the Samoa Observer.

The late John Kneubuhl, born in American Samoa, was an accomplished playwright and screenwriter and writer. Sia Figiel won the 1997 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Momoe Von Reiche is an internationally recognised poet and artist. Dan Taulapapa McMullin is an artist and writer. Popular bands include The Five Stars, Penina o Tiafau and Punialava'a. There are also many contemporary Samoan artists living around the world. These Samoan artists include writers, filmmakers, visual artists, actors, directors, singers and dancers. In contemporary dance in New Zealand Lemi Ponifasio is a director and choreographer who is prominent internationally with his Company MAU and Neil Ieremia'sc company Black Grace has also received international acclaim with tours to Europe and New York. The arts organisation ''Tautai'' is a collective of visual artists including Fatu Feu'u, Johnny Penisula, Shigeyuki Kihara, Iosefa Leo, Michel Tuffery, John Ioane and Lily Laita.

In film, director Sima Urale is an award-winning filmmaker. Urale's short film ''O Tamaiti'' won the prestigious Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival in 1996. Her first feature film ''Apron Strings'' opened the 2008 NZ International Film Festival. The feature film Siones Wedding, co-written by Oscar Kightley, was financially successful following premieres in Auckland and Apia. In music, the cover of the song ''Sweet Inspiration'' by The Yandall Sisters reached number one on the charts while King Kapisi was the first hip hop artist to receive the prestigious New Zealand APRA Silver Scroll Award in 1999 for his song ''Reverse Resistance''. His music video ''Reverse Resistance'' was filmed in Savai'i at his villages. Other successful Samoan hip hop artists include rapper Scribe, Dei Hamo, Savage and Tha Feelstyle whose music video ''Suamalie'' was filmed in Samoa.

In comedy, Laughing Samoans, the Naked Samoans and Kila Kokonut Krew have enjoyed sold-out tours. Actor and director Nathaniel Lees has featured in many theatre productions and films including his role as Captain Mifune in The Matrix movie trilogy. In theatre, published playwrights include Oscar Kightley, Victor Rodger, Makerita Urale and Niuean Samoan playwright Dianna Fuemana. Tusiata Avia is a performance poet. Her first book of poetry ''Wild Dogs Under My Skirt'' was published by Victoria University Press in 2004.

International influences like hip hop impact on Samoan culture. According to Katerina Martina Teaiwa, PhD from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, "Hip hop culture in particular is popular amongst Samoan youth." This is not surprising considering the large amounts of migration between Samoa, Hawaii, and the United States mainland, specifically California. In addition, the integration of hip hop elements into Samoan tradition also "testifies to the transferability of the dance forms themselves," and to the "circuits through which people and all their embodied knowledge travel." Dance both in its traditional form and its more modern forms has remained a central cultural currency to Samoans, especially youths. At the 2003 world cup, Manu Samoa came close to beating eventual world champions, England. Samoa also played in the Pacific Nations Cup and the Pacific Tri-Nations The sport is governed by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, who are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, and thus, also contribute to the international Pacific Islanders rugby union team.

At club level there is the National Provincial Championship and Pacific Rugby Cup Prominent Samoan players include Pat Lam and Brian Lima. In addition many Samoans have played for or are playing for the New Zealand All Blacks. They also took home the cup at Wellington and the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens in 2007—for which the Prime Minister of Samoa, also Chairman of the national rugby union, Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, declared a national holiday. They also were the IRB World Sevens Series Champions in 2010 capping a year of achievement for the Samoans, following wins in the USA, Australia, Hong Kong and Scotland Sevens tournaments.

Rugby league is also popular amongst Samoans, with Samoa reaching the quarter finals of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. Many Samoans and New Zealanders or Australians of Samoan descent play in the Super League and National Leagues in Britain. Examples are Va'aiga Lealuga Tuigamala who represented the New Zealand All Blacks, then became the first million dollar player to be contracted out to Rugby League to play for Wigan, then played Rugby Union for Newcastle Falcons before representing Samoa. Ta'ane Lavulavu of Workington Town, Maurie Fa'asavalu of St Helens and David Fatialofa of Whitehaven.

Samoans have been very visible in boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and sumo; some Samoan sumos, most famously Musashimaru and Konishiki have reached the highest rank of ''Ozeki'' and ''yokozuna''. Despite the relatively small population of the islands many Samoans and people of Samoan descent have reached high ranks in many professional sports leagues.

American football is occasionally played in Samoa, reflecting its wide popularity in American Samoa, where the sport is played under high school sanction. About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the National Football League. A 2002 article from ''ESPN'' estimated that a Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the mainland United States) is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American.

