Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff is 'counting on' Samoa Joe being on Destination America show

One of the most talked about things in pro wrestling has been Samoa Joe's contract with WWE. Allowing the star to work and sell merchandise under the name he owns was surprising enough, but when word came out that he'd be appearing on ROH TV while working on NXT, it became clear that Joe had a very unique deal.

Then came the Destination America announcement. Word that Ring of Honor (ROH) was joining TNA Impact Wrestling on cable channel Destination America added a new level of intrigue to the story.

The Wrestling Observer's latest edition (subscription required but recommended) reports that Joe has very few restrictions on his deal with WWE. He has a limited number of NXT dates locked in, and can continue to take independent dates at the same time. The Observer believes that Joe may be keeping other dates short-term and similarly open in case he works out a main roster deal with WWE, but says he has spoken to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

What's unclear is where this leaves ROH, especially now that they'll be reaching more households on a nation-wide channel. Word was that the former ROH & TNA champ would head back to the Sinclair Broadcasting-owned promotion in September after his run with NXT, but he's was announced for a June television taping even before the Destination America deal became public knowledge.

Now it seems that even one of the men behind one of Joe's deals is unsure how ROH's move to Wednesdays at 8PM Eastern will effect The Samoan Submission Machine.

Chief Operating Officer Joe Koff was a guest of 411Mania's Greg DeMarco on his podcast, and addressed Joe's status in light of their new broadcasting arrangement:

We have not heard otherwise, so I don't have the answer for you. We have contracts—they have contracts. I'm hoping that since he was able to take our booking when we had a TV program with significant coverage. I don't know at this point, I am counting on him to be on TV with us as long as he appears with us, but I guess we'll find out.

While we're waiting to find out along with Koff, he did clear up some questions about what would be airing on Destination America, and it is the same show we get now - and will continue to be able to get via the company's website. Here was his response to the question of whether or not fans would still be able to stream ROH TV:

Absolutely. It's really well thought out by both parties. Our programs are weekend programs that primarily air on our Sinclair stations plus our syndicated partners on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The Destination America program will be available at 8 o'clock... with the same program. We've expanded our footprint significantly with the Destination America clearance... it's a win-win for everybody.

Whether the internet will be the only place to see Joe & AJ Styles face The Addiction next month will remain to be seen.

Listen to the full Greg DeMarco Show for more on how the deal came together with Discovery Communications, how Koff sees Ring of Honor and TNA co-existing as well as a visit from Tough Enough hopeful Ashley Tramonte.

Will we be able to see Samoa Joe on two Wednesday shows at the same time?