When AEW announced that Samoa Joe's rematch with Darby Allin for the TNT Championship was going to be a No Holds Barred match instead of a traditional one-on-one contest, it rubbed the “King of Television” the wrong way. Now sure, Joe's one of the most dominant performers in the pro wrestling game, and he can do even more damage with a trashcan, a chair, or a pizza cutter – well, maybe not a pizza cutter in AEW – but the current Ring of Honor Television Champion viewed Tony Khan's booking as a concerted effort to give Allin an advantage in the match.
Sitting down for an interview with Wrestle Zone, Joe was asked if he believed that TK was trying to give Allin a level playing field for their forthcoming match.
“I think the analysis is spot on,” Joe said. “He comes out before the bell even rings, he’s tackling with skateboards and he’s got this little distraction sitting at ringside. It was a ridiculous farce of a match. I think everybody in their heart really knows that. Nobody was looking at that match and saying, ‘hey, this was a fair contest set up between two people.’ But I understand these things. When I accumulate power, it seems that the power structures that be, they start to find unusual ways to throw these obstacles in my path. This is nothing different.”
“Even going into this match, any day of the week ending in Y, you put Darby Allin in a ring with me in a straight-up, he catches a fade. It’s bad. He’s in the hospital for a while, but you give him his toys and his weapons. He becomes a little bit more of a formidable opponent. So, it’s no surprise that all of a sudden this no holds barred stipulation kind of pops up out of nowhere. They just tried to put him on a level playing field, but it’s okay. We’re ready for it.”
Asked why he calls Allin the “Little Dead Boy,” Joe jokingly asked what else he was supposed to call him.
“What else do you call him? He’s a little zombie kid. You keep throwing him down stuff. You keep throwing him off of stuff, keep throwing him here and there, and he keeps standing up and walking forward. I mean, there’s no other way to put it,” Joe said. “A little dead boy. That’s what we’re dealing with out there. I’m going to make sure he stays down next time.”
Can Allin overcome his biggest, baddest foe yet and retain his TNT Championship for the fifth-straight week? Or will Joe become whole, with both of the TV titles back around his waist? Fans will find out soon enough.
"I am coming to take back what's mine. The KING will not usurped by a man like you." Former TNT Champion @samoajoe has his eyes firmly set on the TNT title!
Tune in to #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS! pic.twitter.com/Gcw5gvaNqW— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 26, 2023
Samoa Joe isn't slowing down anytime soon in AEW.
Discussing what it's like to return to Dayton Ohio for the first Dynamite of February, Joe complemented the rich history of the city's wrestling culture and wouldn't mind it becoming a fixture of the AEW calendar.
“You know, a company like Ring of Honor does not go back to a place ten times unless that area is good for them. They can’t afford to if it’s a disaster, like I said, if you go out there, and it’s a failed endeavor. So, obviously, Dayton’s always been a strong-reach town. There’s history there,” Joe explained. “Aside from [the CM Punk] match, so many groups debuted there or had breakout matches that I think of, Generation Next and stuff like that. It was always a really, really fun town or wild town. The fans always came with a very, very high amount of energy. I think there was one time, too, where the inside venue was flooded. We had to do a tent on the outside and they were still there and going crazy. So, it’s a battle-tested town. I will give it that.”
Speaking of fixtures of the AEW calendar, does Joe want to become an even further focal point of Tony Khan's two promotions, or does he instead want to focus on outside opportunities like Twisted Metal and Suicide Squad the game? For Joe, his commitment to in-ring work is pretty simple.
“Till the end of time. Really when you come down to it, the great thing about ROH and AEW is that there’s an influx of the young new hot guys that are coming up the pipe that are ready to make a huge splash on the world stage. That’s kind of the biggest attraction for me is that I’m dealing with guys who are hungry, ready to go and looking to make their own mark in the world. It’s that kind of enthusiasm that makes what I do all that much more fun.”
After mentioning that he thought about retiring from pro wrestling when he was released from WWE, it's nice to see that Joe is having a fantastic time in AEW and Ring of Honor and would like to become an even bigger part of Khan's televised programming moving forward.
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