See also

1889 Apia cyclone

2009 Samoa Tsunami

Archaeology in Samoa

German Samoa

LGBT rights in Samoa

Samoa, California

SS Talune

Transport in Samoa

References

Further reading

Watson, RM, ''History of Samoa'' (Wellington, 1918)

Meleisea, Malama. ''The Making of Modern Samoa: Traditional Authority and Colonial Administration in the Modern History of Western Samoa''. (Suva, 1987) Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific.

Schnee, Dr. Heinrich (former Deputy Governor of German Samoa and last Governor of German East Africa). 1926. ''German Colonization, Past and Future—The Truth about the German Colonies.'' London: George Allen & Unwin.

Eustis, Nelson. [1979] 1980. ''Aggie Grey of Samoa.'' Adelaide, South Australia: Hobby Investments. ISBN 0-9595609-0-4.

External links

; Government

Government of Samoa

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

; General information

University of Colorado from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

Samoa Tourism Authority

; Other

Samoaworld.com, Online Samoan Dictionary

Category:Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Samoa Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Island countries Category:Least developed countries Category:Liberal democracies Category:Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Oceanian countries Category:Polynesia Category:Republics Category:States and territories established in 1962 Category:Member states of the United Nations

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:''"King Joe" redirects here. For the monster, see King Joe (Ultra monster). For the New Zealand professional wrestler who competed in Australasia during the 1970s and 80s, see Samoan Joe.''

Name	Samoa Joe
Names	King JoeSamoa JoeSamoan JoeJoe Seanoa
Height
Weight
Birth date	March 17, 1979
Birth place	Orange County, California
Resides	Orange County, California
Billed	The Isle of Samoa
Trainer	Cincinnati RedJohn DelayoWilliam RegalYoshiaki FujiwaraJohnny Hemp
Debut	September 1999
Website	}}

Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa (born March 17, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Before debuting in TNA in June 2005, Seanoa competed in the Ring of Honor (ROH) independent promotion, where he held the ROH World Championship for a record 21 months. Upon joining TNA, Seanoa embarked upon an 18 month-long undefeated streak, in which he never lost a match by pinfall or submission. That streak came to an end at the Genesis event in 2006, when he tapped out to Kurt Angle's ankle lock submission hold.

Throughout his career, Seanoa has won numerous championships, including the Ring of Honor World championship and the Pure championship. Within TNA, he is a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, a four-time TNA X Division Champion, and a one-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He has also won the 2005 Super X Cup Tournament, the 2008 King of the Mountain match (the only one to retain the world championship in the match), and the TNA Triple Crown.

Early life

Seanoa was born and raised in Southern California. He resided mainly in Huntington Beach and spent time during his childhood in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Seanoa's family founded a Polynesian dance troupe in the United States called ''Tiare Productions''. Seanoa made his on stage debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics opening at the age of five. He became a California State Junior Judo Champion and was an all league football player while attending Ocean View High School. Before becoming a wrestler, Seanoa worked as a mortgage broker.

Professional wrestling career

Joe was the first graduate of the UIWA West Coast Dojo, training under Cincinnati Red, along with Johnny Hemp and, occasionally, John Delayo. He debuted in December 1999 in a match against "Uncle" Jess Hansen just three months after beginning training.

Ultimate Pro Wrestling (2000–2001)

Joe quickly signed with former World Wrestling Federation developmental affiliate Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he feuded with John Cena and made an appearance on ''WWF Jakked'' against Essa Rios,. He tagged with Mike Knox at UPW Proving Ground on December 12, 2000 in the Galaxy Theatre of Santa Ana, California and defeated the debuting Al Katrazz with Basil. He eventually captured the UPW Heavyweight Championship. He later became the longest reigning UPW Heavyweight Champion ever.

Pro Wrestling Zero1 and Pro Wrestling Noah (2001–2002)

In June 2001, Joe made his way to Japan, wrestling for Shinya Hashimoto's Pro Wrestling Zero1 promotion, fighting in its Shingeki series of pay-per-views, as well as the annual Burning Heart tournaments. During this time, Joe also began wrestling for southern California promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he had an on-screen rivalry with Super Dragon.

Joe continued to work for the promotion throughout 2002, participating in a number of their biggest shows and tournaments. After forming a team with Keiji Sakoda, they became the first-ever holders of the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, though their reign is no longer officially recognized by the promotion. He worked as both Samoa Joe and, later, King Joe, but ultimately chose to leave the promotion when he was asked to take on a more gimmicky character.

In October 2007, he made his debut for Pro Wrestling Noah at the Yokohoma Red Brickhouse, Joe teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama to take on the team of Mitsuharu Misawa and Takeshi Morishima. Joe captured the win for his team after pinning Misawa with an Island Driver, one of his finishing maneuvers. Two days later, on October 27, Joe again faced Misawa, this time for the GHC title in a one-on-one match at the Budokan Hall. Both competitors had exchanged and overcame their respective signature moves throughout the match but it was Misawa who won the pinfall after striking the back of Joe's head with his elbow thus marking his sixth successful title defense.

