I agree with you on that point. Back in his heyday of the '70s and '80s, Samson had a string of respectable showings against the Hulk, faring better than Colossus, the Thing or She-Hulk generally have. But he was inexplicably ranked lower than the Thing in the mid '80s Handbooks, and I suspect that's had a negative impact on how he's been written ever since.