text: In March 2001, Joe defeated Christopher Daniels to win the UPW Heavyweight Championship; he held the title for a record 258 days before losing to Mikey Henderson in November 2001.In October 2001, Joe competed in All Pro Wrestling's "King of Indies" tournament that was won by American Dragon. Pro Wrestling Zero-One (2001–2003)
  As part of a working arrangement between Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Shinya Hashimoto's Pro Wrestling Zero-One promotion, Joe made his first appearance in Japan in June 2001 during Pro Wrestling Zero-One's "Shingeki" pay-per-view. In his debut match he teamed with Keiji Sakoda to defeat Katsumi Usuda and Yuki Ishikawa to become the inaugural Intercontinental Tag Team Champions; the titles were awarded to Mike Rapada and Steve Corino the following month. Joe went on to take part in the 2001 Fire Festival, finishing second in his block with four points after defeating George Takano and Masato Tanaka but losing to Kohei Sato. Joe returned to Pro Wrestling Zero-One in January 2002, where Masato Tanaka and Shinjiro Otani defeated him and Tom Howard to win the vacant Intercontinental Tag Team Championship. 