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What's the story?
Samoa Joe recently appeared on 102.5 The Bone's Drew Garabo Live to talk about the decision to come to the WWE. Wrestling Inc. reported on the interview with the radio station based in Tampa, Florida.
In case you didn't know...
Well before his time in NXT and the WWE, Samoa Joe was a highly touted wrestler. Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him #4 in their yearly top 500 list in years 2006 and 2008.
The heart of the matter...
Joe stated that Triple H was instrumental in getting him to make the jump from Impact Wrestling to the WWE. He was the first one to contact Joe, but as you can see in the quote below, there were a lot of people within the WWE who made an effort to get Joe to come over...
"Yeah, [Triple H] made the call, so I give him a ton of credit for me being with WWE because he was my contact point. Really, it was a bunch of dudes. It was Paul Heyman; it was Road Dogg; it was Joey Mercury. Really, it was a laundry list of people who were with the company who worked with me throughout my [pro wrestling] career."
In the beginning, Joe was just offered an NXT-only deal because Vince McMahon wanted to establish new talent rather than call-up established names from another company. Once Joe made an impact in NXT and was a proven merchandise seller, Vince's tune definitely changed.
What's next?
Samoa Joe is currently in a heated battle at the top of the card on Monday Night Raw. With Braun Strowman interfering in the #1 contender's match with Joe and Roman Reigns, it leaves SummerSlam up in the air, but the rumor is it'll be a Fatal 4 Way for the WWE Universal Championship held by Brock Lesnar.
Author's take...
The track record of Triple H with his work in NXT says it all. He knows what talent can succeed in NXT and the WWE, and the great work that Joe has done in the main event picture proves it.
I'm rooting for either Joe or Braun Strowman to take the title at SummerSlam, not only so the champion is on the show every week again, but because if one of those two wins, they'll become a well-deserving first-time world champion.
