Samoa Joe Comments On Wrestling CM Punk In AEW 20 Years After Their First Matches

CM Punk and Ring of Honor World Television Champion Samoa Joe are no strangers to each other in the ring. Their feud 20 years ago was one of the building blocks on which ROH established itself and most recently, they rekindled their rivalry during the semifinals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament in AEW.

Samoa Joe recently appeared on the "Under the Ring" podcast and said Punk is a competitor who he had expected to feud with again as both their careers continue in Tony Khan's promotions. Joe said it was only a matter of time before their paths crossed again.

"I've found that throughout my career, the same cast of characters seem to have their head pop up and you know, Punk is definitely within that realm of those cast of characters, so to see us back in the ring against each other one more time is no big surprise," Joe said.

Joe said there is not much that has changed since they last were together in the ring — except maybe some more experience.

"A treasure trove and a wealth of experience from when we first locked up. We were very new in the industry, still very much journeymen learning. You never stop learning, but at the same time, we definitely knew a hell of a lot less back then," he said.

Samoa Joe will next put his title on the line at ROH Death Before Dishonor this Friday night. As for Punk, after defeating Joe in the Hart Foundation tournament, he went on to lose to Ricky Starks in the finals.