Reason For Samoa Joe NXT Return Reportedly Revealed
The wrestling world is buzzing with reports that Samoa Joe is back in NXT.
The news will surprise many fans as WWE released the former NXT Champion after WrestleMania 37. Joe was released on April 15th, alongside The IIconics and Mickie James among others.
PWInsider reports that Samoa Joe has been spotted at the Performance Center in recent weeks and will return exclusively on the black and gold brand at Triple H’s request.
The report states that the WWE Hall of Famer wasn’t happy with Joe’s release adding that he “snatched him back” as soon as he could.
Samoa Joe’s reported return comes after NXT General Manager William Regal’s cryptic announcement at the close of NXT TakeOver: In Your House. McKenzie Mitchell asked the GM for his thoughts on the show and, an exasperated Regal replied that things had to change in the promotion to restore order. The news led to rumours that Joe will come in as Regal’s replacement or enforcer.
PWInsider confirms that Samoa Joe is back with WWE as part of the #WWENXT brand. Triple H wanted him and got him back. It sure seems like he'll either be replacing Regal on TV or backing him up. I still hope he's cleared one day for a final, proper run.
— Jason Solomon (@solomonster) June 14, 2021
Samoa Joe hasn’t wrestled since February 2020 due to suffering a concussion while filming a WWE commercial. He later became part of the Monday Night RAW announce team.
Samoa Joe signed with NXT in 2015 after successful runs in Ring of Honor and TNA. In NXT, he became the first-ever two-time NXT Champion before joining the main roster in 2017. On the main roster Joe defeated Roman Reigns on his debut, became a two-time United States Champion and challenged Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Great Balls Of Fire.