Samoa Joe reached the pinnacle of his AEW career last night after he defeated champion MJF in his backyard of Long Island, New York and became the new AEW World champion.
Joe locked in MJF in the Coquina Clutch and the two recreated the Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper finish from WrestleMania 8, only for Joe to kick out though. Joe got MJF in the Clutch again and MJF went to sleep, with the referee checking MJF’s arms three times, all three times dropping.
The referee then stopped the match and awarded the match to Samoa Joe as a stunned crowd voiced their disapproval.
The 44-year-old has been working for AEW since April 2022 and this is his third title in the promotion, having previously won the ROH TV title and the TNT title twice. It was his second shot at the AEW World title after losing the first one at the Dynamite: Grand Slam episode in September of this year.
Reacting to his win on X, Joe wrote, “Damn, ankles gonna swell all these salty tears I’m drinking.”