WWE Hall Of Famer Says Samoa Joe Has Work Cut Out For Him As AEW World Champion

AEW

WWE Hall of Famer and AEW star Jeff Jarrett says Samoa Joe has his work cut out for him as AEW World Champion.

At AEW Worlds End, Samoa Joe defeated MJF to win the AEW World Championship in the main event.

Joe’s win ended the record-breaking 406-day reign for Maxwell Jacob Friedman. This means the former WWE and TNA star will have to follow one of the best champions in AEW history.

Someone who knows how Joe performs as a world champion is former TNA owner Jeff Jarrett, who also shared the squared circle with “The Samoan Submission Machine” during their time in the former IMPACT Wrestling.

Speaking on his “My World” podcast, Jarrett discussed his history with Samoa Joe and reaction to Joe winning the AEW World Title. He said:

“Isn’t it just amazing, the old Randy Savage lesson that he gave me? ‘Double J, stay on the boat.’ Stay in the game. So hat’s off man.”

“You can’t say it’s a story of perseverance and end it at that, but opportunity. You just gotta look at, me and Joe were just talking the other day, he came in in the spring of 2022 and had a movie on deck, so he was gone for a little bit, not long after he debuted.”

Jarrett continued on to mention how Mick Foley helped bring Joe to TNA, saying:

“But just looking at him ride, so to speak, and the momentum of it, but I think back to the lunch that I had with Mick Foley in Long Island around ‘03, maybe, and that’s when we talked about all kind of young talent.”

“I don’t know exactly where he’s at in his career, but he had watched some episodes of the show, and he obviously referenced AJ Styles, but he brought up Samoa Joe.”

“That’s the first time that I heard, I can’t say that he pitched him to me, but I can say that he was very complimentary of him.”

“We got the opportunity, and Joe, I guess his ROH deal basically expired and he wanted to come on board, and then we brought Joe in.”

“It goes without saying what I think about Joe. He went well over a year without being beat, and lots of pitches and lots of ideas and angles.”

On how Joe losing allowed everyone to see how he could help get others over, Jarrett said:

“Of course, everybody wanted to be the first guy to beat Joe, and it just never felt right, and I’m like, we don’t have an opportunity with a guy like a Joe, and my default answer was, Joe can win and still help get guys over. That’s an art.”

“That was taught to me many different ways, from my dad and Jerry Lawler, but it is so true.”

“If you can’t really do that, I don’t think you can really get to a next level. It’s easy to win and get yourself over.”

Explaining Samoa Joe’s skill to work and elevate others, Double J stated:

“It’s even more difficult to win and get your opponent over.”

“But Joe could do it, and we rolled along, and had no really end in sight on who was gonna beat him, and then that quick conversation in Orlando from Dave Hawk, which is Kurt’s manager, and said, ‘Hey man, I think you got a shot if you want to have Kurt come on board.’”

“How all that came together and the Kurt and Joe trilogy, but I am tickled to death for Joe to get this opportunity. But he knows it better than, or as well as I do, now the hard work starts.”

“He is under the microscope in every imaginable way, especially when you look at 2024 and the hyper-criticism and complimentary, it is…it is a pot of boiling water no matter what. But Joe’s up for it, so he’s got his work cut out, but congrats to Joe, no doubt.”

Transcription via Fightful

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• jeff jarrett
• Samoa Joe
• AEW
• wwe

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