Samoa Joe has officially made his debut with NXT, strangely with his name intact. As much as I thought Joey Samoey was a giggle on the internet, like most fans I did have concerns of what name WWE would come up for him if he did indeed sign with the organisation.
Thankfully Samoa Joe has broken the NXT mould and managed to keep his persona and character loyal to what fans have previously seen of him during his runs with ROH and TNA. Samoa Joe seems to have gotten a great deal out of this as it appears that he has kept his name, his independent dates and also has already made an impact (damn these puns!) with his WWE merchandise sales.
This deal appears to be a break in style for WWE. Usually known talent like Finn, Hideo, Sami and Neville have come in to the company and immediately have been rebranded and repackaged. This is a smart business decision from WWE as it prevents that talent from using their character name that they have developed whilst be with WWE should they ever move on to another organization. Samoa Joe on the other hand seems to have pulled a CM Punk type of deal where it would appear he will still own the rights to his persona’s name. I would imagine that Joe is able to continue with the name ‘Samoa Joe’ if this deal doesn’t work out with WWE going forward. It would also appear that Joe has managed to get the best of both worlds; he’s now with the main company yet still able to operate as he pleases on the independent circuit.
I mentioned in my previous editorial that WWE are lacking matchups that we haven’t seen before and bringing people like Samoa Joe in to the company is the breathe of fresh air that is so desperately needed. This Sunday see’s the intriguing match of Kevin Owens vs John Cena and I hope to see Samoa Joe thrown in to some match ups that we haven’t seen before going forward.
This is dependent on Samoa Joe actually making it to the main roster. Rumours have suggested that he may remain in NXT. I do find it strange that people talk about Samoa Joe being in his twilight years when he is 36 and has plenty of years left on his belt. Granted, this all depends on how much he wants it and whether he may want to have a future in NXT when his in-ring time is done. Maybe he would want to follow in the footsteps of someone like Sara Del Ray who has done a fantastic job with all the female talent down in Florida.
If Samoa Joe gets to the main roster then the possibilities are great. Cena, Bryan, Ziggler and Cesaro would all be dream opponents for Samoa Joe on the main roster and going in to next year’s WrestleMania he would certainly have options for a ‘never before seen’ type of match.
Either way, WWE are lucky to have Joe and he is equally fortunate to be able to show his talents to a greater audience. Let’s hope this is a template in the future that allows established talent to get the opportunity they dream of, without having to make too many sacrifices for what they have worked so hard to create in the first place.
Are you excited to see Joe involved in WWE? Think he’ll make it to the main roster? Who would you want to see him face off against in the future? Tweet me at @BeansOnToastUK, email me at [email protected] or comment below!
