"He wants to fight any other champion but me" - Samoa Joe blasts top AEW star for outside title match

Samoa Joe is currently on top of Jacksonville-based promotion as the AEW World Champion. He recently fired shots at one of the biggest stars in the company.

Jon Moxley defeated Shingo Takagi in a bloody No DQ match at NJPW's Battle In the Valley event from San Jose, CA, last weekend. The 38-year-old will now challenge Tetsuya Naito for his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Windy City Riot on April 12 in Chicago, IL.

Moxley has not held NJPW gold since his historic second reign with the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, which went a record-smashing 564 days from January 2020. He remains full-time with Tony Khan but has worked part-time for New Japan.

Mox's All Elite debut came on May 25, 2019, while his NJPW debut came 11 days later. However, the three-time AEW World Champion confirmed his focus on NJPW gold by challenging Naito. Joe sees this as Moxley trying to avoid him.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated, the Samoan Submission Machine applauded Moxley's decision to challenge for NJPW's top championship, as he will have better luck there than if he were to challenge for Joe's AEW World Title.

"Moxley doing that, it doesn’t surprise me at all. If I were Mox, I’d look to take someone else’s belt, too. He wants to fight any other champion in the world but me. There was thought behind what he did. Let’s not deny that," he said.

The ROH Hall of Famer continued and praised AEW for offering an international product for the fans and the wrestlers. Joe also issued a warning to Moxley.

"And that gets back to the wonder of AEW: it’s a worldwide marketplace. You can compete against champions from around the world, not just hidden in your own pocket dimension where no one else can get it. If Mox wants to parade that belt around the real world’s champion, I’d be more than happy to give him a better perspective on where his championship reign really stands," he said.

Believe it or not, the two ring veterans have never wrestled outside of WWE. They worked against each other in several six-man matches in 2017, but their only WWE TV singles match came on the December 11, 2017 edition of RAW, which saw Joe get the win over the former Dean Ambrose.

They worked another RAW six-man the following week.

Samoa Joe reveals his major mission for AEW

Samoa Joe will headline tomorrow's AEW Dynamite with a big title defense against FTW Champion HOOK. The match will have a special integration that promises to add a unique touch to the in-ring action.

Joe's interview with Sports Illustrated notes that a feud with Jon Moxley would be compelling, but the 44-year-old has no shortage of potential challengers for the title, including Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland.

The Samoan Submission Machine revealed that his current goal is to deliver the most captivating title matches in the world. Joe said his objective as a World Champion is to redefine the company.

"My mission is to shift the focus back to the greatest thing in AEW, and that’s the wrestling. If not, there are going to be consequences. For far too long, consequences haven’t been around. That’s going to change on AEW television," he said.

Joe has been wrestling since December 1999 and has been pushed as a top star in multiple companies. The ring veteran is currently enjoying one of his biggest pushes of recent years, and one WWE Hall of Famer praised Joe while talking about how he couldn't be happier for the three-time NXT Champion.

How would you book a Jon Moxley vs. Samoa Joe feud in 2024? Who should be the one to take the World Championship off Joe? Sound off in the comments below!