Major AEW Star In Concussion Protocol As Injury Worries Continue

There’s a major injury worry in AEW that has caused plans at the top of the card to shift dramatically.

MJF recaptured the AEW World Championship at Worlds End in late 2025, winning a four-way match featuring Samoa Joe, Hangman Adam Page, and Swerve Strickland.

Worse was to come for Joe and The Opps when they lost the AEW Trios Title to Page and JetSpeed before losing Powerhouse Hobbs completely to WWE.

And it seems, it might be some time before fans see Samoa Joe again.

Samoa Joe Missing From AEW

Fightful Select has reported that Samoa Joe was not at the January 28th edition of Dynamite. On that show, a comment was made that Joe suffered a non-contact injury and wasn’t cleared to compete. The reality is that he’s currently in concussion protocol, and it’s unknown how long he’ll be out of action as a result.

It was also noted that Joe had been factored into plans at the top of the card, and his issues have forced that to change. In his place, Andrade El Idolo has picked up huge wins and now will face Adam Page at Grand Slam Australia with a shot at the AEW World Title at Revolution on the line.

As far as The Opps are concerned, HOOK has taken over the leadership of the team in Joe’s absence, but the reality is that the group has now been reduced to just the former FTW Champion and Katsuyori Shibata.