WWE Considered Samoa Joe Finished With In-Ring Competition

Samoa Joe was released from WWE as the company gutted NXT. It is not a coincidence that all the firings were handpicked people by Triple H. Ringside News exclusively reported that those releases were personal. Many fans hoped to see Samoa Joe return to the ring, possibly to face Bron Breakker, but the company had other ideas.

WWE made it clear in their statement about the firings that they did not cut any talent. Since Samoa Joe, Danny Burch, and Timothy Thatcher were all fired that seems to paint a picture that WWE viewed them all as retired from in-ring activity.

Fightful Select also went on to note that Samoa Joe was actually fired yesterday along with everyone else. For some reason it just took a bit longer for that news to break.

We’re told that talent at the Performance Center had actually learned of Samoa Joe leaving WWE on Wednesday, even though the news broke on Thursday.

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It was also reported that staff at the Performance Center said that “within a few weeks of Samoa Joe being stripped of the NXT Title and being made inactive, there wasn’t much if any chatter about him returning to the ring and he’d settled well into his new role.”

One source reportedly said that there was some shock when Joe was cleared to compete in NXT again. He relinquished the NXT Title and never wrestled for the brand again, thus retiring a champion. Only time will tell if and when Samoa Joe wrestles again.

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