On the anniversary of a day dubbed Black Wednesday, WWE released a whole crop of talent Bo Dallas, Chelsea Green, Kalisto, Mickie James, Mojo Rawley, Billie Kay & Peyton Royce, Tucker, Wesley Blake, and most notably Samoa Joe (As of 16th April 2021).
Having not wrestled since February of 2020 and becoming a permanent staple on commentary for Monday Night Raw since April 2020, his second foray in the role, which left many fans wondering when Joe would make his return to in-ring competition.
In an article published in October 2020 on talksport.com, Joe sat on former TNA star Taylor Wilde’s podcast Wilde On, stating that he wasn’t done wrestling.
“Right now I’m enjoying commentary on RAW. It’s been a fun challenge. Obviously, I’m not done in the ring by no means”. Joe also went on to state, “I think right now I’m exploring things. Aside from that, I’m doing voice acting which is fun and very cool.”
Many fans speculated after WrestleMania this past weekend that perhaps Joe would make his return to the ring, as it was revealed that the Raw commentary team had changed once more. Tom Phillips will be the new host of 205 Live, with MLB Network anchor Adnan Virk becoming the new play-by-play voice for Monday night’s, and Corey Graves leaving SmackDown to move back to Raw. Monday’s Raw After Mania came and went and there was no sign of Joe, which then led fans to wonder if perhaps Joe would move to the Blue Brand and challenge Roman Reigns…
Alas, the speculation came to an abrupt halt as it was revealed that WWE released Samoa Joe, angering a plethora of the WWE Universe and wrestling fans alike. A man who is legitimately the full package, a monster in the ring and a savage on the mic, Joe was one of the greatest to never hold a world title on WWE’s main roster and is an absolutely criminal move on WWE’s part. What lies ahead for Samoa Joe is uncertain, as we’ll have to wait until July 14th, 2021 (which falls on a Wednesday, a day took over by AEW) to see where he ends up. This leading us to our next question, where does Samoa Joe end up from here?
Samoa Joe Invades AEW
AEW is absolutely stacked right now, with a roster packed to the brim of past, present, and future. There’s no denying the star power, and there’s a plethora of talent that Samoa Joe could lock horns with should he decide to head on over to Wednesday nights. Out of the many options, one of the ones that could produce some of the best of TV would be Samoa Joe vs Eddie Kingston.
Both men are absolutely gifted on the mic, among the very few who hold the ability to tell compelling stories via promos. Not only that, but these two men also have the gift of backing up their claims in-ring as well, and if you aren’t convinced, check out some of their stuff on the independent scene.
Another individual that could spark some magic with Samoa Joe is Jon Moxley, someone that Joe has clashed with on several occasions in WWE, yet never had a one-on-one feud with. Since leaving WWE and joining AEW, Moxley has been rejuvenated, turning in some of his best work to date both in-ring and on the mic as well, especially with the aforementioned Eddie Kingston just a few short months ago.
There would be absolutely zero limits between Jon and Joe, as well as Eddie and Joe, as these men would create some classic moments that AEW and wrestling fans could reflect on for years to come.
A feud between Joe and Kingston, as well as Joe and Moxley, and of course the remaining wealth of talent on AEW’s roster would only help establish the brand become more legit, as the promotion needs all the big names, feuds, and angles to procure its spot in wrestling as one of the biggest top rival promotions to WWE or to even topple them, but the latter might seem incredibly impossible.
Samoa Joe Invades the G1 Climax
Samoa Joe vs Tomohiro Ishii, Samoa Joe vs Shingo Takagi, the list goes on and on but those are two notable opponents that fans are already fantasizing about for Joe to take on should he make the journey to Japan. There are a multitude of wrestlers that Joe could take on in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Jay White is yet another choice, Kota Ibushi, and last but certainly not least, Kazuchika Okada. The opportunity to produce classic match after classic match for Samoa Joe in Japan is through the roof, as he has the potential to participate in some of the most physical matches that we’ve seen him in quite some time.
In doing so, this would only further solidify the already established legacy that Joe has created for himself, as it can be argued that he is perhaps wrestling’s hottest free agent right now. The sky certainly does not seem like the limit for Joe, as it is up to him to decide where he wants to go and what he wants to do, whatever the case may be, we are all for it and are waiting with bated breath.
What is the next move for Samoa Joe? We will be sure to keep our eyes peeled and look forward to him returning to the independants or even AEW.
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