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Samoa Joe was surprisingly named amongst several WWE Superstars released by WWE earlier today.
The news of Samoa Joe's release came as a surprise to many as the former WWE United States Champion has been heavily featured on WWE television over the past 12 months as a commentator on Monday Night RAW.
Samoa Joe even provided color commentary on both nights of WWE WrestleMania 37 last week. With news that Joe had been replaced on RAW commentary by Corey Graves, many assumed that Samoa Joe was either making an in-ring WWE return or moving to the SmackDown broadcast booth with Michael Cole.
However, it has since been revealed that Samoa Joe has been released from his WWE contract.
Joe hasn't competed in a match since February 2020 where he suffered a series of concussions in quick succession and violated the WWE wellness policy, resulting in a 30 day suspension. However, his work on commentary has received critical acclaim for the fantastic insight he provided.
Nevertheless, the attention now turns to where Samoa Joe will land next and which opponents he could see himself facing off against.
Let's take a closer look at five future post-WWE opponents for Samoa Joe.
#5 Samoa Joe vs Kenny Omega
Samoa Joe's WWE release has led many to speculate that The Samoan Submission Machine could soon be heading to All Elite Wrestling.
Obviously, Samoa Joe will have to serve the mandatory 90-day WWE no-compete clause as part of his WWE release, but one would expect that AEW will certainly be an option for the former WWE United States Champion.
Should Samoa Joe sign with AEW, a plethora of possible dream opponents could be in line to face off against the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion. One such name is current AEW World Champion Kenny Omega.
Kenny Omega is widely considered to be one of the best professional wrestlers, if not the best professional wrestler currently on the planet today. In addition to appearing on AEW Dynamite, the AEW World Champion is also regularly appearing on IMPACT Wrestling on AXS TV as he prepares to square off against IMPACT World Champion Rich Swann in a Title vs Title match at IMPACT Rebellion.
It would certainly be ironic if Samoa Joe faced off against Kenny Omega inside an AEW ring whilst Omega holds the same IMPACT World Title that Samoa Joe once held earlier in his career.
#4 Samoa Joe vs Will Ospreay
Samoa Joe has competed in a wide variety of promotions throughout his illustrious career. The Samoan Submission Machine has most famously completed in companies such as WWE, IMPACT Wrestling and Ring of Honor. However, one company that Samoa Joe hasn't competed in is New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling is Will Ospreay.
Will Ospreay successfully won the 2021 New Japan Cup, which earned him the right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis earlier this month.
At the event, Will Ospreay surprisingly defeated Kota Ibushi to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career, becoming the first ever British wrestler to hold the championship in New Japan Pro Wrestling history.
Coming out of his WWE departure, Samoa Joe may want to do something unprecedented that he hasn't done before during his career. This could mean that the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion competes in NJPW for the first time.
Should Joe decide to head to New Japan Pro Wrestling, it wouldn't be surprising if he aimed straight for the biggest dog in the yard and challenged the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay.
#3 Samoa Joe vs Ace Austin
Samoa Joe has a lengthy history with IMPACT Wrestling and the X-Division Championship.
After initially making his name in Ring of Honor, Samoa Joe truly established himself during his ten-year tenure in IMPACT Wrestling from 2005-2015. Samoa Joe is former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, TNA World Tag Team Champion and TNA X-Division Champion.
Along with names such as AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Amazing Red, Samoa Joe is largely credited with helping put IMPACT Wrestling and the X-Division on the map. One of the greatest X-Division matches in IMPACT history was when AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe met in a triple threat match for the X-Division Championship at the Unbreakable pay-per-view event in 2005.
The current IMPACT X-Division Champion is Ace Austin. Should Samoa Joe decide to return to IMPACT Wrestling after his WWE departure, perhaps he could set his sights on the X-Division Championship once again.
Samoa Joe vs Ace Austin would certainly be the X-Division's past meeting it's present in what could be a spectacular match between two incredible professional wrestlers.
#2 Samoa Joe vs Cody Rhodes
Samoa Joe has never faced Cody Rhodes before during his career. The two popular professional wrestlers were briefly under contract to WWE at the same time, but Samoa Joe was competing on the WWE NXT brand, whereas Rhodes was competing on RAW and SmackDown as the infamous Stardust character.
Since departing WWE, Cody Rhodes has experienced significant success in promotions such as Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance and IMPACT Wrestling.
This success has transitioned to Cody Rhodes becoming one of several Executive Vice Presidents of All Elite Wrestling and arguably one of the most influential people in front of the camera as well as behind it.
Should Samoa Joe sign with AEW once his WWE non-compete clause expires, one of the biggest names he could face off against in the promotion would be Cody Rhodes.
Rhodes is one of the biggest babyfaces on the AEW roster and a feud against The Samoan Submission Machine would certainly lead to some incredible matches and must-see television every Wednesday night on AEW Dynamite.
#1 Samoa Joe vs CM Punk
Samoa Joe and CM Punk's history of matches in the early 2000s have become the stuff of legend. During a time period in which it was questionable if Ring of Honor would survive, CM Punk and Samoa Joe competed in a series of historic matches which are still spoken about to this day.
Because of their legendary matches against each other, Samoa Joe and CM Punk will always be tied together. Samoa Joe and CM Punk have not faced off since their legendary ROH matches, with many fans still yearning to see both wrestlers face off one more time.
CM Punk has not competed in a professional wrestling match since leaving WWE in 2014. However, in recent months the former WWE Champion hasn't ruled out competing again if the story, opponent and/or finances were all correct. Could a possible re-match against Samoa Joe in an AEW ring be the catalyst to bring CM Punk out of his professional wrestling retirement?
CM Punk tweeted Samoa Joe after the announcement of Joe's WWE release was made. Could this be the beginning of the two legendary rivals facing off one more time inside of a professional wrestling ring?
