7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (January 10 - Results & Review)

3. Samoa Joe Is A Great Champion Already

Samoa Joe CHAMP
AEW

There's a good and bad version of everything in wrestling, other than an invisible camera segment, and Samoa Joe's initiation as AEW World champion segued into of all things a compelling promo train.

Joe started his promo with a mission statement: if a prospective challenger wants to step up to him, and they have the winning record and the credentials, he'll mess them up. He will not dignify any challengers who dabble in - what a line this was - "ho-assed" social media activity. Joe wants to put the nonsense that has swarmed the company over the last two years in the past. A lot of people needed to hear that, and Joe articulated with hilarious verbiage and his menacing, cool, world-class delivery.

He was interrupted first by Swerve Strickland, and the mere sight of them sharing the same space felt big. The prospect of two very, very cool wrestlers entering into a major title programme felt refreshing, after the comedy and mystery over the latter part of 2023, and Swerve announced his attentions with ice-cold poise. Hangman Page then announced his intentions to get back into the title picture, and before things went a bit too 2010s Raw, the Mogul Embassy and then Hangman retreated.

This allowed HOOK - complete with a bat signal far less lame than it had any right to be - to square up to Joe to set up their match next week. This was bold, given HOOK's booking over the last 18 months, but he must still have some aura left: the nose-to-nose confrontation felt alluring.

It's new, high-stakes ground for HOOK, and an intriguing stylistic prospect that promises a new tenor to the World title picture.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!