Although Twisted Metal's most visually eye-grabbing character Sweet Tooth was voiced by LEGO Batman vet Will Arnett, the villain required an on-screen actor with a far more physically intimidating presence. Thankfully, the casting team absolutely nailed it by bringing in AEW star and WWE vet Samoa Joe, who would have had a commanding presence in every scene even without the spooky clown mask on. When the beloved athlete talked with CinemaBlend (ahead of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike), I got his take on which mischievous clown would win in a wrestling match: Sweet Tooth or arguably the most iconic harlequin in all of sports entertainment: Doink the Clown.
Specifically, I started off our conversation by asking Samoa Joe (real name Nuufolau Joel Seanoa) how he thought Sweet Tooth would fare in the ring against Doink, perhaps under a One Clown Beats All format, and he did not hesitate with his answer after grasping the idea. In his words:
Oh, he definitely comes out on top on that one, without a shadow of a doubt. I think he is the superior psychotic clown out there. Doink had his strengths. Let's not sleep on Doink here. I mean, he definitely had his strengths. But when it comes to overall viciousness, ferocity, a willingness to win no matter what... Can't beat Sweet Tooth.
Now, did I think there was a chance in hell that Samoa Joe would give Doink the win there out of respect for the in-ring persona’s legacy? Nahhh, I was absolutely hoping to hear him confirm my own thoughts that Sweet Tooth would go ham on the WWE vet, possibly even including a cartoonish ham hock, such is his bizarre behavior. Granted, Sweet Tooth having a “Thong Song” duet wasn’t a story element in any of the video games, but that’s not a knock on his badassery. Rather, anyone who can still be that frightening after belting out Sisqo gets extra points.
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I think it would take the most hardcore wrestling fan to genuinely debate the idea that Doink could take down Sweet Tooth, but I’d love to hear the argument. (Which would almost definitely include a rule-breaking appearance from his henchman Dink.) Technically, Doink isn’t just one clown, as several wrestlers took the mantle over the span of the character’s existence, but with O.G. portrayer Matt Osborne as the most notable version.
It’s interesting to note that Doink actually made his video game arrival before Sweet Tooth did. While the vehicular battle royale’s first entry arrived in November 1995, Doink debuted as a playable character in the Sega Genesis exclusive version of 1994’s WWF Raw. He also appeared in the next year’s wrestling title, WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game, which hit consoles around the same time Twisted Metal did.
Later in our talk, I asked Samoa Joe about his thoughts on the stuntwork for Peacock's Twisted Metal, and if his career in wrestling gave him a leg up over other actors in that sense. Here's what he told me about how much common ground the two job fields share:
The stunt work is incredible. The whole stunt staff with Twisted Metal, our stunt coordinator Clay Cullen, great dude. It's funny, there is a lot of crossover between the stunt world and the pro wrestling world. Many of our technical terms are very similar. Our theory on how things are supposed to work are very, very similar. Stuntmen, a little less physical in some aspects, a little bit more physical in other aspects. But essentially, there's a ton of crossover between the two genres. So it's weird. It's like first day on set, meeting with the stunt coordinator and just like, you know, the language is the same. We both speak the same language. The terms are the same and it was like discovering a long lost cousin that you didn't know existed. This is what I've heard about stunt people: stunt people are just long-lost pro wrestlers out there making their way in another way. So yeah, it was a very cool process, and the guys were great. We got a lot to do, a lot of cool stuff, a lot of cool fight scenes, a lot of cool driving scenes where they kept me in the car. And I was more than happy to be there, because it was awesome.
While there were probably some insurance issues to deal with as far as what he could and couldn't do while filming, Samoa Joe was clearly game to handle whatever he was allowed to, from driving the AC-free ice cream truck to getting physical with co-star Mike Mitchell. The latter's character Stu probably wouldn't do well with clown makeup going over his beard, but maybe he could dress up like Doink if Season 2 happens...
Twisted Metal Season 1 is available to stream with a Peacock subscription, so be sure to watch it from beginning to end. After reading our thoughts about the ending, check out what Stephanie Beatriz told us about the show's bonkers sex scene(s).
