What’s the story?
Samoa Joe recently spoke to APP.com about which WWE Superstars he’d like to face in the future. Among the names he listed was his long-term rival AJ Styles.
The background
Joe and Styles are very familiar with each other from their time in TNA, where they were two of the key figures that helped build the company into one of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world.
They are looked back on by wrestling fans as two of the greatest that ever worked in TNA, and they were involved in some of the company’s most memorable matches. However, Samoa Joe doesn’t think that their story is over and would love to meet AJ in a wrestling ring again, this time in WWE.
The heart of the matter
When asked by APP.com about which wrestlers he was looking forward to competing against in WWE, Joe admitted that there were many names he was excited about facing.
“In a lot of ways, I think it would be easier to provide a list of people who I’m not excited to get in the ring and go a round with. I mean, the answer is probably more people than I can list in this certain amount of time.”
He did go on to list some specific names from WWE’s current roster, including his former TNA adversary.
“(At) the top of that list, obviously, (are) the John Cenas of the world, Randy Orton. Of course, me and AJ (Styles), we’ve battled for years back and forth, so anything involving him I’m more than compliant with. Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, the list really is quite long — and hopefully I’ll get to a lot of those places in the coming years.”
Also read: 5 MMA fighters who could be choked out by Samoa Joe
What’s next?
Joe will be ticking a couple of names off his list on 4th June at Extreme Rules when he faces Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt as well as Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, in the first ever ‘Fatal 5-way Extreme Rules match’.
This bout is to determine the new number one contender for the Universal Championship, so if Samoa Joe is victorious, he will then go on to face the current Champion, Brock Lesnar.
Author’s take
Any of the opponents that Joe has listed would make for some compelling matches, particularly the likes of Cena and Lesnar, but Styles could be the most intriguing of them all.
Obviously many fans have seen them face each other on multiple occasions, but nobody would have thought a couple of years ago that the two could potentially have a match in a WWE ring.
Also, they have both changed in the years since they last met, with AJ competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Joe in NXT, so it would be interesting to see the long-term rivals cross paths again in the biggest wrestling company in the World.
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