Samoa Joe on the WWE locker room's reaction to AEW when it first started
AEW star Samoa Joe recently revealed the reactions of the WWE locker room when Tony Khan announced the creation of the Jacksonville-based promotion back in 2019.
The former NXT Champion was a regular feature on WWE RAW while AEW established its footing in the wrestling world. He was released by WWE in January this year.
The Samoan Submission Machine recently spoke to the New York Post, where he covered many topics. He detailed the thoughts of WWE Superstars when news of AEW broke.
The former TNA World Champion said no superstar thought of it as bad for the wrestling business. He added that competition is important and drives others to do better:
“It’s a good thing.” (on what the WWE locker room thought of AEW). The more competition there is, the more it drives the other guy to do better, to be better. It’s healthy for the industry. It’s healthy for everybody. Nobody was like, ‘oh no, not another place to work.’ Anyone who was like that, it’s just asinine and stupid. I don’t know why anyone would think that.” (H/T - New York Post)
You can check out the results for this week's episode of Dynamite here.
Samoa Joe had a very impressive run in WWE
Samoa Joe can look back on his WWE career with pride. The former TNA star became the first three-time NXT Champion.
The Samoan Submission Machine had an incredible feud with Finn Balor over the title in 2016. He ended up becoming the first man to defeat the former Universal Champion in his demon persona.
Joe wrestled incredible matches on the main roster. He faced the likes of Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman. Multiple injuries derailed Joe's career, restricting him from achieving the success he aspired for.
The current ROH Television Champion will look to replicate this success in AEW. He has had a great start to his All Elite career, winning a championship in his first few matches.
Who is your dream opponent for Samoa Joe in AEW? Let us know in the comments!