Samoa Joe Talks Winning AEW World Title, Facing Hook, Suicide Squad Game and More

At the inaugural Worlds End pay-per-view on December 30, Samoa Joe defeated MJF to win the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.

This match was the culmination of months of storytelling and mind games. Not only did Adam Cole and his allies assist Joe in making MJF lose the ROH tag and AEW world titles in the span of a couple of weeks, but the reveal of Cole as the devil also broke the former champion's heart live on PPV.

Now, Joe has taken his place atop the mountain in All Elite Wrestling. Stars like Cole and Wardlow have already stated their intention to go after the new champion, but the 44-year-old's first defense will be against the 24-year-old Hook Wednesday night on Dynamite.

We had a chance to speak to Joe about winning the AEW title and the responsibility of being the face of the company, his upcoming match with Hook, his roles in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Twisted Metal, and some of the heaviest hitters in pro wrestling.

Being AEW World Champion

Samoa Joe has held the top titles in NXT, TNA, ROH and now All Elite Wrestling. For over 20 years, he has been winning gold and putting on incredible matches against a wide variety of opponents from multiple generations.

For Joe, none of this comes as a surprise. He knew from day one in AEW that he was going to be the champion. It was just a matter of finding the right timing.

When asked what it means to him to be a world champion again at this stage in his career, he said: "It means that we did everything right. That's exactly what it means. To be the standard-bearer for AEW was something I always had my eyes on. It was an intention I made very clear from my first day in the company and to see it come to fruition now is really no surprise."

After more than two decades, dozens of titles and countless matches, The Samoan Submission Machine fully understands the kind of responsibility it takes to be the top guy.

"It's a tremendous amount of responsibility that I will bear quite easily," Joe said. "Doing this and being a champion in AEW, it is standard-bearing. It means that you must carry the company. You must be the focal point of what everybody wants. As you can see on our first night out, that was very much the case. It's a role that I'm very happy to embrace and expand upon."

Facing Hook on Dynamite

Following his win over MJF at Worlds End, Samoa Joe came out on Dynamite with a redesigned championship belt and the same ass-kicking attitude he has displayed for years.

While he already has a couple of people with their eyes set on taking the title from him, such as Adam Cole and Wardlow, his first official challenger comes in the form of Hook.

With a win-loss record of 29-1, the son of Taz has already bested some heavy hitters, but he may have bitten off more than he can chew with Joe.

When asked for his thoughts on Hook, here's what the AEW champion had to say.

"Obviously ambitious beyond his means," Joe said. "He's a young gentleman who has been very businesslike in his approach and how he handles himself. He's no-nonsense. There's very little fat on the bone both figuratively and literally when it comes to Hook. That makes for a vicious competitor, but he's never been in the ring with somebody like me. He's never seen violence and this level, and it's going to be a big wake-up call for him."

The Hardest Hitters

Joe's nickname might be The Samoan Submission Machine, but he has also earned a reputation as one of the most vicious strikers in professional wrestling.

It's not just his punches and chops that are dangerous. He has also developed precise striking ability with a variety of kicks and knee strikes. When you also consider that he has a wicked headbutt and a mean senton, you realize he can use every part of his body to hurt an opponent.

Joe has been in the ring with hundreds of opponents throughout his storied career. When asked who he feels hits the hardest, he had a variety of answers.

"The list is a Mount Rushmore of some of the most dangerous people in the world," he said. "You start from [Kenta] Kobashi and [Mitsuharu] Misawa. Young Wardlow. He hits like a truck. Brock Lesnar hits like a truck. Roman Reigns hits like a truck. There's tons of people around the sphere of wrestling who all hit hard, and I've felt all that power, but they don't hit as hard as me."

Playing King Shark in the Suicide Squad Video Game

Joe has spent most of his life using his body to inflict pain and punishment on his opponents, but he recently had the opportunity to use a different party of his body for a role, his vocal cords.

The upcoming video game Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will see him lend his voice to the character of Nanaue, better known as King Shark.

Comic-book readers will already be familiar with the character, but people who don't read comics might recognize him from the HBO cartoon Harley Quinn where he is voiced by Ron Funches, or from The Suicide Squad movie featuring Sylvester Stallone as the voice of the anthropomorphic shark.

"It was an amazingly, incredibly fun time, especially with a character like Shark," Joe said about his experience working on the game. "He's quite the intelligent savage. I can relate to how he feels about things. And to be able to get in the booth and have fun with a super-talented voice cast and the amazing writing that Rocksteady does, it made for an incredible experience.

"I've seen all the different portrayals across media. Several different takes and they're all really, really fun, so to be added to that lexicon is pretty cool. I think this is probably the most unique interpretation of King Shark. It's one that shows you how earnest a shark in his circumstances can be."

To hear Joe's full comments on working on voicing King Shark and his love of video games, you can check out the YouTube video above.

Playing Sweet Tooth in Twisted Metal

We usually end our AEW interviews with a movie review, but since Samoa Joe was in the Twisted Metal TV series as Sweet Tooth, we had to discuss that with him.

The Twisted Metal franchise dates back to the release of the first game in 1995 for the Playstation console. Other than a single comic book published by DC Comics in 1996 as part of a promotional giveaway, the TV series is the only non-video game adaptation of the story.

We asked the AEW world champion about his experience working on the show and whether we can expect to see him back for more fun now that the show has been renewed for a second season.

"It was a really fun, fantastic experience with the Twisted Metal set and the things that you do every day from being in the cars to just the incredible stunts and the bloody, gory fight scenes," Joe said.

"It made for a really awesome introduction into the action universe of television. I'm looking forward to season 2. I would imagine there's a pretty good chance old Sweet Tooth will be seen in the second season."

Joe's full comments on working on the show can be heard in the video above. The AEW champion can also be seen on this week's Dynamite defending the title against Hook.

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