As we reported on Monday night, WWE officials were so impressed with Samoa Joe’s merchandise sales that Vince McMahon and Triple H personally pushed for him to sign a full-time deal with WWE.
It is now confirmed that Joe indeed signed a full-time contract with WWE, which is part of the reason he was at RAW last night, defeating Tyson Kidd in a dark match that took place prior to RAW going on the air.
Aside from the success of Joe’s merchandise sales and his NXT performances, the fact that his appearances for Ring Of Honor will be airing on national cable television also played a part in the decision to sign him to a full-time deal.
Joe’s original NXT deal reportedly had a clause in it that would allow WWE to sign him to a full-time deal if they chose to. WWE decided to execute that clause this past Thursday after ROH and Destination America announced their new deal. Both Joe and WWE signed an addendum to the original contract that now makes him a full-time WWE performer.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)