All Elite Wrestling has been without one of its various featured champions for the majority of the summer. Since debuting at ROH Supercard of Honor in April and coasting through the competition in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament until ultimately being defeated by Adam Cole in the finals at AEW Double or Nothing in May, Samoa Joe has been largely absent from programming. The ROH Television Champion successfully defended his title against Jay Lethal at July’s ROH Death Before Dishonor, but has yet to appear on any Tony Khan-owned programming since. Meanwhile, fellow ROH titleholders like ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli, ROH Tag Champions FTR, and ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta have all been regular members of AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage.
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While many assumed that Joe had fallen to the background, his summer schedule was actually occupied by production. Joe was cast in Peacock’s Twisted Metal, a live-action adaptation of the video game series of the same name. The Samoan Submission Machine will provide the body for Sweet Tooth while Will Arnett voices the character.
Details on the Twisted Metal production have remained close to the vest, but fans now know that the series has finished production on its first season. Showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith confirmed the conclusion on Twitter, sharing an image of the show’s logo on an ice sculpture.
It’s unclear when or where Joe will come back, but this timing lines up him nicely for having a potential presence at AEW All Out this weekend. That pay-per-view already has nine bouts scheduled and more expected to be announced this week on AEW Dynamite, but the inclusion of the Casino Ladder match gives Joe an easy in. There are currently no announced participants for the gauntlet-style ladder match, and past iterations have included up to nine competitors. If Joe’s schedule is clear, getting him in that multi-man bout would be an easy return to television for the ROH Television Champion.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on Samoa Joe’s AEW status.