Ring of Honor (2002–2007)

Back in the United States, Joe joined the ranks of the East Coast-based Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion in 2002. He made his debut at "Glory by Honor" as Christopher Daniels's "hired assassin", brought in to take out Daniels's chief enemy, Low Ki. Originally booked for just the one match against Low Ki, Joe impressed fans with his extremely stiff and hard-hitting style that resembled a mixed martial arts fighter more than a wrestler, which led to ROH booking him full time.

Joe quickly rose through the ranks and became ROH Champion, defeating Xavier for the belt, which soon became the ROH World Championship on May 17, 2003 after defeating The Zebra Kid at "Frontiers of Honor" in London, England. He held that title for twenty one months before losing it to Austin Aries at "Final Battle 2004" on December 26, 2004. During this time, he had a trilogy of title defenses against CM Punk (the second match earning a 5 star rating from Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the first American match in seven years to do so). Soon after losing the ROH World Championship to Austin Aries, Joe became the promotion's fifth Pure Champion, defeating his on-screen protégé Jay Lethal for the belt on May 7, 2005 at "Manhattan Mayhem" in New York City. He held the title for over three months before losing it to Nigel McGuinness on August 27 at "Dragon Gate Invasion".

In October 2005, when Japanese heavyweight superstar Kenta Kobashi made a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip to the United States, he was signed to two Ring of Honor shows. ROH officials selected Joe to face him in a singles match on the first night and a tag match on the second. Joe proved to be a formidable opponent for Kobashi, in a back and forth match, which Dave Meltzer again gave a five-star rating. The match went on to win the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for "Match of the Year". In 2006, Joe was one of the principal wrestlers representing Ring of Honor in their war against rival Philadelphia promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). The war culminated in a five-on-five Cage of Death match at "Death before Dishonor IV". Joe helped ROH dominate in the match, until, after picking up CZW wrestler Chris Hero for one of his finishers, the Muscle Buster, he was attacked by fellow ROH wrestler Bryan Danielson. Danielson repeatedly hit his injured knee with a steel chair, forcing him to quit the match. Joe was later replaced in the match by Homicide, who went on to win the match for ROH. Joe later teamed with Homicide to fight against the Briscoes, and, like Homicide, found himself back in the ROH world title hunt. Joe, however, came up short against champion Bryan Danielson in several matches, including a match that went to a 60 Minute Draw and the final one being a cage match on December 8. At the December 9 show, Joe called out the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion, claiming "Ring of Honor is right here!" This was not his first encounter with NOAH; at the September 16, 2006 ROH show, after a speech by wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino, Joe got into an argument and pull-apart brawl with Noah star Takeshi Morishima. Subsequently a match was signed for February pitting Joe against Morishima which Joe won.

On January 31, Joe announced that he would no longer be a full time performer in ROH after March 4. All shows that led up to that date would be billed as the "Samoa Joe Farewell Tour". On March 4, he beat longtime rival Homicide in his final ROH match with a Muscle Buster from the second rope. On November 22, Joe made a one night only return for Rising Above, defeating Tyler Black in a non-pay-per-view main event.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–present)

Undefeated streak (2005–2006)

On June 14, 2005, it was announced that Joe had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He made his official debut five days later at the Slammiversary pay-per-view, defeating Sonjay Dutt in a match that saw him dubbed "The Samoan Submission Machine" by announcer Mike Tenay. Joe was a participant in the Christopher Daniels Invitational Super X Cup, defeating Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley to advance to the tournament finals at Sacrifice. Joe won the tournament by defeating A.J. Styles, but only with help from Daniels. As a result of Daniels' interference, however, TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko made Daniels defend his X Division Championship in a three-way match against both Joe and Styles at TNA Unbreakable. This match marked Joe's first title shot in the company, though Styles was booked to win the match. Joe's undefeated streak was still officially intact, as it was Daniels that had been pinned, not Joe. This match is to date the only match in TNA's history to receive a rating of five stars from Dave Meltzer.

