After much speculation, Samoa Joe officially made his return to NXT on tonight’s episode of the show (June 15th), two months to the date of his WWE release.
The show kicked off with NXT General Manager William Regal’s big announcement, which was all set to be his departure from the brand. NXT Champion Karrion Kross would then come out, specifically to gloat at Regal’s decision, only for Joe to make his triumphant return.
.@WWEKarrionKross was having a word with @RealKingRegal when @SamoaJoe showed up! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/JmgarCiuaD
— WWE (@WWE) June 16, 2021
In the wake of his impending departure Regal had intended to have Joe as his replacement however, Joe would refuse instead becoming Regal’s “special enforcer”. This new role for Joe would come with just the two rules from Regal:
- Samoa Joe cannot be a competitor.
- Samoa Joe cannot lay a hand on any of the NXT roster unless he’s “provoked”.
Whilst it is a shame we won’t be seeing Joe in a ring anytime soon a future interaction with Kross was teased, so maybe an in-ring return can yet happen.
"Tick Tock, young champion." @SamoaJoe, oh how we've missed you. #WWENXT #WeAreNXT @WWEKarrionKross @Lady_Scarlett13 pic.twitter.com/A7xr12orx3
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 16, 2021
With regards to the second rule, Joe was indeed provoked later on in the night. With Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly brawling backstage, the former dared to lay a hand on Joe, which resulted in him being choked out by the “Samoan Submission Machine”. This was not before General Manager Regal announced that Cole and O’Reilly will face off at the special Great American Bash episode of NXT in three weeks.
10 minutes on the job, and someone has already provoked @SamoaJoe.
Unruly behavior will not be tolerated in @RealKingRegal & @SamoaJoe's #WWENXT! @AdamColePro @KORcombat pic.twitter.com/mPMK9V09V8
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 16, 2021
What do you think about Samoa Joe’s return to NXT? And is there anyone else from the recent releases you would like to see return to the brand? Let us know in the comments, or over on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
You can keep up with all the results from tonight’s episode of NXT here
