What They Did Next: WWE 2021 Releases - Part 1

The fact that Samoa Joe has never held the Universal or WWE championships is proof that Vince McMahon needs to release the chokehold he maintains over WWE.

As physically imposing as he is technically proficient, capable of surprising bursts of speed, and with some truly nasty submissions in his bag of tricks, Joe seemed born for the same sort of unstoppable monster portrayal that both Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns have received. And yet he never received more than a mid-card title run on the WWE main roster, holding the United States Championship twice before he was released.

Reportedly, Triple H is a big fan of Joe, originally bringing him to NXT under a then-unique deal that allowed him to continue working independent bookings. Furious that Joe was released, he immediately began negotiating for him to return to NXT rather than work anywhere outside the walls of WWE.

And so, on the 15 June episode of NXT, Joe was reintroduced as the new special enforcer for General Manager William Regal, bringing order to the chaos and moving straight into the path of the until-then undefeated NXT champion, Karrion Kross, and soon starting an historic if short-lived third title reign.