SAMOA JOE

If there is any man in the history of Ring of Honor who deserves to be called a ROH Legend, it is this 2021 Hall of Fame inductee. Coming into ROH at the very first GLORY BY HONOR, Samoa Joe made an immediate impact in one of the hardest-hitting bouts in the company's 20-plus year history, and never looked back.

Joe became the 3rd ROH Champion at NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS in March 2003, and in short order elevated the championship to World Title status with defenses in the United Kingdom, Germany, and all across the United States. For 645 days and through 29 successful championship bouts, Samoa Joe carried Ring of Honor on his shoulders, and when he uttered the words “I am Samoa Joe, and I am Pro Wrestling.”, everyone in the locker room and everyone watching believed it. His championship bouts against men like Homicide, Jay Briscoe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Paul London established the ROH World Title as THE belt in independent professional wrestling, and his trilogy with CM Punk established Ring of Honor as THE premier promotion.

And even after his championship reign ended, Samoa Joe was not done making Ring of Honor history as he would claim the ROH Pure Title from his own protege Jay Lethal in May 2005, helping to establish that unique championship before it was taken by Nigel McGuinness in August '05, and then on October 1st of that year, Samoa Joe battled the legendary Kenta Kobashi in one of the most unforgettable bouts in modern wrestling, a fight many fans still regard as the best ever in Ring of Honor. The history Joe made during his ROH run from 02-07, and the impact he made in his all-too brief 2015 return, it left fans hoping that Samoa Joe and ROH would once again find one another in this new era of honor.

That would come to pass at SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2022 when Joe returned to the fold to save then-ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham from an assault by Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt. Since that triumphant return, Joe claimed the ROH World Television Championship from Minoru Suzuki on the April 13, 2022 edition of DYNAMITE, thus making the Hall of Famer a ROH Triple Crown winner, and Joe continues to fend off one championship challenge after another, proving that he is still one of the most feared men in all of professional wrestling.