"It was a bit different than most guys" - Samoa Joe on how he's still in WWE 2K22 after his departure 

Former US Champion Samoa Joe has clarified how he's still in the WWE 2K22 video game after his release from the company.

The Samoan Submission Machine was released last year alongside numerous talents like William Regal and Road Dogg. Despite this, he's still featured in the game with several former stars like Jeff Hardy and Karrion Kross.

During an appearance on Kinda Funny Games Daily, Samoa Joe explained that WWE owns the character's rights to most stars, even after they leave the company, due to the licensing agreement in their contracts.

“Built into most of our contracts is a licensing agreement, dependent on whether or not, like I said, I am Samoa Joe, that’s my trademark, what I own, so for me, it was a bit different than most guys because I had a license agreement and we negotiated our price based off of that. Essentially, it’s the same type of thing with guys who maybe don’t have their own name or something. When you leave there, that character is still their property, essentially,” said Joe. (H/T WrestleZone)

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Samoa Joe is excited for WWE 2K22

WWE 2K22 was officially released yesterday, and the reviews have mostly been positive. The game received an 8 out of 10 points from IGN.

Joe is happy that fans liked the game as he worked with the developers for several years:

“I’m stoked for this game. I’ve got to work with the guys at 2K for a few years now and I know they wanted to make a big comeback this year and kick-ass and put out a great game. So I’m glad to hear a lot of positive feedback so far. And like I said, they gave me a golden cyborg arm and that s— touched my heart, so what more can I say?”

Have you played WWE 2K22 yet? What are your thoughts on the game? Let us know in the comments section below!