Tony Khan Reveals Samoa Joe's AEW Debut Match, Another Owen Hart Qualifier Set For Dynamite

By Marc Middleton

Samoa Joe will make his AEW in-ring debut in a qualifier for The Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament.

AEW President, CEO, General Manager & Head Of Creative Tony Khan took to Twitter and announced Joe vs. Max Caster for tomorrow's AEW Dynamite from Boston. This will be the first qualifying match for the men's tournament.

"Arriving last week at ROH #SupercardOfHonor, @SamoaJoe is signed with @AEW & has said that he plans to dominate! Samoa Joe debuts in AEW vs. @PlatinumMax in an Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament Qualifier Bout on #AEWDynamite LIVE @ 8pm ET/7pm CT on @TBSNetwork TOMORROW night!," Khan wrote.

Khan also announced that the third qualifier for The Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament will be held on Dynamite with Hikaru Shida vs. Julia Hart.

"Tomorrow on Wednesday Night Dynamite is a huge night of pro wrestling on TBS, and the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament Qualifiers continue LIVE on #AEWDynamite @ 8pm ET/7pm CT with @shidahikaru vs. @TheJuliaHart! @jmehytr + Toni Storm are already in the field, who's next?," he wrote.

Last week's AEW Dynamite saw Toni Storm debut with a qualifier win over The Bunny. Last week's AEW Rampage then featured Jamie Hayter defeating Skye Blue to be the second women's wrestler to qualify for the tournament.

As noted, Joe made his surprise return to ROH at the end of Friday's Supercard of Honor XV event. The main event saw Jonathan Gresham defeat Bandido to become the Undisputed ROH World Champion, but Gresham and Lee Moriarty were attacked by Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal after the bout. Lethal, who turned on longtime friend Matt Sydal earlier in the night after defeating Moriarty, challenged Gresham to an immediate title match but Gresham denied him because of his earlier actions. This led to Dutt hitting Gresham and Gresham getting beat down. Moriarty tried to help Gresham but he failed, and that's when Joe came out. Joe faced off with Lethal, then choked Dutt out.

Khan announced that Joe is "All Elite" after Supercard of Honor, and later confirmed that he is signed to both AEW and ROH.

Dynamite will be Joe's first-ever appearance for AEW. Supercard of Honor XV marked his first ROH appearance since June 2015. WWE released the ROH Hall of Famer and former ROH World Champion from his contract back on January 6, and it's believed he had a 30-day non-compete clause that would've expired on February 5.

Stay tuned for more on tomorrow's AEW Dynamite from the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Below is the updated line-up:

* New AEW/ROH star Samoa Joe vs. Max Caster in the first qualifying match for The Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament. This will be Joe's AEW debut

* Hikaru Shida vs. Julia Hart in the third qualifying match for The Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament. Winner joins Toni Storm and Jamie Hayter as confirmed entrants

* Shawn Dean vs. Shawn Spears

* Christian Cage vs. Adam Cole

* The Hardys vs. The Butcher and The Blade in a Tables Match

* FTR defends the AAA World Tag Team Titles and the ROH World Tag Team Titles against The Young Bucks

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