At Genesis on November 13, he teamed with Daniels, Alex Shelley, and Roderick Strong (a team that Daniels called "The Ministry") against Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin, Matt Bentley, and Austin Aries in an eight man elimination match. Following the victory by Daniels and Joe (Shelley and Strong were eliminated earlier in the match), Joe attacked Daniels, beating him around the ringside area until he had busted him open. He then threw Daniels into the ring, and delivered a Muscle Buster. Joe then went out to grab a steel chair from ringside and brought it into the ring, after which he gave Daniels a second Muscle Buster, this time onto the chair, supposedly giving Daniels a level-3 concussion. In response to these actions, Styles called Joe out on an episode of ''Impact!'', saying his attack of Daniels violated an unwritten code of respect in the X Division. Prior to Turning Point, Joe attacked Styles, saying he did not respect the X Division code (a vast departure from his Ring of Honor persona, who is a stalwart defender of their written Code of Honor). Joe defeated Styles at Turning Point and won the X Division Championship. Joe could not injure Styles, however, Daniels came out and stopped him. Daniels was later slated to face Joe at Final Resolution in 2006 for the X Division Championship. During the build-up to the match, Joe stated that he intended to end Daniels' career. During the match, Styles came down to the ring to cheer for Daniels. Not long after making Daniels bleed from his head, Joe stopped going for the pin, instead dropping knee after knee on Daniels' head. Styles, concerned about Daniels' health, signaled for the match to be stopped by throwing in the towel, allowing Joe to retain the X Division title. Joe proceeded to win rematch of the three-way at Unbreakable, thus retaining his title. This three-way feud continued until Destination X, when he lost the title to Daniels in an Ultimate X match, a match in which there is no pinfall or submission, thus keeping his undefeated streak.

Joe was then taken out of the X Division and matched with an initially unannounced opponent. On the March 25 edition of ''Impact!'', it was announced that he would take on Sabu at Lockdown. Despite that, he still had a scheduled X Division title match, and, on April 13's ''Impact!'' (TNA's Thursday debut), Joe regained the X Division title after delivering an Island Driver from the middle turnbuckle to Christopher Daniels. Joe then successfully defended his X Division title against Sabu at Lockdown. At Sacrifice, Joe partnered with Sting in a tag team match against Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner. Joe and Sting were victorious, but after the match, Joe left the ring and allowed Sting to be attacked. Joe explained this by stating that he agreed to only watch Sting's back "from bell to bell" (implying that once the second bell rang, his duties were over), but still had issues with Steiner. Joe added Scott Steiner to his undefeated streak, at Slammiversary.

During the ''Impact!'' tapings on May 15, Joe was injured as he performed a kick, and it was reported that he tore every knee ligament except the anterior cruciate ligament. He suffered a first degree tear to the posterior cruciate ligament and a second degree tear to the medial collateral ligament. Joe would remain out of action for two weeks. After returning, Joe lost his X Division Championship in a triple threat match with Sonjay Dutt and Senshi. Senshi pinned Dutt to win the championship after Steiner laid out Joe with a steel chair. Joe would have his chance at revenge when he participated in a four-way number one contender match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship along with Sting, Christian Cage, and Scott Steiner at Victory Road on July 16. Joe lost this match when Sting pinned Steiner.

Contender and Champion (2006–2008)

Joe beat Jeff Jarrett at No Surrender in a "Fan's Revenge Lumberjack match". After the match, he took Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight Championship with him, telling Jim Cornette that if Jarrett or Sting (Jarrett's scheduled opponent at Bound For Glory) wanted the belt, they could take it from him. On the October 12 episode, Joe agreed to return the belt to the Jarrett-Sting winner under one condition—the winner had to agree to give him a title shot. This offer was turned down, and finally Joe was given the choice of giving back the title or be fired. Kurt Angle made his debut and got into a brawl with Joe after he again refused to give back the belt, and during the brawl, Jarrett took the belt back. At Bound for Glory on October 22, Joe defeated Raven, Brother Runt and Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. The match ended when special referee Jake Roberts performed a DDT to Raven, allowing Joe to deliver the Muscle Buster to Raven for the pinfall. Later in the night, Joe was involved in a pull-apart brawl with Kurt Angle after Jim Cornette announced that he would be fired if he interfered in the main event match that involved Angle as special enforcer. At Genesis, Joe lost to Angle after tapping out to Angle's ankle lock. This ended his eighteen month undefeated streak. Throughout the rest of 2006 into 2007, Joe continued to feud with Angle picking up a victory by submission in their rematch at Turning Point, before suffering a legitimate knee injury in a tag team match that pitted Rhino and Kurt Angle against Joe and A.J. Styles. On January 14, 2007 at Final Resolution, Joe faced Angle in a thirty minute Iron Man match. With seconds remaining, Joe had Angle in the ankle lock. Although Angle tapped out, he did so just after time had expired. As a result, Angle won the match three falls to two.

