WWE News: When Former TNA Star Samoa Joe Is Set To Make His WWE NXT Debut
When former TNA Star Samoa Joe left the company, many were shocked. Joe had been so loyal for the last number of years despite several issues with the company. However, everyone can see that TNA is going through a change right now. Some of that might be good, but other parts of the change simply didn’t fit into Joe’s plans it seems. This on top of the rumored pay issues TNA has gone through lately.
Once Joe left TNA, rumors of a possible WWE move were rampant. However, Joe is 36 years old, and most of the time WWE does not even consider hiring people at such an age. However, WWE is going through a change as well with former WWE Superstar Triple H running Talent Relations. Triple H happens to be a huge Samoa Joe fan. This knowledge led many to speculate that Samoa Joe would be going to WWE once he had the chance.
Not only did the rumors of this get going, but Joe himself confirmed that he was going to be attempting a WWE career to people at Indy shows. He even ended his Ring of Honor run early so that he could make his way to WWE. Many assumed that Joe would just walk in and show up on WWE NXT right away. Sadly, this is WWE. It doesn’t quite work that way.
It is said that Joe did work out for WWE. However, he also has to pass WWE’s medical testing. Once he does the testing and passes, he will be able to get a WWE contract. Usually this takes a few months to get going. That being said, Samoa Joe was never really set to make a WWE appearance in April despite being available. WWE may have wanted to hold off on having him show up on WWE programming until he was under a WWE deal. If he could not pass medical testing or WWE didn’t think he was worthy of a hire, it wouldn’t make sense for him to just appear on a show despite how much Triple H likes him.
The Wrestling Observer reports that we could see Samoa Joe make his WWE NXT debut this June. There is a shot that we could see him at the end of May due to WWE having a live special for NXT then on the WWE Network. This would be a perfect time for Joe to debut. Of course, this all depends on medical testing coming back clear as well as WWE still wanting to offer him a WWE deal.
Samoa Joe is a fan favorite and when he does show up on WWE NXT, the place will go nuts. WWE probably wouldn’t keep him in NXT very long as due to his age, WWE will have to use him as much as they can. He only has a short window according to many, so WWE will have to use him as much as possible in his first few years with the company.
[IMG Credit: Mindofcarnage.com]
