Triple H and Vince McMahon Reportedly Push Samoa Joe to Sign a Full-Time WWE Contract

[CM Punk]

- Samoa Joe has reportedly signed a full-time deal with WWE after impressing everyone at the recent NXT TV tapings. Joe's merchandise sales from his first WWE t-shirt were so "off the charts" that Vince McMahon and Triple H pushed to get him signed to a full-time deal.

Joe will reportedly fulfill his indie dates that are already scheduled but will be working a full-time WWE schedule, likely with NXT before going to the main roster.

Source

 

[Senhor Perfect]

Joe vs Owens in a classic fat guy match? Count me in! :happy:

 

[ShaRpY HaRdY]

Ahh should've done a search for Samoa Joe, didn't notice this thread because it started with Triple H and Vince whoopsy!

Well it's good he'll fulfill his obligations even while working a full WWE schedule.

 

[Farooq]

Glad to see Joe coming to the WWE, and still doing his stuff with the indies for now. Wonder what they have planned for him.

 

[The GOAT]

I'm glad to see him finally coming to WWE, but I wish they'd signed him back around the 2002-2004 period when he was first interested.

 

[Jacob Fox]

I've always loved the "Joe's gonna kill you" chant, even when I am not rooting for Joe. I dunno, I just think it's a neat chant. Sort of like the "You Suck" chant that we used to do with Angle's music. I never once thought Angle sucked, but I chanted along just for the experience. As even TNA's biggest crowds couldn't compare to some of Raw's smallest crowds, I would be interested to see if a large arena will get the chant going. Same thing for Sami Zayn when he is up in the main roster, hearing the Ole chant in a big arena might give it a different, not necessarily better, but different feeling.

 

[Prince Bálor]

Sweet, sweet, sweet! I'm glad about this.

 

[Stopspot]

Meltzer says they didn't sign him full time because of the merchandise. But because ROH hit national TV. They don't want Joe on national cable with ROH but wouldn't have been able to stop it on the old deal.

No info yet on what will happen with the 6/20 match, but it is expected to go on as planned due to the deal in place when it was booked.

 

[Bort]

So much for freelancing.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

I'm glad to see him finally coming to WWE, but I wish they'd signed him back around the 2002-2004 period when he was first interested.

I would say around 2008 would have been the ideal time for Joe to make the jump to WWE.

 

[Prince Bálor]

Two new (little) updates:

Update On Samoa Joe Working Indie Dates, Is Joe Booked For Tonight's WWE SmackDown?

We noted before that Samoa Joe has now signed a full-time deal with WWE but will still be fulfilling his indie dates that were booked. Ring of Honor has confirmed that Joe will still be working their June 20th TV tapings in New York City, in what appears to be Joe's final ROH appearance. Absolute Intense Wrestling in Cleveland has added Joe to their July 10th show, which was announced last night.

Joe is currently booked for the big WWE NXT live events in Pittsburgh, PA and Columbus, OH this month. For those wondering, PWInsider reports that Joe is not currently booked for tonight's WWE SmackDown tapings so unless things change, he won't be the Superstar to answer NXT Champion Kevin Owens' open challenge.

More Backstage News On Samoa Joe Signing A New WWE Contract, Ring Of Honor's Deal Playing A Factor

We noted earlier via PWTorch.com that WWE officials were so impressed with Samoa Joe and his merchandise sales that Vince McMahon and Triple H personally pushed for him to sign a full-time WWE deal. PWInsider confirms that Joe has indeed been signed to a full-time deal and that's why he was at RAW last night, defeating Tyson Kidd in a match that took place before RAW went on the air.

Besides the success of Joe's t-shirt sales and his NXT performances, the fact that his appearances for Ring of Honor will now air on national cable TV also played into the decision to sign him to a full-time deal.

Joe's current NXT deal reportedly has a clause that would let WWE sign him to a full-time deal. WWE chose to execute that clause this past Thursday after ROH announced their deal with Destination America. Both Joe and WWE signed an addendum to the original deal, now making him a full-time WWE worker.

I'm pretty stoked for his run both in NXT and on the main roster. Should be a good ride.

 

[Bort]

It's 2015 and people are interested in Samoa Joe. Short term memory FTW.