On the February 14 edition of ''Impact!'', Joe won a gauntlet match to become the number one contender to Christian Cage's NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Destination X. Joe lost to Cage after Cage reversed the Coquina Clutch into a pinning combination and used the ropes for leverage. On the May 24 edition of ''Impact!'', Joe qualified for the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary by defeating Sting with a Samoan drop after Christopher Daniels hit Sting with a baseball bat; Joe lost the King of the Mountain match, when Kurt Angle hung the belt. He then qualified to compete in the Match of Champions at Victory Road by defeating Jay Lethal and Chris Sabin for the X Division title on the July 12 episode of ''Impact!''. At the Match of Champions, Joe scored the winning pinfall on Brother Ray after Kurt Angle hit the Angle Slam and won the TNA World Tag Team Championship from Team 3D, making him the first wrestler in TNA to hold multiple TNA championships. He later opted to hold both the titles by himself. At Hard Justice, Joe put up the X Division title and both Tag Team titles against Kurt Angle's TNA World title as well as the IGF's version of the IWGP World Championship. Joe, however, lost all his titles thanks to interferences by Karen Angle, enabling Kurt to become the second TNA Triple Crown Champion. Joe became the first man to defeat Christian Cage by pinfall or submission in TNA, forcing him tap out to the Coquina Clutch at Bound for Glory, thus ending Cage's twenty-three month undefeated streak by pinfall or submission in TNA.

Joe was then announced as the teammate of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in their match against the Angle Alliance at Turning Point. Hall, however, no-showed the event. Before the match, Joe was asked to cut a promo alleviating heat from the company and introducing Eric Young as Hall's replacement. Joe went five minutes overtime and ranted against Hall (whom he sarcastically referred to as "The Phantom of the Impact Zone"), Nash and some other superstars, which legitimately upset Nash and TNA President Dixie Carter at ringside. Before calling Young to come to the ring he told the TNA ringside staff, "Are you mad? Go ahead, fire me, I don't care". Joe, Nash and Young defeated the Angle Alliance when Joe pinned Tomko after a Muscle Buster. After the match, Joe and Nash briefly argued and shoved one another backstage, with Joe apologizing at a talent meeting the following day. On-screen, though, Joe continued to direct his frustration towards TNA management, going as far as to trash a Christmas party organized by Matt Morgan. In storyline, after complaining to Jim Cornette that he did not have a match at Final Resolution, Cornette decided to team Joe with Kevin Nash, who was to receive a title shot with Scott Hall when he returned. At Final Resolution, Joe, along with his tag team partner Kevin Nash lost to the team of A.J. Styles and Tomko. This occurred after Nash refused to tag himself into the match leaving Joe to fend for himself. In addition, Nash "flipped off" Joe whilst leaving the ringside area. After Nash had screwed Joe at Final Resolution, a furious Joe stormed to the backstage area on the hunt for Nash, only to find him welding a baseball bat for protection and refusing to fight Joe unless they got paid. Nash explained to Joe that he was teaching him a lesson about the wrestling business and told Joe he could help him to the top if he followed his direction. In good faith, Nash gave Joe the bat and implored to hit him if he was not satisfied with his explanation. Joe was still fuming, but let Nash go without incident. On the January 24 edition of ''Impact!'', Joe went on a rampage, attacking several TNA employees, culminating in his attacking of Jeremy Borash after being announced as the MVP of 2007.

At Against All Odds, Joe served as the special enforcer for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match where Kurt Angle defended his title against challenger Christian Cage. During the contest, A.J. Styles interfered and Joe fought Styles to the back, but Tomko came out and attacked Cage giving Angle the win. On the February 14 edition of ''Impact!'', Joe formed an alliance with Cage and Kevin Nash, to compete with Kurt Angle's Angle Alliance. It was also announced that Joe would be given the next TNA World Heavyweight Championship opportunity against Angle. Over the next few weeks, Joe and his new found alliance would attack the Angle Alliance leading up to their match at Destination X. Joe vowed that he would eliminate the Angle Alliance so he would receive a fair title match with Angle at Lockdown. On the March 6 edition of ''Impact!'', Joe, Christian, and Nash faced a member of the Angle Alliance to determine who would get a five minute advantage during their match at Destination X. Joe lost his First Blood match to Tomko, but Nash defeated Styles in a Street Fight while Cage defeated Angle in a Six Sides of Steel match. Joe's team won the match when he made Tomko tap out to the Coquina Clutch. Achieving his goal to eliminate the Angle Alliance, nothing now stood in the way of Joe getting a fair title shot at Lockdown.

At Lockdown, Joe defeated Angle to win his first TNA World Championship and become TNA's third Triple Crown Champion. The stipulation of the match was if Joe had lost, he would have had to retire from professional wrestling. He successfully defeated Angle in a rematch on ''Impact!'' and then retained against Scott Steiner and Kaz at Sacrifice. At Slammiversary, Joe became the first champion to ever retain his title in a King of the Mountain match.< Joe was then challenged to a match by Booker T at Victory Road, which he accepted. At Victory Road the match went to a No Contest when Sting hit Joe with a baseball bat and Booker pinned him while Sharmell made the three count. At Hard Justice, Joe defeated Booker after a guitar shot, thus reclaiming physical possession of the title belt, which Booker had kept after Victory Road. At Bound for Glory IV, he fought Sting in a losing effort to defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, ending his reign at 182 days.

