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AEW Star Samoa Joe Hints At Retirement Date

After nearly three decades in professional wrestling, AEW star Samoa Joe is hinting that retirement is right around the corner.
Rick Ucchino|
Samoa Joe and The Opps
Samoa Joe and The Opps | Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

Samoa Joe may be nearing the end of his pro wrestling career.

The 46-year-old is still going strong after spending much of the past three decades in the ring. He remains one of the most physically imposing stars in the game today, but he's not interested in wearing out his welcome.

The former AEW World Champion was a guest Thursday on Insight with Chris Van Vliet and was asked about whether he puts much thought into the day he ultimately decides to leave his boots in the ring.

“Yeah, I do a lot. It’s probably coming sooner than later, which is fine. I think a lot of people from my generation... if that they have the ability, we’ve done our best to kind of save up and we definitely don’t want to out stay our welcome. Because we may have been privy to a few people who may have done that in their careers. So, I definitely don’t want to be that guy.”

CVV pressed whether he has a specific day in mind for his retirement, and Joe alluded to it coming at the end of his current deal.

Samoa Joe signed with All Elite Wrestling in April of 2022, but it's not known when his contract runs out. He did acknowledge that a new opportunity in wrestling could present itself down the line.

"I think [I'll be] exploring those options as they go. I hate just saying retirement, because how many pro wrestling retirements never stick? All of them. So yeah, I will do this for a little longer and then yeah I think the end is probably sooner than any new deal being signed.”

Joe is currently aligned next to HOOK and Katsuyori Shibata in a trio called The Opps. They've let it be known that they will be at AEW Dynasty this Sunday night to scout out the landscape of All Elite Wrestling and their future competition.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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