Samoa Joe has only held the AEW World Championship for a couple of weeks, but he is already facing challenges from some of the hottest stars in All Elite Wrestling. Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite, which marks the show’s return to Daily’s Place, saw Samoa Joe address the crowd and locker room about his plans for his brand new championship. He’s got a match lined up with FTW Champion HOOK next week, but it appears there are two huge opponents waiting for him in the very near future.
Joe was interrupted by Swerve Strickland, who enters 2024 as perhaps AEW’s fastest rising star. He’s been popular since arriving in the company a couple of years ago, but the last few months have seen Swerve rise to new levels, taking on the role of one of AEW’s biggest heels, and cementing himself as a main eventer. A huge part of that rise comes from his feud with Hangman Adam Page, who had words for both Swerve and Samoa Joe.
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Hangman confronted Swerve and promised that he had unfinished business. As Swerve left the ring, Page turned his attention to Joe, and told the champ that he plans on taking the title as soon as he gets the opportunity.
There’s no telling whether Swerve or Hangman will be the first to take on Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship, or if the trio might end up in a three-way match at some point. There’s also the possibility that Joe makes Hangman and Swerve fight one more time for a chance at the title.
Either way, it’s clear that this title program is about to be must-see TV.
Swerve’s Villainous Plans for AEW
Swerve is one of the marquee villains in all of AEW, and he spent all of 2023 establishing himself as a top guy. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Strickland talked about embracing the dark side of his new role.
“For the guys in our position that are like me, competing in that realm, is just myself and Christian,” Swerve said. “That’s another legend that’s been doing this for 30 years. I’m in a really good spot right now. Once again, I say I’m a new face of that role of villain, that face of evil in a sense. You don’t really see guys that look like me in that position rank that high, and especially in this industry, it’s very unique.”
