Samoa Joe Signs Deal With All Elite Wrestling

Samoa Joe is joining All Elite Wrestling.

During tonight's ROH Supercard of Honor, the former WWE Superstar made a surprise return to the promotion which launched his career.

AEW President Tony Khan revealed on Twitter that Joe has signed with the promotion and will be appearing on next week's Dynamite on TBS.

WHAT A RETURN TO #ROH WE ARE WITNESSING RIGHT NOW! @SamoaJoe just arrived and business has picked up! What an incredible night it has been at #SupercardofHonor! pic.twitter.com/P5ssPlI333

— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) April 2, 2022

It’s official! @SamoaJoe is ALL ELITE! See you on Wednesday at #AEWDynamite! #SupercardOfHonor @AEW pic.twitter.com/n29KnFhCBP

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) April 2, 2022

Courtesy of F4WOnline.com here is what went down:

Jonathan Gresham defeated Bandido w/ Chavo Guerrero Jr. to become the undisputed ROH World Champion

This was a fantastic match to close the show, with Gresham and Bandido going long, but keeping the crowd interested. It wasn’t as good as the Briscoes and FTR, but this was still a very great main event match,

Both men adhered to the Code of Honor as the bell rang. The commentators played up how Chavo Guerrero Jr. was not getting along with Tony Khan, so they questioned his motivation for being in the corner of Bandido. The fans chanted “Eddie” as Bandido did the Latino Heat shuffle, which Guerrero did the same on the outside.

Gresham was able to take down Bandido at will, but Bandido was able to get up every single time, and after an exchange both men faced off again. Gresham went for a kimura, but Bandido shoved Gresham to the ropes to escape. Gresham did a lucha armdrag on Bandido, psyched him out and stomped on his foot before hitting dropkick.

Bandido hit a knee strike, a rana, and a dropkick before faking out Gresham himself. Gresham dropkicked Bandido off the apron and sent him to the floor. Gresham worked over the arm of Bandido, transitioning into a crossfacec, but Bandido made it to the ropes. Bandido did a surfboard stretch on Gresham, but Gresham used his leg muscles to sit back into a pinfall attempt before transitioning into an ankle lock.

Bandido made the ropes to escape while Gresham tried to transition to an octopus stretch. Gresham was able to lock on a brutal looking hammerlock. Bandido managed to fight out and hit a corkscrew body press and then a deadlift vertical suplex. Bandido stalled the suplex to a count of 60, holding him up for a full minute, which got the crowd cheering.

Gresham and Bandido exchanged a series of running chops until Gresham hit a lariat that dropped Bandido. Gresham hit a straight jacket suplex on Bandido for a 2-count. Gresham hit an enziguri and a snap German suplex for a 2-count. Gresham started hitting hammer fists on Bandido before transitioning into a crossface again, but Bandido didn’t get the change to make the ropes as Gresham pulled him back and locked on the Octopus stretch.

Bandido tried to fight out, but Gresham crucifixed the arms and hit more hammer fists which made Bandido collapse into the ropes. Gresham went for a dive to the floor on Bandido, but Chavo Guerrero Jr. shoved him out of the way, which Bandido protested. Bandido hit a vertical suplex in the ring and bridged into a 2-count, then followed up with a shining wizard for another 2-count.

Both men started to exchange a series of pinfalls so fast it was hard to keep up with. Gresham and Bandido exchanged strikes, but Gresham accidentally hit the referee when he fell backwards. Chavo Guerrero hit Gresham with the ROH World Championship, but Bandido go upset at it and asked the referee to eject his own manager. Bandido hit a pop up cutter on Gresham for a 2-count.

Gresham countered the 21-plex and went for a bridge pinfall, but Bandido kicked out, hit a superkick and a Fosbury Flop before hitting the 21-plex but Gresham kicked out! Bandido superkicked Gresham twice and hit a third, but Gresham countered with a springboard moonsault and then a counter into a cradle for the pinfall.

Jonathan Gresham grabbed the mic as he celebrated with both ROH World Championships. Jay Lethal interrupted him and walked out saying that Gresham wanted to send everyone home happy. Lethal said he would help and challenged Gresham for the ROH World Championship. Gresham said that Lethal had changed, and he acted without honor.

Lethal said that no one would know who Gresham was if it wasn’t for him, and Sonjay Dutt ran out to try and break them apart. Dutt then turned around and attacked Gresham. Dutt and Lethal beat on Gresham and cut of Lee Moriarty, who tried to make the save. Lethal then grabbed the ROH World Championships and posed with them.

Then the Godzilla music hit and Samoa Joe entered the arena! Samoa Joe has returned to ROH! Jay Lethal was the mentor to Jonathan Gresham, and Joe was the mentor to Jay Lethal. Samoa Joe then choked out Sonjay Dutt and faced off with Lethal, who looked shocked on the outside of the ring.

Final Thoughts

The first ROH show under the direction of Tony Khan felt like an ROH show in all the right ways. While the AEW contracted talent were a significant part of the show, this still did not feel like an AEW show. The debut of Samoa Joe at the end of the show was a fantastic way to fade out, with the greatest ROH Champion returning to the company. I don’t know what the future of ROH holds, but I do hope it continues to run, and we continue to get great shows like this.