"I've got to make guys like that proud" - 25 year old AEW star wants to prove himself to former WWE Superstar Samoa Joe

AEW star Wheeler Yuta has talked up how much it means to him to prove his skill and ability to veterans of the locker room. Especially current ROH Television Champion Samoa Joe.

Yuta is part of the next generation of stars to lead Ring of Honor into the future as he is currently the ROH Pure Champion. A title that he won at Supercard of Honor 2022, which was the night Joe made his return to the promotion.

The Samoan Submission Machine has done it all when it comes to ROH. He was inducted into the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame in 2022 due to how important his run in the company was. Whether it was his trilogy with CM Punk or his record-setting World Championship reign.

Speaking with Wrestling Inc., Wheeler Yuta explained how important it is for people like Samoa Joe to be backstage at both ROH and AEW events, knowing that there is a lot of pressure on him to carry the torch for the next generation.

“I’m like, ‘oh man, this is cool,’ and then I look over and Samoa Joe’s walking past me, and I’m like, ‘alright, this is real, this is a real thing.’ This is some expectations, I have to be able to uphold what Ring Of Honor’s past has been, and what it’s going to be in the future. Like, the torch has been passed to me, but I’ve got to make guys like that proud.” (H/T Wrestling Inc.).

Yuta will be making his first defense of the ROH Pure Championship on an upcoming episode of AEW Dark against the man he took the belt from Josh Woods.

Who will Samoa Joe's opponent be in the AEW Owen Hart Cup?

While Wheeler Yuta is representing ROH as the Pure Champion, Samoa Joe is representing the company as the Television Champion. However, the main thing on Joe's plate at the time of writing is who will be his opponent this Wednesday on Dynamite.

Joe will face a mystery "joker" opponent in the Quarter-Finals of the Owen Hart Cup, with the winner of the match advancing to face either Kyle O'Reilly or Rey Fenix.

Rumors are swirling as to who Joe's opponent could potentially be. Despite stating that neither of them are the mystery man, many fingers are pointing to Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh as potential opponents. Especially given their recent animosity with ROH Television Champion.

Other names thrown around are former WWE stars Johnny Gargano and Cesaro given their free agent statuses, but who do you think is the "joker?" Let us know in the comments section down below!