Samoa Joe’s dream match with Minoru Suzuki last week on AEW Dynamite was followed by a disappointing post-match angle featuring the debut of Satnam Singh.
The lights went out after Joe won the match, signifying the arrival of an exciting mystery person. Fans were understandably underwhelmed (and maybe even confused) when that exciting mystery person turned out to be Satnam Singh, an unknown rookie as far as pro wrestling is concerned. Singh didn’t do anything impressive during his debut. His go-to move was wrapping his hands around Joe’s skull to squeeze him into unconsciousness.
The criticism of Singh’s debut reached the point where AEW head honcho acknowledged it wasn’t executed well. WWE even trolled AEW over it the next day.
In an interview with the New York Post, Samoa Joe also reacted to the sharp backlash to Satnam’s debut. Samoa doesn’t pretend the segment was a homerun, but he also doesn’t get why so many people were bothered to that degree over it:
“I think hemming and hawing over minor things like that are ridiculous. I understand people have their opinions and feel a certain way about it, but I personally think it’s silly to sit here and continue to harp on it.”
I’d reckon that plenty of pro wrestling fans over the years have been frustrated watching seven foot tall giants with no pro wrestling acumen or talent receive massive pushes due to their size alone. Singh’s bad debut brought those concerns to the surface for many AEW fans who don’t expect to see that sort of thing in All Elite Wrestling.
Singh’s follow-up appearance on AEW Rampage was more well-received, or at least helped mitigate the negative initial reaction to his debut. It looks like Satnam is being set up for a match against Joe sooner rather than later. Are you looking forward to the inevitable clash of Joe vs. Singh, Cagesiders?
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