In the ring, Samoa Joe is a killer; dubbed the “Samoan Submission Machine” for a reason, Joe has won 23 different titles over his 23-year professional wrestling career, with runs as one of the top dudes in Ring of Honor, Impact, and now AEW, where he currently reigns as the “King of Television,” thanks to concurrent reigns as the TNT Champion and the ROH Television Champion.

And yet, for how brutal Joe can be in the ring, he's actually a pretty joyful guy outside of it; he's great on commentary, a budding actor with a role in the upcoming Twisted Metal show alongside Mike “Mitchy Two Spoons” Mitchell of Doughboys/Birthday Boys fame, and is even a purveyor of holiday cheer, as he secured a segment on Dynamite to wish one lucky member of the AEW roster, his old WarJoe tag team partner Wardlow, seasons greetings.

“Hello friends, Samoa Joe here, your ROH Television Champion and Undisputed TNT Champion, also universally known as the one ‘True King of Television,' taking a little time out of my busy schedule to wish you all a Happy Holiday,” Joe said. “And in particular, because of the spirit of camaraderie and friendship that comes with the season, Wardlow, I have a special greeting for you. I wish you have the happiest and merriest of holidays, may it be filled with friends, family and people you love and enjoy. Because I think we both know you're definitely not going to be having a happy new year. As a matter of fact, Santa may not bring what you want on December 25th, but come December 28th Wardlow, I'm gonna give you more than you ever asked for. And after I'm done giving you exactly what asked for Wardlow, I'm gonna take from you. Wardlow, have a happy, happy holiday season. But come December 28th, all the holiday cheer ends.”

On one hand, it's admirable for Joe to wish his former friend well and even give him a chance to celebrate with his friends and family ahead of what could be a very brutal battle on the next episode of Dynamite. Unfortunately for Wardlow, Joe takes particular joy in hurting his opponents in the ring, which should make for a not-so-happy New Year for the former TNT Championship.

Samoa Joe is really getting comfortable in AEW.

For how much Joe is feeling himself in both AEW and Ring of Honor right now, frequently sidestepping opponents when they're trying to do a move in order to humiliate his foes, there was a time when his time was being pulled in multiple directions, and he wasn't able to fully get into the groove as part of his new promotion. Fortunately, since shooting wrapped on Twisted Metal, Joe has been back in Tony Khan's dual promotional oeuvre and has really come into his own, becoming the sort of performer old-school fans of ROH and TNA grew to love.

Asked about finding his footing in AEW during the promotion's post-Final Battle media session, Joe said he's “absolutely” feeling at home in the promotion.

“I think another thing that escapes a lot of people’s attention is when I first entered AEW, I was gone for essentially the first three months,” Joe said (h/t Fightful). “We could never really get into a groove, there is time and working cooperations with people, those things were happening and I was busy. Now, I’ve had a good month under my belt here, a month and a half or two at this point, where I’m kind of getting into my flow of things and getting back in there and getting into a nice rhythm, which is a very hard thing to do in this industry when we have limited events scheduled. Anytime I can get in there and get a little bit of time, it ends up sharpening me up. We’re at that point right now.”

After taking some time off to just do commentary following a string of injuries in WWE, it's nice to see Joe, who is somehow only 43 according to Cagematch, back in the ring and having the time of his life working for live crowds the world over. While he may not be the biggest, fastest, or strongest dude on the block anymore and will likely never go on another 645-day championship reign again, it's nice to see the all-time indie legend continue to get his flowers on the back nine of his professional career, especially since he's working in the ring, instead of being tasked with supplemental roles like being on commentary or serving as William Regal's bodyguard like his final run in NXT began.