Samoa Joe is back in AEW.
Joe returned Saturday night after the Tailgate Brawl at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. He attacked Jack Perry moments after Perry beat Katsuyori Shibata. The one-hour show aired on TNT and HBO Max ahead of AEW All Out.
After the match, Perry called Joe out, and Joe made his way to the ring. Perry offered a handshake. Joe first walked away, but Perry turned him around. Joe then shook his hand, laid him out with a headbutt and left.
Perry had spent the past several weeks calling Joe out. On the September 16 episode of Dynamite, he cut a taped promo urging the former AEW World Champion to come back, ending it with “Make my day.” The segment closed on the words “Joe is gonna kill you” painted on a wall, a nod to the chant that follows Joe.
Members of Joe’s group, The Opps, answered on Collision. They told Perry he would have to beat Shibata before he got to Joe, which set up Saturday’s match.
It was Joe’s first AEW appearance since late May. He last wrestled at Double or Nothing, losing to Will Ospreay in the quarterfinals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament.
On the May 27 episode of Dynamite, Joe told The Opps he was stepping away to film the next season of Peacock’s Twisted Metal.
“But once again, opportunity calls and Hollywood’s ringing. Gentlemen, I’ll be stepping away for a few months, but you all know how this works. I expect you to hold it down.”
The win over Shibata came during a rough stretch for Perry. Before this bout, Perry had gone 0-6 since beating Nick Wayne after signing a new AEW contract in July.
