It looks like Samoa Joe’s time in the professional wrestling industry could be nearing an end in the near future.
TNA Wrestling would not grow into a brand that wrestling fans respect without the efforts of men like Samoa Joe. After a memorable run in Ring of Honor, he arrived in TNA, and the company was never the same. His intensity was second to none, and his athleticism and technical wrestling skills for a man of his size made him a must-see talent.
After his run there, he would go on to become a star in NXT during a peak period. That would be followed by a solid multi-year run on the WWE main roster and on to AEW, where he currently performs. While the one-time AEW champ is a very valuable talent for his current employer, all good things come to an end. Joe has started to set himself up for life after wrestling, and at 46 years old, that time is growing near.
During a new conversation with Chris Van Vliet, the wrestling legend revealed that retirement has been on his mind “a lot” in recent months.
Samoa Joe is likely to retire after his AEW contract runs out
“Yeah, I do [think about retirement] a lot. It’s probably coming sooner than later, which is fine,” Joe said. “I think a lot of people from my generation, from what I’ve seen, if that they have the ability, we’ve done our best to kind of save up. And we definitely don’t want to outstay 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 in mind.”
Joe admitted that he does not have a specific retirement date in mind, and even announcing it is difficult for him because those promises are broken so much in the professional wrestling business. However, he did seem to point to a potential timeline for when he could bring his career to an end, and it would seem to rule out something many fans have wanted: a return to WWE.
“I think it’s just really based on when my contract runs out,” he said. Samoa Joe signed with AEW in April of 2022. Based on previous reports, it seems like most AEW contracts run for five years. If Joe’s deal is the same, wrestling fans could have the former AEW Champion for a couple more years before he hangs up his boots for good.
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