The main event of tonight’s AEW Dynamite saw Samoa Joe take on Roderick Strong in the finals of the AEW Grand Slam Eliminator Tournament, with Joe picking up the win. The Ring of Honor World Television Champion now goes on to challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship next week at AEW Grand Slam.
Tonight’s match saw the two men give it their all, but Joe was able to choke Strong out with more than 5 minutes left in the show. After the match, Joe cut a promo calling out MJF before heading to the back. With Strong and his allies from The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) still in the ring, Adam Cole came out to assist his old friend, with Strong clearly faking his injury. As Strong was stretchered out of the arena, Joe re-emerged to choke Cole out, speaking to MJF through the camera with threats to close the show.
Joe and Strong previously faced off in the quarter-final of the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament back in June, with that match being the genesis of the neckbrace Strong has been wearing ever since. In order to advance to the finals tonight, Joe had to defeat Penta El Zero Miedo and Jeff Hardy, while Strong overcame both Darby Allin and Trent Barretta.
Last week on AEW Dynamite, MJF and Joe came face-to-face in the ring, with both men offering up some cutting words against the other. The segment referenced the WWE NXT Takeover moment that saw Samoa Joe push a young MJF, dressed as a security guard, out of the way during an extended entrance sequence. The two will now face off for the first time, presumably in the main event, during next week’s show.