More Details On Rumored Samoa Joe Return To WWE NXT, Who Led The Charge To Get Him Back

2nd Update: Fightful Select reports that the reason Samoa Joe was at the Performance Center last Tuesday was to meet with WWE officials, including Triple H, about his return to NXT. It was noted that the role for Joe in NXT has already been set, but it is open to expansion if everyone involved agrees.

The update notes that there have been several names NXT tried to bring back in the last fourteen months, but it never happened. At least one of the recently released stars pitched a return to NXT but that was denied.

UPDATE: PWInsider has confirmed that Samoa Joe is back in WWE and will be part of the NXT brand exclusively.

According to the report, Triple H ‘snatched him back’ as soon as he was able to. Once the decision was made by others to let Joe go, Triple H wasn’t happy and wanted to get him back in NXT, instead of letting him go elsewhere. Triple H was also the person who brought Joe to WWE in 2015 and at one point, had him on a deal that let him work independent dates, although that later changed.

Joe has been at the WWE Performance Center in recent weeks, although he was not backstage at last night’s Takeover. It should be noted that he was not taking bumps while at the PC. He has been out of action since February 2020 due to concussion problems. While he could end up wrestling eventually, that is not the company’s goal and Joe will be a non-wrestler, as noted below. If he’s not given the role of General Manager, he could also become an ‘enforcer’ for Regal.

Original: It was reported last week that there was some interest in NXT to bring back Samoa Joe after he was released from the WWE back in April. During the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that Samoa Joe is likely going to return to WWE and be the new authority figure for NXT. After last night’s NXT Takeover: In Your House main event, William Regal hinted at a change for the brand, and this would be that change.

It was also noted that if Joe is being brought back in a non-wrestler role, he likely still hasn’t been medically cleared to wrestle. But Joe has definitely taken a job in NXT, according to the report, and will be doing something behind-the-scenes, even if he doesn’t appear on television.