AEW World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe honored John Cena on Dynamite: Winter Is Coming, just days before Cena’s retirement match.
Cena and Joe share a long history from their early careers in the 2000s. They trained and competed together in Ultimate Pro Wrestling in California before making it big in their respective careers. They met in a WWE tag team match, and they even wrestled each other once in a singles match at an live event in 2017.
On AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming, Joe defended the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event against Eddie Kingston. Both men delivered intense warnings earlier in the night and once the bell rang, they fought with everything they had.
During the title match, Samoa Joe decided to pay tribute to the 17-time WWE World Champion. Even as a heel, he honored Cena by hitting the Attitude Adjustment, locking in the STF and giving a Cena-style salute to the camera. Kingston eventually escaped by biting Joe’s hand, but the moment was clear a respectful nod to Cena’s legacy.
Joe kept his title by locking Kingston in the Coquina Clutch. Kingston quickly faded and tapped out, giving Joe the victory. His tribute stood out as a heartfelt salute to John Cena, who will wrestle the final match of his career this weekend at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., against Gunther.
Cena also acknowledged the move, posting a photo of the exchange on his Instagram account.
Check out what else happened on AEW Dynamite here.
