Samoa Joe To WWE Rumors Heating Up

Samoa Joe, who recently left TNA Wrestling, might be WWE bound in the near future. The key word there is “might” because nothing is official yet. It was a topic that Dave Meltzer discussed on his Monday night radio show although he only talked about it briefly.

Here’s how Meltzer framed it during his Wrestling Observer Radio show (available at F4WOnline.com via subscription): “There’s going to be something with WWE. He is in theory WWE bound in some form, or at least attempting to be WWE bound.”

That’s what was said. I subscribe to the Observer and I think Meltzer’s very good at what he does, but he did not say it was a done deal. It’s funny because I’m getting tweets and seeing Facebook posts from people saying “Samoa Joe signing with WWE” like it’s a lock. Don’t get me wrong, I want it to happen. It’s just that at this point it is merely a rumor.

Joe appeared on the Ring of Honor PPV from Sunday night and will be working with them for a couple of months, but it’s just a short term deal there. WWE has hired a lot of people from Ring of Honor, so they’re likely aware of Joe’s current situation with them. It’s not a bad place for him to go work for a few months before they figure out what he might do with WWE.

Here’s a WWE match from March 2001 against Essa Rios. Joe was in his early 20s and not yet a big name in the business.

If Joe did sign with WWE he’d probably start in NXT like most new talents. He turns 36 years old on March 17, so he’s older than most “rookies” in WWE, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to put him in NXT for six months or so since NXT is such a great product right now. In terms of talent, no question he belongs in WWE. He’s already wrestled all over the world. If he wants a new challenge, going to WWE is what he should do.

There have been stories that Triple H is a fan of his and would be interested in signing him. Since WWE has made a lot o smart signings in the last year with the likes of Owens, Itami and Balor it’s no surprise that they would smart enough to get Joe too. He’s a great performer with experience.

I want Samoa Joe in WWE as much as anybody, but it’s still early in the process. There’s nothing official yet and it may be a month or two until there is. Think of this as a step in the right direction.

On a final Joe note, here’s a pic of him training with John Cena in UPW around 1999/2000. I found this on WWE.com in a collection of rare Cena photos.

What do you think about Joe to WWE? Too early to get excited? Let us know in the comments below.