Samoa Joe has discussed his injury issues and says he’s come to AEW and Ring Of Honor to smack people in their mouths and take what’s theirs.
The 3-time NXT Champion stunned fans at ROH Supercard of Honor XV when he made a shock appearance to close the show, marking his first Ring of Honor appearance in seven years. Joe interrupted Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt’s attack on Lee Moriarty and Undisputed ROH Champion Jonathan Gresham after the main event, locking Dutt in the Coquina Clutch.
Speaking at the post-show media scrum Samoa Joe discussed the injury issues that besieged his last few years in WWE and says he’s ready to go in the ring:
“More than confident. You have to understand, coming into WWE, that is me coming off a 15-year-plus career of probably the worst medical care a guy can get and going into a very very arduous schedule. I did have a few injuries, one of them being the major concussion that took me out for a while. Honestly, I took extra time. When it comes to brain injuries and stuff like that, I wasn’t willing to risk going back quickly and potentially harming myself permanently. It’s just a dumb thing to do.”
“We have too much science on our side and too much knowledge now that we can pull back and treat things properly and take time to heal. I took the time to do that and that was really my major issue, I was taking the right amount of time to make sure I was ready to come back to the ring. As for my last injury, obviously, it was more a circumstance of the world we all live in now and it pops up here and there. I’ve been healthy, I’m more than ready to go, and I’m excited.”
Samoa Joe then put both the AEW and ROH locker rooms on notice and says he’s not joined the companies to be a mentor but rather smack people in their mouths:
“World Champion. That’s why I’m here. I tried my bid at bettering the world of professional wrestling, but at the end of the day, I’m here in AEW and ROH to be a Unified Champion. I’m here to win the AEW Championship and Ring of Honor Championship. I’m here to win anything they put in front of me. I’m more than willing to go into the Owen Hart (tournament) and win that.”
“This ain’t a game anymore. AEW has a lot of feel-good moments, a lot of great wrestlers who respect each other. I don’t respect nobody. Until you’re in the ring with me. I’m coming out there to smack people in the mouth and take what they have. That’s pretty much my edict when I’m here. Broadcaster, mentor, good guy, I am all those things, but not here. Not here.”