10 WWE Stars Samoa Joe MUST Face If He Returns To The Ring

Samoa Joe has been through quite the rollercoaster ride over the past year or so.

The decorated wrestler found his time inside the ring cut short through injury but started to tread new ground on the commentary team. After returning to television, he ended up taking a far more permanent seat behind the desk than we ever expected.

Then, suddenly, he was released from the company, and fans everywhere collectively gasped.

It seemed that his time with the promotion was done, but then in a fit just as surprising as his release, he was re-hired and sent to NXT to play an authority figure alongside William Regal, with the possible chance of an in-ring return on the horizon. Overall, it's safe to say things have been unpredictable.

If Joe does get the chance to re-enter the squared circle - which fans are all hoping for - then there are many wrestlers he needs to battle against. While he's no longer at his peak performance level, Joe is still a dream match machine, and WWE is hardly starving for great opponents to pair him with...

Seeing Joe facing off against newer, fresher wrestlers will be high on many a fan's hitlist. There's a lot of reason for this, with some of the most prominent being that Joe can push these performers to their absolute limits and raise their stock in the process, no matter the outcome.

One such wrestler who could benefit from this is Damian Priest.

Priest has found a good amount of success on the main roster thus far, as he's been given a great spotlight and received solid booking. One way to continue this trend and push him to the next level would be to tee him up against a business veteran, and who better than the returning Joe?

While Samoa Joe will likely be sticking to NXT, that doesn't mean Priest can't take a walk to the gold brand, as the promise of this match would be too great to resist. Their differing heights, powerhouse in-ring styles and visual clashes would make for a really good spectacle, and the story of a young, hungry talent fighting for Joe's respect writes itself.