When Samoa Joe signed with AEW in April of 2022, few expected to see the “Samoan Submission Machine” hold up the biggest prize in the promotion, the AEW World Championship, before the clock struck 00:00 in 2023.

Now granted, championship gold has pretty much followed Joe no matter where he's gone during his career, holding 16 different titles for 25 total reigns, but he hasn't been a World Champion – or the top title holder in a major promotion that doesn't use the “world” moniker – since 2008, when he held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for 182 days.

After becoming the longest-reigning ROH Television Champion of all time in 2023, it felt like a natural progression for the 44-year-old to go to the top title in AEW, but how many times has TK elevated a massive free agent acquisition only to have them lose a big match and then fall back to obscurity? Joe's win is rare and therefore special, especially when you consider the path he took to the belt, a fact his former TNT coworker Booker T noted on his Hall of Fame podcast.

“I don't know if you remember what I said about Samoa Joe. I guess it was about three months ago. And we were talking about, ‘Was Samoa Joe was going to win the–'you know, what was going to happen with Samoa Joe in AEW. And I said I feel like Samoa Joe is going to be the World Heavyweight Champion. And just because Tony Khan is just that type of guy, he's going to make sure it happens for Samoa Joe. And I just believe Joe put in the work, no doubt. Joe was that soldier to say, ‘Okay, I man this ship over here.' But as soon as Samoa Joe came over and enacted his clause and said, ‘Hey, I'm here,' boom. They put the title on him. Yeah, I just felt that way,” Booker T said on his podcast via EWrestling News.

“And the reason why is, I just felt like it was rewarding for Samoa Joe and giving him his props. Because Joe is that is that guy, man. He is that true soldier, he's that dude. You know what I mean? And he's been grinding, grinding, and grinding for so long, you know what I mean? And yeah. I wish we had that quote; we could go back and pull it up. But he's deserving of it, man. He really is.”

Asked what he thinks of Joe as a wrestler, Booker put the all-over champion over in a big way, noting that, after all of these years, he's excited to see the former ROH/TNA/NXT star get his flowers.

“Well, he's that good. He's been around that long, and he's not just been that good in the ring. He's been that good outside of the ring. As far as interviews and promos, he's been that good. From a commentary perspective, Samoa Joe is literally all around. He can pretty much do it all. So he is the perfect guy. When Joe is working, do you believe it? I mean, you believe it, no doubt, you know? So for me, the perfect guy for the job. I'm just glad to see Samoa Joe finally get his flowers. That's all I want to say on that one.”

Did TK know that Joe was going to be his AEW World Champion when MJF won the strap in 2022? No, he almost certainly did not. Did TK know Joe was going to become the AEW World Champion when he lost to MJF at Arthur Ashe, or even before the “Salt of the Earth” messed himself up with an ill-fated elbow onto an already collapsed announced table at Full Gear? It's impossible to know, but in the end, it doesn't really matter: Samoa Joe is the AEW Champion, and it's safe to say he's going to relish this opportunity to shine as a promotion's top guy once more.

Jim Ross is very high on Samoa Joe's AEW World Title win, too.

While Booker T is very happy for Samoa Joe, he isn't the only WWE Hall of Famer who has strong feelings for the do-it-all superheavyweight.

Discussing Worlds End on his Grillin' JR podcast, Jim Ross celebrated the decision too, suggesting that Joe will represent the company with pride.

“Joe's been, over the years, he's proven to be very durable, and his work is believable, so I'm a big Samoa Joe proponent. He's the right man for the job, it seems like,” Jim Ross said on his podcast via Fightful. “He can have good matches with just about anybody, as a babyface or a heel, which is important, to have the ability to dance with different partners. So I like that move. I like the fact that Joe's the champion, and I like the fact that he has the ability to work with just about anybody, and he is a veteran. He provides leadership, physicality. You can't see through this work. He's strong in that regard. So good for him. Good for Joe. He's the kind of guy you want to be pulling the wagon, not only because he's strong enough to pull the wagon, but he's smart enough as a veteran to make it work for him and the company.”

As former WWE commentators, Joe and JR are, in a way, kindred spirits, as they both know what it's like to hype up a crowd while Vince McMahon screams in their ear. Unlike JR, Joe is a 300 monster who can crush even the biggest foe in the ring and do so with a smile on his face. For both of their sakes, let's hope the duo are able to work together in the future, with Joe working in the ring and Ross healthy enough to call his matches.