On the October 30 edition of ''Impact!'', Joe and AJ Styles formed a faction of younger wrestlers also featuring Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Petey Williams, Eric Young, ODB and The Motor City Machineguns, calling themselves "The Frontline", to oppose the The Main Event Mafia of Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T and Scott Steiner. At Turning Point Nash defeated Joe by pinning him with his feet on the ropes following a steel chair shot, a low blow and after ramming Joe's head to an exposed turnbuckle. At Final Resolution, The Front Line lost to The Main Event Mafia in a 4-on-4 tag match and Styles failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the December 18 edition of ''Impact!'', Joe and Styles defeated Sting and Nash in a Six Sides of Steel match. Following the match, Joe was attacked by the members of the Main Event Mafia and suffered injuries which would sideline him for the rest of the year.

Nation of Violence and The Main Event Mafia (2009)

On the January 29 episode of ''Impact!'', a short video was shown in which Joe, sporting a new buzzcut hairstyle, tribal facepaint, and much heavier frame stated he would like to introduce the Main Event Mafia to both the "real" Joe and his "nation of violence". At Destination X, Joe got himself disqualified in his return match against his old rival and Main Event Mafia member Scott Steiner. That same week on ''Impact!'', Joe once again got disqualified this time in a match with Sheik Abdul Bashir. He took him backstage, hung him upside down, and tortured him.

The following week, he competed in a 20-man Six Sides Of Steel match where the last two men standing would be determined the captains of the Lethal Lockdown Match at Lockdown. He entered last and won the match by pinning rival Kurt Angle via the Muscle Buster. He then later stated backstage that he did not wish to be captain, but would still be part of the team. His teammates were Jeff Jarrett, A.J. Styles and the returning Daniels. They faced off against The Main Event Mafia at Lockdown, and won the match. At this time he also revealed that he was taking orders from a "secret advisor" who he was seen talking to many times backstage although the person's identity was not revealed. He then feuded with Kevin Nash as his next victim of the Mafia and finally beat his old mentor at Sacrifice.

At Slammiversary, Joe betrayed A.J. Styles and turned on all the fans by helping Kurt Angle win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in the King of the Mountain match, and thus turned heel. On the June 25 episode of ''Impact!'', Joe officially joined The Main Event Mafia after having spent the last five months taking them out. This was revealed by Angle, to be a master plan to fool the TNA Frontline and the attacks were all planned by Joe and the Mafia in advance. Joe then went on to explain that he joined the Mafia for the money that was invested by Jenna Morasca and for the power and also debuted a new rap themed, entrance music. Throughout the night, he carried out attacks with the Mafia on Styles and Daniels and the leader of the Mafia, Sting, who was kicked out of the Mafia as leader and once again replaced with Kurt Angle. At Victory Road, Joe faced Sting in a grudge match. Late in the match, Taz made his TNA debut and helped Joe beat Sting, thus revealing himself as his new adviser. At Hard Justice Joe defeated Homicide to win the X Division title for the fourth time. After winning this title, Joe feuded with his longtime rival Daniels and defeated him at No Surrender. On the October 8 edition of ''Impact!'' Joe lost the X Division title to Amazing Red after Bobby Lashley interfered in the match. At Bound for Glory Lashley defeated Joe in a submission match with a referee stoppage. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Kurt Angle turned into a fan favorite, thus signaling the end of the Main Event Mafia. The following month at Turning Point Joe unsuccessfully challenged TNA World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles for the title in a three-way match, also involving Daniels.

Various feuds (2009–present)

At Final Resolution Joe took part in the "Feast or Fired" match and won the briefcase containing a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. After being off TV for several weeks, Joe returned on the February 4 edition of ''Impact!'', by attacking A.J. Styles, who had recently turned heel with Ric Flair, and announcing that he would be using his "Feast or Fired" briefcase to get a shot at Styles' World Heavyweight Championship at Against All Odds, turning face in the process. At the pay-per-view Styles retained his title against Joe in a No Disqualification match refereed by Eric Bischoff. After losing a match against new TNA acquisition Orlando Jordan on the following ''Impact!'', Joe was abducted by masked men. On March 29 he resurfaced in a video package on an episode of ''Impact!''. Joe made his return on the April 19 edition of ''Impact!'' appearing as a surprise member of Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett and Rob Terry) in an eight man tag team match against Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm), in which he scored the deciding pinfall by pinning Roode after a Muscle Buster. Joe then left the Impact Zone and did not celebrate with his fellow team members. The following week Joe inexplicably assaulted the X Division Champion Kazarian, after his title match with Shannon Moore. In the following weeks Joe went on to randomly attack wrestlers like Douglas Williams, Brian Kendrick and Matt Morgan, the last of whom lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship thanks to the attack.

