Updates On WWE Returns Of Samoa Joe And Xavier Woods

A less frightening bedtime story.

by Michael Sidgwick
Samoa Joe Xavier Woods
WWE.com

Take the following reports with a healthy dose of cynicism, for they were "broken" by the unverified depths of Reddit rumour-mongering.

User 'looselipsbackstage' does have a decent batting average. "This week's RAW is going to be dry" doesn't exactly require a crystal ball, but they did correctly guess or were reliably informed of Hell In A Cell's running order, and they were also informed of the Seth Rollins Vs. Rey Mysterio bait-and-switch that ultimately resulted in Brock Lesnar's annihilation of Dominick back in September.

Xavier Woods may return ahead of schedule since suffering an achilles tear in October. Per the Reddit user, Woods' evaluation date has been moved from July of 2020 to May of that year, which is more or less consistent with Woods' own words to CBS Sports, in which he claimed there was a lot of "wiggle room".

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On a similar note, doctors are scheduled to evaluate Samoa Joe's thumb injury on December 30, which should, if successful, put him in the plans for WrestleMania season, which is welcome news. Joe has experienced rotten luck with the biggest day of the year throughout his WWE career, resulting from injuries to both himself and his opponents.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!