Samoa Joe defeats popular star in AEW debut, gets interrupted by former rival on Dynamite
Samoa Joe made a statement in his AEW Dynamite debut against popular star Max Caster. The bout was the first match of the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament Qualifier.
Joe displayed his agility and quickness and even did a Tope Suicida on Caster as the crowd chanted the former's name. Anthony Bowens tried to distract The Samoan Submission Machine, which Caster temporarily capitalized on.
In the end, the former NXT Champion won as he executed a Muscle Buster to advance to the next round. After the match, Joe was called out by Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal, who he interrupted last week at the ROH Supercard of Honor XV.
In a backstage segment, Lethal pointed out that he tried to call his mentor Joe for months but never answered. Black Machismo taunted The Samoan Submission Machine by naming him "The Samoan Gold Digger."
Jay then said he would give Joe his "present" by challenging him to a match in New Orleans next week.
.@thelethaljay & @sonjaydutterson promise to give @samoajoe a "present he will never forget" next week in New Orleans, LA!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS! https://t.co/yUI1PXsdtI
Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal previously had a heated rivalry
Certainly, Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal have no love lost to each other as the former student-teacher duo revisits their rivalry once again. They faced each other several times in Ring of Honor between 2005 and 2006.
One example is the "Manhattan Mayhem" event in New York City for the ROH Pure Championship. The Samoan Submission Machine beat his then on-screen protege, Lethal, on May 7, 2005, to become the fifth Pure Champion.
Samoa Joe vs Jay Lethal TNA 2006
#SupercardOfHonor https://t.co/eH5bxKBlLo
In 2007, Lethal and Joe had some memorable matches in TNA (now Impact Wrestling). The Samoan Submission Machine beat Black Machismo and Chris Sabin for the X Division title on the July 12 episode.
After all these years, the rivalry between Joe and Lethal will take a new turn in AEW. With their match next week, fans will look forward to another chapter of their storied feud.