Samoa Joe isn’t surprised that one top AEW star hasn’t stepped up to challenge him.
The main event of Worlds End on December 30th saw Samoa Joe dethrone MJF to become the new AEW World Champion. Joe has made it clear that he’s not afraid to take on all comers for the AEW Title, and his reign has been well-received backstage.
Along with the new champion came a brand new title belt, one created especially for Joe. Speaking in a new interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, the new champion reflected on what the new belt means to him.
“That was done on my behalf, and it is a wonderful piece of gold from the Khan family. It’s not going anywhere for a long time, so we’re letting everyone know who the champion is.
“It’s my championship belt under my reign, so it needed to reflect my values. The belt was very fancy looking before. My belt belongs among kings and queens, not looking like it’s going to be paraded around the Hamptons on the weekend.”
“He Wants To Fight Any Other Champion In The World But Me” – Samoa Joe On Jon Moxley
Joe already has his first challenge for the new title lined up as he’ll be facing Hook on the January 17th episode of Dynamite.
One man who’s looking for gold elsewhere is former AEW Champion Jon Moxley, who is set to challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in April. Continuing in his interview, Samoa Joe indicated that he’s not surprised Moxley isn’t in a hurry to challenge for the AEW World Title.
“Moxley doing that, it doesn’t surprise me at all. If I were Mox, I’d look to take someone else’s belt, too. He wants to fight any other champion in the world but me. There was thought behind what he did. Let’s not deny that.
“And that gets back to the wonder of AEW: it’s a worldwide marketplace. You can compete against champions from around the world, not just hidden in your own pocket dimension where no one else can get it. If Mox wants to parade that belt around the real world’s champion, I’d be more than happy to give him a better perspective on where his championship reign really stands.”
In a previous interview, Samoa Joe declared that he wanted to be a standard-bearer in AEW and bring attention back to the in-ring action.