— Samoa Joe has captured championships across TNA, WWE, ROH, and AEW, but a few reigns stand out to him the most.
Speaking with the “F Y’all” podcast hosted by C.T. Fletcher, the veteran reflected on some of his favorite title runs, highlighting his time as AEW World Champion, NXT Champion, and ROH World Champion. He said,
“You know, I enjoyed the AEW [world title] reign. It was a lot of fun, so I’d probably say that one, just because recently I got to work with the people I worked with and had the time that I had. It was pretty cool. Other than that, I always loved my ROH title reign. I think probably after that, maybe my NXT reign.”
Currently, Joe is one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions alongside The Opps’ Katsuyori Shibata and Powerhouse Hobbs.
— During a recent interview with Jim Varsallone, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan spoke highly of AEW star and Hurt Syndicate leader, MVP.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On MVP: “MVP is an outstanding pro wrestling mind. He’s come in and become a top voice in AEW. Bobby Lashley is still undefeated and unpinned in the ring. He is an outstanding star. Shelton Benjamin has come into AEW and been one of the top athletes and somebody that has not only turned back the clock but established themselves as one of the premier bell-to-bell wrestlers to this day after decades in the sport. When you have two top athletes like Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin, they’ve held the world Tag Team Championships together, they’ve been singles stars, and now MVP is stepping in the ring and wrestling for us, which has been great.”
On MVP having one of the best minds for wrestling: “Having such a great group in AEW, for me, MVP has to be out there with some of the smartest people and best minds. He’s had a great career in the ring as a wrestler, he has great experience, which helps him as one of the top coaches and managers in pro wrestling today. He has a very inspirational story outside of the ring, which only enhances his knowledge and legacy. I love working with MVP. He’s tremendous and the kind of great person we want in AEW.”
— The Blade has been absent from AEW television since last year, and he recently revealed the reason behind it.
Speaking on a new episode of the “Talk N’ Shop” podcast, he shared that he underwent spinal fusion surgery in September of last year — a procedure covered by AEW. During the interview, The Blade went into detail about the surgery and his recovery process.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the surgery: “I had a back fusion, spinal fusion, on September 10th of ’24. It’s been about a year now, and I’m getting close to going back to doctors, getting cleared, the whole thing… I’ve been wrestling 25 years, you know, I’ve had a bad back for a long time. Like, AEW f**king took care of my surgery, they took care of my physical therapy, like they’ve been taking care of me for like over a year now; I’m really, really grateful for that job.”
On worsening his back in a 2020 match: “It’s like embarrassing to say… Me and Butcher had a f**king killer Falls Count Anywhere with the Bucks. And I’m in my 40s, and I was thinking that I was Jeff Hardy… I went to do the exact same thing [front flip over a table], I mean, I can remember when I slid in the ring and I was hitting the ropes and I just, my legs weren’t there and I was like ‘I don’t have this. I remember my, just, felt the right side of my back just…going like completely numb… And just kept wrestling!”
(h/t – Fightful)
