Samoa Joe Stands By Past Comments On The Forbidden Door

Despite being part of AEW and ROH in the run-up to the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door PPV in June, Samoa Joe has stood by past comments stating his dislike for the proverbial ‘forbidden door’.

Joe had been critical of the concept in the past, and during an appearance on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, the ROH World TV Champion clarified what he meant:

“I stand by my comments, here’s the thing, maybe my definition of Forbidden Door, and yours is different. But, mine was always WWE, okay, well that door is still not open. If you’re talking about co-promotion with like New Japan and other promotions, Ring Of Honor, that’s fine. But, to me, that’s never been considered a Forbidden Door,” Joe said. “I co-promoted with Ring Of Honor and New Japan years ago, and we did the Best Of Super Juniors. It didn’t turn out well, it wasn’t a good collaboration, from that experience, that’s what I base my experiences on.

“Even to this day when you talk about a Forbidden Door, I am talking about it from a standpoint of where I am at and where the people are at. The door that’s currently up is what adds value to a lot of the wrestlers. To me, even though I have dealt with Tony, and I have a very different feeling now that I am dealing personally with Tony. And talking business about how he handles himself, and what his vision is. Which is very noble, and I am surprised to hear. But, when the promoters start working together, does that usually work out for the wrestlers? I am just talking about from a labour standpoint.”

Joe previously spoke about the idea of the forbidden door in Summer 2021, voicing his dislike of the concept by saying “Messi ain’t doing day shifts over at Manchester United”, and admitted he still has issues with it:

“My opinion is still the same, and as far as I see it, that door is still up,” Joe said.”But there’s benefits for that door being up, and there’s benefits for that door being open. That door can be open, but there’s going to be a lot of industry change industry-wide before I can be comfortable with it from a performer. And for where I am standing as an entertainer who has been in this business, who has actually dealt with the financials, and knows what this business is about. I know you have your glorified view of what this is. But, the real war is us, trying to entertain you people.”

H/T: Wrestling Inc.