Three potential challengers for Samoa Joe’s TNT championship
After the lackluster reign of Wardlow with the TNT title ranging from the heart of the summer to the beginning of winter, Samoa Joe won a three-way match at the Full Gear pay-per-view for the belt to take control of the AEW mid-card.
Samoa Joe’s first reign included defenses against AR Fox, Wardlow, and Darby Allin. Joe then lost the belt on January 4, 2023, to Darby Allin, but was quick to regain the title winning two weeks ago on AEW Dynamite in a no holds barred match.
After the match, Wardlow made his return to AEW television after being written off 4 weeks with a knee injury. Wardlow vs Joe is going to be the first revisited feud, but what do the challengers look like after that?
Below are 3 potential options Tony Khan could book to make the TNT title thrive, just as it did in the Daily’s place era of AEW.
Number 1: Swerve Strickland
Strickland creates a very interesting choice for a feud with Samoa Joe because both are heels right off the bat. However, Joe is one of the more over heels in the company with a potential for turning face at a moment’s notice if necessary. Right now Swerve has his sights set on taking down second-generation superstars such as Brian Pillman Jr. and Dustin Rhodes, but it’s only a matter of time before one of AEW’s top heels will have gold on his mind. The wins against second-generation superstars can serve as quality wins to boost Strickland’s overall record in the company moving him to the number-one contender spot quickly.
Joe vs. Strickland has money written all over it as both stars have a set of loyal fans and both have that killer mentality needed to carry the mid-card of a weekly show and a television title.
Number 2: Eddie Kingston
It’s no secret plenty of AEW fans have been calling for heavier utilization of uber over Eddie Kingston. Plugging him into a feud with Samoa Joe could be a perfect way to increase his usage on the company’s weekly shows. Eddie is getting ginormous pops on AEW Dark and is easily a great face vs heel matchup for Joe. The matches between these too would be insanely physical, you can almost hear the chest chops already. The two heavyweights would be a great matchup for next month’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view. A great angle to this feud would be that Joe is the so-called “king of television” when Eddie can’t even get on television, making Joe claim that Eddie will never be on his level.
Number 3: “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
At the Full Gear pay-per-view, Jungle Boy got one of the biggest wins vs. his former best friend Luchasaurus inside of a steel cage. After putting that feud to rest, Jungle Boy has wound up in the rather random pairing of a tag team with HOOK. Jungle Boy’s momentum hasn’t been taking advantage of coming off a huge win in the opening contest of the company’s last pay-per-view, but there is one quick fix to that.
Match the career underdog up with the likes of Samoa Joe who has had a prominent spot in every single promotion he has wrestled in. The story writes itself, the old David vs Goliath tale that could end up in the first singles title for Jungle Boy in his career.
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Whether it’s Wardlow or any of these options as the next challengers, AEW has a real chance to rebuild the prestige of the TNT title. Going with the matchups of Samoa Joe vs Swerve Strickland, Eddie Kingston, or Jungle Boy is a way to immediately send a message to the fans that the mid-card picture is in good hands.