Kenny King Recalls Being Told He Was Too Big For TNA’s X Division, But Then Samoa Joe Walked Into Room With X Division Title

A story from Kenny King about his TNA days.

The next guest on Marking Out with MVP & Dwayne Swayze is former two-time TNA X Division Champion Kenny King.

A clip was released of him telling a story about how he was looking to make his way into the X Division, but was told by Scott D’Amore that he was too big for the division, but also on the smaller side to be a heavyweight. As D’Amore was telling this to King, the then-X Division Champion Samoa Joe walked into the room.

“‘Let me show what I can do.’ He says, ‘Kenny –’ and this is something that me and Scott (D’Amore) laugh about to this day — he says, ‘Kenny, we just had a conversation about you the other day. We really think that, you know, you’re not big enough to be in the heavyweight division. But, honestly, you’re just too big to be in the X Division.’ As if on cue, door opens up, it’s Samoa Joe. All 285 pounds of him. Walks out with the X Division Championship. Walks past us, ‘What’s up Kenny? What’s up Scott?’ I watched Joe walk past, Scott watched Joe walk past, and I looked at Joe and I’m looking at Scott but Scott is still looking at Joe because he sees me looking… ‘Too big for the X Division?’”

The timing couldn’t have been better. 😂 @KennyKingPb2 remembers being told he was “too big for the X-Division” just as Samoa Joe walked into the room. 💀

Stay tuned for this week’s NEW EPISODE of @ShowMarkingOut with @The305MVP and @MrDwayneSwayze 💥 Friday, June 12 at AM CT /… pic.twitter.com/rl56hFCP7P

— BZZR (@BZZROfficial) June 11, 2026

King had a second run with TNA/IMPACT from 2022 to 2023. He won the Digital Media Championship during that run.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Marking Out with MVP & Dwayne Swayze with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.