Samoa Joe comments about the backstage incident with CM Punk and Jack Perry, dust-up over Hook’s title shot with Jinder comparisons

Samoa Joe spoke to ESPN about tonight’s AEW World Title defense against Hook, the incident backstage with C.M. Punk and Jack Perry that led to Punk’s firing and Perry’s suspension, and. The following are key highlights…

•Regarding the social media dust-up last week when Tony Khan responded to criticism of Hook receiving a title match by comparing it to Jinder Mahal getting a title shot against Seth with a much worse record: “I don’t know. That had nothing to do with me. I mean, that’s just really a cute little debate. I’m glad everybody’s chimed in on it. But on paper, Hook sounds like the perfect challenger. I mean, he’s 29-1. He’s got the stats, but let’s see if he’s got the heart. And I think that’s what this match is really about. We’ve set a new standard for who will get the championship shots around here. And it’s gonna bring up a lot of discussion and disagreements. So, I more than welcome this opening chapter. And as for Hook, I mean, he’s a tremendous young athlete. When you look at this guy, you look at a guy with limitless potential. He has the pedigree. We will take him in and find out what he’s made of.”

•On AEW going from having a honeymoon period online to being the subject of harsher and harsher criticism on social media: “Because online fandom isn’t about sharing an experience with somebody. It’s about being right. It’s about having a point of view and then finding every tidbit or morsel to support that point of view and hammering away against the other people who may have an opposing point of view. It’s a different type of fandom that I think people don’t recognize, and it’s not really about the product, the fighters, or people in general. It’s just about beating this other person at the other end of the Twitter handle, or whatever it may be. That’s really what it boils down to. I best sum it up this way. I’ve never heard somebody say, ‘Man, I really changed a lot of people’s minds with that tweet.'”

•On the C.M. Punk-Jack Perry backstage incident: “There was a little bit of an incident. We got it broken up. We went out there and wrestled, man. That’s the gist of it. Everybody wants it to be a lot more than what it is, but that’s what it was. And to speak any more on it would be pointless unless you’re trying to get a scorecard and stuff — but trust me, it wasn’t that type of a fight. … I’ve seen fights break out. Stuff happens. But again, that’s me. I’ve been in these situations, I’ve seen that. I’ll find it funny when people are like, ‘Oh, Joe’s cool with it.’ I mean, nah man, it was a high-stress situation. Sure. But I mean, it’s one I’ve seen happen many times. We get it squashed out. We had a show to do. We had [81,035] fans waiting out there. And that was my focus, because that’s what it was about at that moment. We’re about to go out and have the best night of our lives.”

•Regarding being complimented as a cool head and voice of reason in that Punk-Perry incident: “Hey, listen, we all understood that there was something to be done. There was a mission ahead of us and everybody just got focused. And hey, if I was a part of that, cool. But my intention was to get out there and get this show on the road.”

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