On the May 20 edition of ''Impact!'' Joe was ranked number ten in the first ever TNA Championship Committee rankings for a World Heavyweight Championship title shot. He began his climb up the rankings by defeating Hernandez on June 17, number four ranked A.J. Styles on July 1 and by wrestling number two ranked Jeff Hardy to a ten minute time limit draw on the July 22 edition of ''Impact!''. After the match with Hardy, Joe was upset with the production crew for starting a countdown to the time limit draw, when Joe specifically requested not to start one because he thought it would reveal the ending of the match early. Because of his outburst, Joe was suspended from TNA indefinitely. Joe returned from his suspension on August 23 at the tapings of the August 26 edition of ''Impact!'' to defeat Orlando Jordan. The following week on ''Impact!'', Joe aligned himself with Jeff Jarrett and Hulk Hogan in their war with Sting and Kevin Nash. At No Surrender Joe and Jarrett defeated Sting and Nash in a tag team match, when Joe choked out Sting, after Jarrett had hit him with his baseball bat behind Joe's back. At Bound for Glory Joe and Jarrett faced Sting, Nash and their newest ally D'Angelo Dinero in a handicap match, after Hulk Hogan, who was scheduled to team with Joe and Jarrett, was forced to pull out due to a back surgery. At the end of the match Jarrett abandoned Joe and left him to be pinned by Nash. Later in the night it was revealed that Hogan was in fact in the building as he helped Jeff Hardy win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and formed a new heel alliance with Hardy, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Abyss. Joe tried to attack Jarrett on the October 21 edition of ''Impact!'', but was stopped by TNA's security officers Gunner and Murphy, before being beat down by Jarrett. Joe returned two weeks later, attacking Jarrett, Gunner and Murphy. At Turning Point Jarrett defeated Joe, after choking him out with a baton, following interference from Gunner and Murphy. The following month at Final Resolution Joe faced Jarrett in a submission match. After a pre–match assault and later an interference by Gunner and Murphy, Jarrett managed to force Joe to submit with an ankle lock. Earlier that same day it was reported that Joe's contract with TNA had expired. On December 17, 2010, TNA president Dixie Carter announced on her Twitter page that Joe had re–signed with the promotion. Joe returned on the January 6, 2011, edition of ''Impact!'', confronting D'Angelo Dinero and claiming that he had not been using his donations to help the needy, like he was supposed to. Two weeks later Okato was revealed as the camera man, whom Joe had hired to follow Dinero and from whom he had gotten the video footage to support his claim. On February 13 at Against All Odds Joe defeated Dinero in a singles match, but was afterwards attacked and bloodied by him. On the March 10 edition of ''Impact!'', Dinero defeated Joe in a rematch between the two, after hitting him with a chain. On April 17 at Lockdown, Joe defeated Dinero in a steel cage match to end the feud.

Joe's next feud would be with the undefeated Crimson, whom he would abandon in the ring and the hands of Abyss on two occasions, claiming that he himself had not needed anyone's help during his own undefeated streak, becoming a tweener in the process. On June 12 at Slammiversary IX, Joe was defeated by Crimson in a singles match, afterwards reverting back to being a face by shaking Crimson's hand. Afterwards, Joe began showing frustration as his losing streak continued with losses against Rob Van Dam, Devon, Kazarian and Bobby Roode. After losing all nine of his matches in the Bound for Glory Series to determine the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Joe finally ended his long losing streak on the August 4 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'' by defeating D'Angelo Dinero via submission, but the decision was reversed after he refused to release his hold following the match. Joe then accused TNA management of being against him and proclaimed that from now on the blood would be on their hands. After voicing his intention of ruining the Bound for Glory Series, Joe attacked its participants Devon, D'Angelo Dinero and rankings leader Crimson, who was forced to pull out of the tournament following the attack, after suffering a storyline ankle injury.

International Wrestling Association (2009)

Joe debuted in the International Wrestling Association at Noche de Campeones, a special event held on February 14, 2009. There he was booked against El Chicano, the reigning IWA Undisputed World Unified Heavyweight Champion. Chicano won the match by pinfall. Prior to the show, Joe spent time with fans in a "Meet and Greet" event.

Personal life

Seanoa was married on July 27, 2007. Seanoa is close friends with fellow wrestlers CM Punk, Homicide, Christopher Daniels, A.J. Styles, and Rob Van Dam. Seanoa has also appeared on Van Dam's internet based reality show ''RVD TV'' numerous times.

Seanoa avidly trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and Muay Thai at LA Boxing in Costa Mesa, California. He is often noted as a sparring partner for Team Punishment member Justin McCully and is often in attendance in the locker room for Team Punishment fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Kendall Grove, with whom he maintains friendships.

