Samoa Joe believes that WWE has shifted its focus from signing indie talents to athletes from other sports because of the rise of AEW.
The Samoan Submission Machine made his surprise ROH return during the Supercard Of Honor event. He then took part in the post-show media scrum.
During the talk, Joe who was working as a talent scout among other things during his second run with WWE, claimed that the company changed their policy because many better indie wrestlers are now working for AEW:
“You also have to understand the major shift was mainly because many of the better independent wrestlers are working for AEW,
So I mean, let’s just be honest here, when we were tapping into a market and looking for new athletes when I was with WWE at the time, when the markets tapped, you try to find a new market.”
Over the last few months, WWE has revamped NXT from having an indie wrestling feel to the production values and set designs more akin to the main roster.
They have also shifted their focus from hiring more independent wrestling veterans to younger talents from other sports such as Gable Steveson.
What do you think about Samoa Joe’s thoughts on WWE’s new hiring policy? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
