Samoa Joe returns at AEW All Out 2026: Will the former AEW World Champion’s return revive The Opps?

AEW

Samoa Joe made his return to AEW television after months away at tonight’s AEW All Out event, with major ramifications for the Opps.

Joe has not been in action since the Double or Nothing event back in May, when he lost in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament to eventual winner Will Ospreay in the opening round.

In Joe’s absence, HOOK has been serving as the leader of The Opps, which consists of himself, Katusyori Shibata, Anthony Bowens and Action Andretti, though the group has not achieved much success on the show.

Samoa Joe returns at AEW All Out

With the Opps currently struggling for TV time, Jack Perry would make headlines last week when he would call out the inactive leader Samoa Joe.

This led to a match being made official for the AEW All Out Tailgate Brawl, with Perry facing off againt Shibata, which saw Perry pick up the win.

Following the match, Perry would once again call out Joe, this time with Joe answering the call, confronting Perry in the ring before dropping him with a headbutt.

The rest of the Tailgate Brawl saw the Sisters of Sin defeat Mina Shirakawa and Queen Aminata, as well as an eight-man tag team match between the Bang Bang Gang and the Death Riders & the Dogs.

Will The Opps get back on track with Samoa Joe’s return?

Samoa Joe is a legend of the industry and a former two-time AEW World Champion, so his return to television is a positive for literally everyone, most notably his stablemates in the Opps.

As previously mentioned, the Opps have barely featured on AEW television in recent months, with Action Andretti and Anthony Bowens joining the ranks not really boosting their status on the show much.

There is currently a lot of speculation about Bowens specifically, with his AEW contract reportedly set to expire next month alongside former partner Max Caster, who has not appeared on AEW television for all of 2026.

Joe brings an immediate credibility to the group, as does the presence of Katsuyori Shibata, so with his return, hopefully the Opps can attempt to reclaim some of the momentum they had back at the start of the year when they reigned as AEW World Trios Champions with Powerhouse Hobbs (Royce Keys) among their ranks.

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• Samoa Joe
• All Out
• AEW

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