Even though Samoa Joe doesn't have a definitive return date, he is ready to capture a WWE World Championship before he calls it quits for good.
Samoa Joe has been one of the most revered in-ring performers of the last 20 years. His early run with the Ring of Honor World Championship helped further put that company on the map and his TNA Wrestling World Championship when over Kurt Angle at Lockdown in 2008 helped establish him as a main event player and pushed him towards main event matches against competitors such as Sting and Booker T.
Arriving in WWE via the NXT brand in early 2015, Joe would capture the NXT Championship within a year of his debut but he has yet to capture the big prize on either Raw or SmackDown and for Joe, that is the final stamp that his legacy needs.
“(Those titles) are a calling card for a legacy. It’s something that’s sought after,” Joe said in an interview with UPROXX. “It’s based on perseverance and time. I’ve existed in a career wrought with doubt by others. I’ve learned to shut it out and never listened to it because honestly, I never had to accept those results and we found a way to get it done. So we’re just working on that right now. Just being strategic about it.”
While Joe waits to be medically cleared to return, He has been given the unique opportunity to be a Monday Night Raw commentator. Joe says he appreciates this opportunity because he says it allows him to see the full picture beyond the action that occurs from bell-to-bell.
“You can spend your entire life in the ring and never have a true understanding of what goes on a few feet outside of it,” Joe said. “Sitting behind the commentary desk (has allowed me to see) how all the moving parts work and coming to have an appreciation for the incredibly intricate and amazing machine that is WWE production. I think that’s by far the most surprising thing that I’ve enjoyed learning about. Just seeing my colleagues on the announce desk, guys like Michael Cole, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and seeing the amazing amounts of responsibility that they balance and have.
“In my opinion, that broadcast seat is one of the most unique jobs in sports and it is probably one of the things that I think the world will never know how complex it is.”
To learn more about the current status of a potential Samoa Joe return, click here.
