Samoa Joe reveals he personally sat down with Tony Khan to help two major AEW stars - "I wanted to do something different with them"

When Samoa Joe lost the AEW World Championship to Swerve Strickland at Dynasty in April, fans wondered what the veteran would do next. Few expected him to team up with the young HOOK and Japanese legend, Katsuyori Shibata. Joe recently opened up about how that partnership came together.

Back in May, Chris Jericho's Learning Tree targeted HOOK, and Samoa Joe took it upon himself to defend and mentor the young star. Joe teamed up with the 25-year-old and Shibata to take on Jericho's faction at Forbidden Door 2024. Despite gaining a massive victory over the villainous group, Joe didn't fare so well against The Ocho in a Stampede Street Fight a few weeks later.

The Samoan Submission Machine has been absent from television since then and has been filming for the second season of Twisted Metal. He recently appeared at Terrificon in Uncasville, CT, where he revealed how his partnership with HOOK and Shibata came about and how he "wanted to do something different with them."

“It was kind of just talking with HOOK and knowing Shibata and seeing those two talents, I wanted to do something different with them. I wanted for the world to see a little bit more of both of their personalities and so I sat there and, you know, sat with Tony and we kind of figured out that this would be kind of a good grouping of us three. I think within the past few weeks, we’ve been seeing a lot more often their personality and a lot more of what they’re capable of. That was really how it all came together," he said. [H/T - Fightful]

You can check out his comments in the video below:

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Samoa Joe is only interested in pleasing fans

Samoa Joe has enjoyed a highly successful career, but at 45, his time in the ring could be winding down. Many fans still hope to see The Samoan Submission Machine compete against several dream opponents, but Joe himself seems to have no personal aspirations left in the ring.

Speaking at the same panel at Terrificon, Joe claimed that he's only interested in doing what the fans want at this stage of his career. Despite there being many skilled opponents he hasn't tested himself against yet, he seems intent on giving back to the wrestling fans who have supported him throughout his career.

"I really have zero interest in doing a match with somebody just because they're skilled or that I think it could be a great match. No. At this point, with what time I have left in my career, I want to dedicate that time to what fans want, not what I want," Samoa Joe said.

Joe will likely remain away from the squared circle for the rest of this month, as Twisted Metal's season 2 is scheduled to continue production until at least October. It remains to be seen if the former AEW World Champion will get back in the title picture once he returns.