It looks like WWE planned on having Samoa Joe and Big E make their respective returns to RAW this week, but it remains to be seen if the show that airs is what was originally planned.
On Sunday night, Samoa Joe relinquished the NXT Championship due to being injured, and WWE medical would not clear him to compete. According to Fightful Select, Samoa Joe was originally written into the script for Monday’s episode of WWE RAW. It was noted that Joe’s appearance was likely in relation to promoting tomorrow night’s NXT reboot, but it’s unknown what Joe would have done on RAW or if he’ll still appear on the show at all after Sunday night’s announcement.
In a separate report, Fightful also noted that Big E is currently planned to appear “all over the show” and he’ll likely be teasing a cash-in. Big E is the current Men’s Money In The Bank contract holder, and is tapped for “numerous” segments on a show that is advertising Randy Orton vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship tonight.
It was said that overall, both shows went through a major reshuffling, although it happened much sooner than it typically occurs (which is after the scripts have been finalized). It was noted that Samoa Joe’s injury definitely caused a lineup change for NXT, which was already scheduled to serve as a reboot of the brand, but several of these changes are “not within the control of the company” and NXT talent are still unaware of what the new NXT will entail.
