It's Official: Samoa Joe Is In WWE

[Jack-Hammer]

After quite a bit of speculation over the last several months, it's official that Samoa Joe has signed with WWE and made his surprise debut at tonight's live episode of NXT, NXT Takeover: Unstoppable.

Joe popped up in the closing moments of the NXT Championship match between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, though who knows how long Joe will be in NXT before moving to the main roster.

 

[ISkye]

Very excited to see him there. I haven't quite followed Samoa Joe, but I have heard more than plenty good about him. I'm starting to feel good about NXT again like when I first watched

 

[WenzDay]

I was completely shocked which doesnt happen much on WWE programming and it was such an epic moment for those who have followed Samoa Joe, even a little bit. The best part about it was it didnt leak on the internet like most debuts do. We heard whispers but nothing official which was brilliant by HHH.

Those last 5 minutes of Takeover officially made NxT the superior show over Monday Night RAW, if it wasnt already. His inclusion into the main event shows that Hunter and the WWE brass have all the confidence in the world that he can make a huge impact right away ala Kevin Owens.

My opinion is Joe and Owens will be the main feud on NxT going forward, even though Balor is the new #1 contender, maybe leading to a triple threat title match or Joe costing Owens the title vs Finn at the next Takeover. This would get the title off Owens without KO looking weak and lead to one blow off match before Owens gets called up to the main roster. This way NxT has a new tough and physical performer in Joe to fill the void after Owens leaves (around Survivor Series) and then starts a program with Balor for the title.

I think this is a good way to move KO up and still keep the NxT title scene exciting and down the road when Joe gets called up Owens will be waiting for him. I feel this could lead to their first main roster confrontation at Royal Rumble (Joe's debut) with SJ eliminating Owens. That will start a 2 month feud ending in a big match at WM32 where Owens gets the biggest win of his career.

After WM32 Owens will ascend to main event status capturing a world title at Summerslam '16 while Joe stays in important feuds with the likes of Reigns and Orton but never reaching WWE WHC gold

 

[SoulTrain4]

I was very excited to see joe. The damn crowd pretty much ruined it....fucking smarks but it was awesome nonetheless.

I wonder what his role will be. I don't see him spending a lot of time in NXT if he has a deal to move up to the main roster.

 

[Jericho91]

NXT is a show that revolves around new talent. Samoa Joe isn't an upcoming performer that slowly needs to earn his stripes. They make it look like he's there for a tryout (even though I know that's not the case). The same goes for Rhino.

These guys are veterans that deserve to be on the main roaster. I'm happy to see Samoa join the WWE at last. But I'm not happy to see where they put him. Ironically, it's like burying someone before they even make it lol.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

I was very excited to see joe. The damn crowd pretty much ruined it....fucking smarks but it was awesome nonetheless.

I wonder what his role will be. I don't see him spending a lot of time in NXT if he has a deal to move up to the main roster.

If it wasn't a smark crowd, Joe would have come out to total silence.

 

[fenderjapan]

What's Ethiopia Stan doing on NXT?

In seriousness, pretty cool to see him there. I thought it was a photoshop when I saw him face to face with Owens on twitter. Will be interesting to see if he goes the way of a veteran trainer or a new talent.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Its cool that they let him keep his name. As a matter of fact they are already selling Samoa Joe tshirts.

I think that Joe time on NXT will be short compared to other talents. Like it or not, he is know by a lot more people that guys like Kevin Owens, Sami, etc.

He was on television on a constant basis for almost 10 years. Its way more easy to market him, and put him on the main roster.

 

[King502]

The possibilities R endless Samoa Joe vs RKO WM32 will b nuts joe can face Wyatt DB trips seth roman this will b nuts

 

[FiveTymeWCWChamp]

Samoa Joe keeping his name and gimmick is what's best for business. WWE needs to realize that wrestling fans follow all wrestling. The people that spend money on the product are not the casual fan. When you bring in someone from an American promotion......use that! It's his gimmick he has used since day one. Slight tweeks are OK, but at the end of he day, we all know who these guys are. Just accept it and make money off of it!

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

I'vebeen Reading and read that Joe's t-shirts have already been sold out. And if true that's pretty huge.
I Love that he kept his name and hopefully they allow Joe to be himself. I don't want Joe to be down in NXT for too long, Yes the talent is amazing and yes that's (probably) why Joe came to Wwe but he's not getting any younger. Give the fans Joe vs Owens, Itami, Balor, Uhaa, and get him out of NXT as soon as possible. But then again once he gets to the main roster I fear for him, so him leaving NXT too early may not be the right move?).....I dont know but im very excited about the many possibilities and scenarios that may happen in the future.
I love just about every fan scenario so far that I've heard(read) when it comes to Joe -- from Joe debutting by winning the U.S championship from Cena, to Joe forming a Samoan group with the Usos(and possibly Reigns), to Joe vs Lesnar/Orton at Wrestlemania 32.

Also I Hope wwe doesn't force him to wear a T-shirt when he wrestles. I've become accustomed to Joe wrestling shirtless it just seemed odd watching him wrestle with a shirt when he was in TNA(he didn't always wrestle with a shirt but when he did it just felt odd, kind of like that time when almost everyone in TNA wrestled an entire show in jeans).

 

[Wald]

I think Joe is there to put over Kevin Owens before heading to the main roster at the end of the year. Joe could make a big impact up there as a face or a heel, I'd love to see him come in as something of a shoot fighter and I'm happy to see his first t-shirt states he's a submission specialist. I've been a big fan of Joe for years and a dream match for me would be Samoa Joe v Brock Lesnar. A lot of people think Brock v Cena changed the script back in 2012 with their ultra-realistic fight style match but really that honour belongs to Joe v Kurt Angle from 2007.

 

[OYDK]

I had a very strong feeling that we would be seeing Joe last night. Throughout the night, I went back and forth between, "he's definitely showing up" and "maybe he won't..." Still, I can't say I wasn't surprised to actually see him on NXT.

I've been a huge fan of Joe since I started watching TNA back in 06, and I'm very excited to see him in a WWE ring, no matter what his role is. Owens vs Joe has the makings of an absolutely amazing, hard-hitting match and I hope it happens sooner rather than later.

 

[laodaron]

Yeah, I'm buying this. As in, this is some pretty smart booking, HHH trying the misdirection, etc.

I think I may have jumped the gun in the previous thread about Joe . He might have a year or two left in him, especially since he's slimmed down. While I think he'll make a great trainer at some point, I would LOVE for him to be involved in the Cena/Owens match at EC in a few weeks, leading to a Joe/Cena feud for the summer. He doesn't need NXT as much as he needs to be utilized in his last few years on the main WWE roster.

But, while his first introduction to the fans was as a babyface, Samoa Joe is no babyface. He's a brutal heel, if we're talking WWE style. He needs to be booked as such.

 

[Seosa]

Just thinking of the possibilities now Joe is here is exciting. Remember the fantasy booking of 2008? Now shit just got real, not forgetting the huge potential with Owens, Zayn, Balor, etc.

Epic moment to watch as well, the crowd did it sweet justice.

 

[RicSpade]

When it comes to Joe keeping his name it definitely shows his star power, the last time to keep his name that came from indies or TNA, ROH (and I mean their whole name) was a guy by the name of CM Punk and that was a long time ago, since then there hasn't been one name WWE didn't want already established, the only other wrestler I think they could bring in like that now would be either a 2nd or 3rd generation star or an AJ Styles.