Samoa Joe made his long-awaited return on AEW Dynamite!
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The legendary former AEW Champion hasn’t been on television since last summer, losing a Stampede Fight to Chris Jericho. He was written off at that point, driven into a forklift by Jericho. Joe took the time off to film Season 2 of Peacock’s Twisted Metal series as he plays Sweet Tooth. Filming took place between July and October of 2024. The return was a full-circle moment in the storyline, too. When Joe was taken out last year he was aligned with HOOK and Katsuyori Shibata. The young wrestler had earned Joe’s respect following their title match.
On tonight’s AEW Dynamite, HOOK challenged Christian Cage to a match and he was pretty ruthless in the first half. In the end, he defeated Cage via disqualification. This led to a post-match breakdown where Cage and his lackeys jumped HOOK and Shibata who was spectating ringside. That’s when Joe’s music hit and immediately he went after Cage and Kip Sabian. The only puzzle piece missing is Jericho, but he’s tied up with The Learning Tree shtick, mostly on AEW Collision.
It really comes as no surprise given Cage holds the key to the kingdom in his hands. He won an AEW World Title shot months ago and has yet to cash it in. Joe is one of the most powerful men on the roster and should want to be in the world title picture again. Taking out Cage could be the first step to getting back there.
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Joe is one of a few recent AEW returns in the men’s and women’s divisions. Kenny Omega’s big return match took place on Dynamite against Brian Cage, which he won. Not only that, he’s aligned himself with Will Ospreay out of necessity to fight off Don Callis. The seeds have been planted for another showdown between him and Konosuke Takeshita, but we’re definitely going to see a tag match first. Additionally, Adam Copeland (now just Cope) made a surprise return at AEW Worlds End from a fractured tibia. He confronted the world Champion, Moxley, and he’s been feuding with him ever since.
AEW fans have been airing out a lot of frustrations about the product on social media lately, especially with the Death Riders story. Hopefully with stars like Joe, the debuting Megan Bayne, Mercedes Mone, Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay, and Omega, AEW will get back on track soon enough.
Stay tuned for updates on AEW.
