There have been a large number of call-ups from NXT to the WWE main roster this year. Finn Balor, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Enzo & Cass, and Bayley are just a few of the call-ups that occurred this past year, but 2017 could kick off with another big NXT debut.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter was on the Live Audio Wrestling Podcast and said that he felt former NXT Champion Samoa Joe will more than likely be called up soon considering that his feud with current NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura has come to an end.
Meltzer feels that Joe has nothing left to accomplish in NXT and with Bobby Roode vs. Nakamura as the next main event feud, the only logical place for Joe to go would be to the main roster. As far as the time table goes, Meltzer has speculated that Joe could debut anywhere between now and the Royal Rumble.
When asked about which brand he thinks Joe should go to, Meltzer said that SmackDown needs him more than Raw does.
This comes after the news that AJ Styles is highly favoured by Vince McMahon and that he wants Styles to be on the Raw brand in the near-future. If their intention is to replace him, then calling up Samoa Joe to SmackDown could work.
Also read: WWE News: Speculation on Samoa Joe's main roster call-up and which brand he will join
At this time, SmackDown’s main eventers consist only of Styles and former champion Dean Ambrose, so Joe debuting on that brand could greatly benefit the show to get away from the Styles-Ambrose feud which has centred around the WWE Championship for the last four months.
Other SmackDown stars who could main event the show are currently preoccupied, with John Cena, who has taken some time off, and Randy Orton who is currently involved in a storyline with The Wyatt Family.
Joe has been critically praised by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter throughout his career. He has been awarded three 5-star matches, awarded Best Brawler in 2005 and 2006, awarded Most Outstanding Wrestler in 2005, and his 5-Star match against Kenta Kobashi was awarded Match of the Year as well.
Joe is one of several former TNA wrestlers to make a name for themselves in the WWE such as Austin Aries and Bobby Roode.
Joe made his debut over a year ago at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable when he came to the rescue of Sami Zayn and stared down Kevin Owens.
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