Samoa Joe is getting rave reviews for his backstage presence.
The main event of Worlds End on December 30th saw Samoa Joe dethrone MJF as AEW World Champion. Joe has since made it clear that he’s willing to take on all challengers for his title, and he was called out by Hook on the January 6th episode of Collision. The two will face off for the title on the January 17th episode of Dynamite.
In addition to his commentary roles, Tony Schiavone serves as senior producer for All Elite Wrestling, and speaking on a recent episode of What Happened When, he opened up about his reaction to Joe taking on the mantle of AEW World Champion.
“It was a great match. I’m thrilled that Samoa Joe is our champion because backstage-wise, he’s a pro’s pro. There’s nobody backstage that is better and a leader backstage for the boys than Samoa Joe. He leads by example. I think it’s a great move to have him as our world champion. I’m all about Samoa Joe.” (h/t Fightful)
Samoa Joe Takes His Championship Responsibility Seriously
Joe’s leadership qualities were on display during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, where he spoke about wanting pettiness in the AEW locker room to fade away.
“As champion, you’re the standard-bearer. I’m more than happy to take up that mantle. I really want to make a focus of getting the fans’ attention back on the conflict in the ring, and a lot of the petty stuff needs to melt away. Let’s get back to entertaining people.”