"The feeling is restored," "He belongs back in WWE" - Fans erupt after top star returns to AEW after six months

AEW fans have been buzzing about a massive return that took place on last night's Dynamite: Maximum Carnage. Former AEW World Champion Samoa Joe made his surprising return to the promotion after a six-month absence.

The Samoan Submission Machine was last seen on All Elite Wrestling television in July 2024. He competed in a Stampede Street Fight against Chris Jericho and was later driven through a wall via a forklift by The Learning Tree. Joe was written off TV as he was due to shoot for the second season of Twisted Metal.

On Dynamite Maximum Carnage, HOOK battled Christian Cage in a singles match. However, the match ended via disqualification after Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian interfered. Katsuyori Shibata attempted to even the odds against The Patriarchy, but it wasn't enough. In a surprising turn of events, Samoa Joe's music hit, and the former world champion came to the aid of Shibata and The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil.

The 45-year-old launched a brutal attack on Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian. This allowed Christian Cage to retreat with Mother Wayne. On X (formerly known as Twitter), AEW posted the clip of Samoa Joe's massive return last night.

Fans had mixed reactions to The Samoan Submission Machine's surprising return, with one account claiming that Joe belongs to WWE. Meanwhile, one fan felt that Samoa Joe's return has freshened things up in All Elite Wrestling.

Check out some reactions below:

''The feeling is restored!'' a fan declared.

Meanwhile, some fans hoped to see the trio of Shibata, HOOK, and Joe become AEW World Trios Champions in the future. On the contrary, one fan wanted the veteran to return to WWE and have a WrestleMania match against someone like Jacob Fatu.

"I take it back; give the Trios to JOE, HOOK, & [sic] SHIBATA!" a fan wrote.

"Welcome back Samoa Joe!!! But I need at least one Joe, Shibata, & [sic] Hook's Trios champs run!" a fan wrote.

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AEW star Samoa Joe calls ROH the best promotion he worked for

Samoa Joe, along with stars such as CM Punk, Kevin Owens, Bryan Danielson, and more, made their names in professional wrestling by becoming huge stars in Ring of Honor. Joe is a former ROH World Champion. He has also held the ROH Pure and the World Television Championship. The veteran was inducted into the promotion's Hall of Fame in 2022.

At Terrificon 2024, the California native was asked to name the best promotion he has ever worked for. The Samoan Submission Machine mentioned Ring of Honor, as he was involved with everything in the promotion.

"If it was really gun against my head for an answer, ROH, but it was only because I was so hands on in everything that was there," he said.[H/T: Inside the Ropes]

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what Tony Khan has in store for Samoa Joe in the coming weeks.