Samoa Joe "Absolutely" Working For In-Ring WWE Return

The Samoan Submission Machine confirms in-ring return hope and new role with WWE.

by Andrew Pollard
Samoa Joe

With Samoa Joe back in the WWE fold as an enforcer for William Regal on the NXT brand, the Samoan Submission Machine has confirmed that he is “absolutely” working towards an in-ring return and that he’s also now working as a talent scout for the company.

Speaking to Ryan Satin on Out of Character, Joe explained how his on-screen NXT role is combined with a scouting role working alongside Senior Director of Talent Development Canyon Ceman.

The former NXT Champion explained how this was an opportunity offered to him by Triple H once discussions took place over Samoa Joe returning to WWE – and that he is looking forward “to giving an opportunity to a lot of people that maybe wouldn’t get a look”.

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When asked about whether he was training for an eventual in-ring return, Joe was quick to reply, “Absolutely. We’ll just say yes and leave it at that” – namedropping Karrion Kross, Pete Dunne, WALTER, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly and Bronson Reed as guys he’d like to mix it up with.

Samoa Joe hasn’t wrestled since February 2020 due to concussion issues, with him one of many let go by WWE in the immediate aftermath of WrestleMania 37. Recently, the two-time WWE United States Champion made his return to the company on the 15 June episode of NXT

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.