AEW's Samoa Joe Shouts Out Undersung WWE Legend

AEW star Samoa Joe grew up watching pro wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s, at a time when some of the industry's greats were building their reputations. Sitting down for an interview with "The F Y'all Podcast," Joe was asked to name his "wrestling hero," and he chose to highlight an oft-overlooked performer who had plenty of influence on his persona.

"Another guy who I don't give a shout-out to enough and I really should is 'Bad News Allen,'" Joe said. "When you talk about attitude, when you talk about somebody who, for the first time you saw genuine disdain, like he was just disgusted with whoever was standing in front of him. He was very much that guy."

Also known as "Bad News" Brown, Allen Coage was born in New York City's Harlem neighborhood in the early 1940s. He trained in judo and competed professionally, which is something that drew Joe towards becoming a fan. After his judo career, "Bad News" Allen wrestled in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, leading to a stint with the WWF in the late 1980s. In 2007, less than a decade after retiring from wrestling, Coage died of a heart attack at the age of 63.

Along with Coage, Samoa Joe named Arn Anderson as one of his biggest inspirations as a wrestler. According to Joe, out of all the wrestlers he watched growing up, Anderson acted the most like the real-life tough people that he knew. On top of that, Joe believes Anderson was a better promo than most people gave him credit for, probably because he was so often standing next to Ric Flair as one of the Four Horsemen.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The F Y'all Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.