Samoa Joe made his AEW in-ring debut on the April 6 episode of AEW Dynamite, and he picked up a big win.
Just a few days after Joe appeared at ROH Supercard of Honor and signed with All Elite Wrestling, he wrestled on Wednesday night. Joe faced Max Caster of The Acclaimed in a qualifying match for The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament. As only he could, Caster took some digs at Joe for being injury-prone in his pre-match rap. But when the time for talk was over, the former world champion showed the world that he still had it.
In his first match since he won the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver 36 last August, Joe defeated Caster in a fairly decisive manner. Some interference from Anthony Bowens prolonged the contest, but “The Samoan Submission Machine” put Caster down with the Musclebuster.
The first man to qualify for the #OwenHart Foundation Tournament is @SamoaJoe! Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TBSNetwork right now! pic.twitter.com/VThJCulD5L
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 7, 2022
After the match, Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt appeared on the video screen. Lethal recapped the way Joe ruined his night at Supercard of Honor, where he was attacking ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham before Joe arrived. “The Franchise” noted that Joe was his teacher, but he abandoned his student. Lethal explained that he tried to call Joe for four months, but he guessed the latter only picked up the phone for millionaires. Lethal then promised Joe that he’d give him a present he’d never forget next week on AEW Dynamite.
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