Samoa Joe on His Praise of Tony Khan’s Response To Recent AEW Tragedies

TV Insider held a recent interview with Samoa Joe. One of the topics discussed included Joe’s thoughts about AEW holding several tribute shows for Rebel for her battle with terminal ALS and for “The Butcher” Andy Williams and “PAC” Benjamin Satterley following their passing.

“The truth of it is there is no real established protocol beyond how anybody grieves amongst friends and loved ones. I think in times like this we try to be there for each other and available for that late-night call if you need to talk about it or something like that.

I think we’re just more sensitive to that around these times. Obviously, the loss of Ben [PAC] and Andy [Andy Butcher] was felt far and beyond even AEW. Almost every locker room in the world felt it because they made an impact in the many places that they worked.”

Joe also gave his thoughts about his praise of AEW CEO Tony Khan’s response response to them.

“I think the endeavor that kind of starts with gratitude usually ends up being pretty spectacular in the end. Tony [Khan] is very admirable in that he’s very sensitive to these types of situations and how much we as performers mean to each other, especially over the breadth of our career and the journey that is what we do.

However, I think that is across the board. I think it’d be selfish to say it is just AEW. I think we all understand the great loss that we’ve had to endure these past months. I think in these times we band together. We definitely cherish and have a better understanding that our time on this earth is precious. We should tell the people that we care about them, and we love them when we get the opportunity.”