Former AEW World Champion Suffers Broken Ankle
A former AEW World Champion is injured.
At AEW All In, Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Powerhouse Hobbs beat Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and Gabe Kidd to retain the World Trios Championship.
However, after the match, Joe was brutally attacked by the Death Riders and left the arena on a stretcher. With Joe down, a steel chair was placed around his neck before being stamped on.
It was subsequently reported that the angle was a way of writing Samoa Joe off television before he went to film season two of Twisted Metal, where he stars as Sweet Tooth.
Injured Samoa Joe Wants Quick Return To AEW
In a new interview with Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Joe discussed his role in the show and the transition from wrestling to acting before revealing that the latter isn’t without its own risks. Although he called the incident “nothing crazy,” he confirmed that he fractured his ankle during filming.
“Normally, I would say the ring is always a much more precarious place to be in, but halfway through the season, I fractured my ankle. Nothing crazy — we had done a series of pretty crazy driving stunts and some dangerous things here and there.
Then it was just parking, and I had to hop out the back on some really rocky, busted-up asphalt. I turned my ankle and spent the rest of the season taping it up and limping through it.
Twisted Metal is incredibly physical — fighting scenes, driving scenes. Anytime that car is driving, you see me in it, it’s me. It’s a demanding role, but spending enough time in the ring as I have, it’s no new territory.”
Despite the injury, Joe said he’d be back in action “sooner rather than later.”
“Definitely sooner than later. We’re clearing our various medical protocols, and as soon as we’re done with that, we’ll be back to business.”
The less-than-ideal news on Joe comes after Dustin Rhodes announced that he’s set to undergo double knee replacement surgery. The veteran made the announcement following his defeat to Kyle Fletcher in a brutal Street Fight that saw the Aussie star walk away with the TNT Championship.
Rhodes isn’t expected to wrestle again until well into 2026 at the very earliest. However, he’s adament that he has no plans to retire.
The veteran still holds one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Championship, and one-third of the World Six Man Championship.
Elsewhere on the injury front,Eddie Kingston has confirmed that he’ll miss AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on August 24. The Mad King has been out of action since suffering a broken leg, torn ACL, and torn meniscus in a match against Gabe Kidd back in May 2024.