WWE News: Three-Time NXT Champion Joins Lengthy List Of Released Talents

The first-ever three-time NXT Champion Samoa Joe has been released from WWE for the second time in less than a year.

Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp first broke the news after receiving confirmation from the company regarding Joe’s status.

Joe himself has since responded to the news and is looking forward to the next phase in his career, lamenting that he would not be able to see the superstars that he had worked with blossom into the next phases of their careers.

The 42-year-old from Orange County, California had been with WWE since 2015 as a performer under the NXT brand after an extremely successful run with TNA/Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and other independent wrestling promotions.

Two years after his debut and two runs with the NXT Championship, Joe moved up to the main roster where he would first pursue the WWE Universal Championship then held by Brock Lesnar before going after Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship.

Joe would fail in his attempts to capture either one of WWE’s most prestigious titles but was able to win the United States Championship twice.

He would be released from the company in April 2021 before being brought back in June at the behest of WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H (real name Paul Levesque) who was unhappy that they released one of his biggest acquisitions.

Upon his return, Joe worked as an on-screen personality while acting as one of the company’s talent scouts on other days.

Ringside News reported that the releases were a personal shot towards Triple H, citing a conversation they had with personnel close to the situation, that it was “specifically Triple H’s people and it was all intentional.”

Joe’s release is an ongoing crusade by WWE management in its pursuit of erasing any and all traces of Triple H’s influence on the brand, which fans and outside observers have noted recently.

The signs became even more poignant after the release of key NXT personnel in the past 24 hours, with former NXT general manager William Regal being the most recognizable name on the list.

With the numerous people released, it seemed that Triple H would at least have Joe around to stabilize the ship, but all that remains of the multiple-time WWE Champion’s time as executive producer of NXT is longtime friend and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.

Triple H is yet to release a statement or any comments regarding the situation as fans around the world are anxiously awaiting the next chapter of the ongoing saga between “The Game” and WWE upper management.