Real Reason Samoa Joe Vacated The ROH World Television Title

For much of 2023, Samoa Joe lorded it over All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor as the ‘King of Television’, with Joe holding both the TNT Championship and ROH World Television Championship during the year.

Joe’s record breaking run with the ROH TV Title ended under controversial circumstances, after Joe vacated the belt so he could focus on going after the AEW World Championship. The title will be up for grabs in a Survival of the Fittest match at ROH’s upcoming Final Battle pay-per-view on December 15, and in a media call ahead of the PPV, ROH Owner Tony Khan revealed why Joe vacated the title.

Per Khan, there was consideration for how to end Joe’s reign, with the decision made to get the title off Joe before his quest for the AEW World Title properly took flight. Khan admits that simultaneously chasing MJF and defending the TV Title may have been ‘tasking’ for Joe, and there were considerations for the ‘Samoan Submission Machine’ to drop the title to another wrestler rather than vacate it.

The decision to vacate the belt was met with derision from wrestling fans and industry insiders alike, especially as Joe had just defeated Keith Lee in a successful title defence, the vacating of the belt making Lee look somewhat of a chump in comparison.

H/T: POST Wrestling