Since Tony Khan purchased the promotion in early 2022, Ring of Honor has been integrated into AEW storylines and weekly television. ROH was responsible for launching the careers of current industry titans like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, the Young Bucks, Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson and dozens more. Shortly into the Khan era of the promotion, it became clear that ROH would essentially be an extension of AEW, as by the end of 2022 all of ROH’s championships were held by members of the AEW roster. That’s not to say there wasn’t value in putting those titles on AEW talent, as several went on to have historic reigns.
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The most notable of those reigns was Samoa Joe’s run as ROH Television Champion. Joe defeated Minoru Suzuki to win the prize on the April 13th, 2022 edition of AEW Dynamite and went on a tear ever since. While he did not defend the title as frequently as many would have anticipated, Joe’s stretch of domination was enough to legitimize him as champion.
Samoa Joe Vacates ROH Television Championship
Samoa Joe has put his full focus on the AEW World Championship.
Following a successful defense against Keith Lee on AEW Dynamite, Samoa Joe took to the microphone to announce that he is vacating the ROH Television Championship. He then noted that he is coming for AEW World Champion MJF “whether [he] likes it or not.”
Joe previously challenged MJF at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam in an unsuccessful effort. In the weeks since, Joe has offered to team with MJF at AEW Full Gearย in his ROH Tag Titles defense against The Gunns in exchange for a future world championship match. MJF’s current tag partner, Adam Cole, is currently on the shelf with an ankle injury.
The decision to vacate the ROH Television Championship was met with unanimous criticism from fans on social media. Joe’s 574-day reign was the longest in the championship’s history. Ending it before someone could beat Joe for the title left many confused, with some drawing comparison hypotheticals to a scenario where Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns willingly vacated his title after reaching a milestone.
Joe is not currently scheduled for a match at AEW Full Gear but is expected to team with MJF on the pre-show to defend the ROH Tag Team Championships against Austin and Colten Gunn.