Seanoa made brief appearances on the American version of the television show ''Distraction'', participating in the round where wrestlers perform moves on contestants while they answer questions.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''CCS Enzuigiri'' (Jumping twisting enzuigiri while facing away from the cornered opponent) – Independent circuit; used as a regular move in TNA

''Chimera-Plex'' (German suplex followed into a dragon suplex and finished with an X-Plex) – Independent circuit

''Coquina Clutch'' (TNA) / ''The Clutch'' (TNA) / ''The Choke'' (Independent circuit) (Rear naked choke, sometimes transitioned into a suplex)

''Island Driver'' (Sitout side powerslam, sometimes from the second rope, or an over the shoulder reverse piledriver)

Muscle Buster, sometimes from the second rope

Signature moves

*Atomic Drop

*Chop to the back of a seated opponent followed by a football kick to the chest and finished with a jumping knee drop

Death Valley driver, sometimes from the second rope

''Elbow Suicida'' (Suicide dive transitioned into a flying forearm smash)

Facewash

*Inverted atomic drop followed by a running single leg dropkick and finished with a running senton

Forearm smash to a cornered opponent sometimes followed by a ''CCS Enzuigiri''

Lariat

*Multiple suplex variations

*Dragon

*Exploder

*German

*Half nelson

*Head and arm

''Olé Kick'' (Running arched big boot to the face of an opponent seated on a chair next to a guardrail)

Powerbomb followed into either a prawn hold, a thigh-held single leg Boston crab, an STF or a crossface

Samoan drop

''Samoan Elbow'' (Feint leg drop transitioned into an elbow drop to the opponent's chest)

Sidewalk slam

*Snap scoop powerslam followed into either a cover attempt or a crucifix armbar

STF

''STJoe'' (One-armed side slam, as a counter to an oncoming opponent)

'''Managers

*Kevin Nash

*Taz

Nicknames

"The Samoan Suplex Machine"

"The Samoan Submission Machine"

"The Nation of Violence"

Entrance themes

*Samoa Joe's various entrance themes in the past were typically customized to start with the menacing "Godzilla March Theme" horn riff, signifying Joe's presence while allowing for different tracks over the years. TNA would end this tradition with their own custom theme, though it starts with a similar riff.

"Another Body Murdered by Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. (ROH)

"Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J (ROH)

"The Champ is Here" by Jadakiss (ROH)

"Crush You Up" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

"On Fire" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

"Nation of Violence" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

Championships and accomplishments

Ballpark Brawl

Natural Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹

Extreme Wrestling Federation

Xtreme 8 Tournament (2006)

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South

Revolution Strong Style Tournament (2004)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #4 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 and 2008

PWI Feud of the Year (2007) vs. Kurt Angle

PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2006)

Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max

NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time)² – with Keiji Sakoda

Pure Wrestling Association

PWA Pure Wrestling Championship (1 time)

Ring of Honor

ROH Pure Championship (1 time)

ROH World Championship (1 time)

SoCal Uncensored

Rookie of the Year (2000)

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

TNA World Tag Team Championship (1 time)³

TNA X Division Championship (4 times)

King of the Mountain (2008)

*Super X Cup (2005)

*Turkey Bowl (2007)

*Triple Crown Champion (1 time)

Mr. TNA (2006)

Mr. X Division (2006)

Feud of the Year (2006–2007)

Finisher of the Year (2007)

Twin Wrestling Entertainment

TWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Ultimate Pro Wrestling

UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

UPW No Hold Barred Championship (2 times)

United Independent Wrestling Alliance

UIWA Tag Team Championship (2 times)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*5 Star Match (2004) vs. CM Punk at ''ROH Joe vs. Punk II'' on October 16

*5 Star Match (2005) vs. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels at TNA Unbreakable on September 11

*5 Star Match (2005) vs. Kenta Kobashi at ''ROH Joe vs. Kobashi'' on October 1

Best Brawler (2006)

*Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kenta Kobashi, ''ROH Joe vs. Kobashi'', October 1

*Most Outstanding Wrestler (2005)

¹After being stripped of the title, Samoa Joe's reign was stricken from the promotion's records and the title returned to Eddie Osbourne, the man Samoa Joe defeated for the title.

²After the title was vacated, Samoa Joe and partner Keiji Sakoda's reign was stricken from the promotion's records.

³After winning the championship, Samoa Joe held the title by himself.

Notes

External links

Samoa Joe at MySpace

TNA Profile

Online World of Wrestling Profile

The Whit Online: Ring of Honor legend on his farewell tour by Neil Borenstein

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Samoan professional wrestlers Category:American practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Category:American judoka Category:American Muay Thai practitioners Category:People from Orange County, California Category:American people of Samoan descent

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