Samoa Joe has now been with WWE for over 4 years now, having debuted in NXT on May 20th, 2015. Joe made his debut on the main roster on January 30th, 2017. According to Joe, Vince McMahon was initially not on board with him being brought in. He spoke to Fightful recently about his relationship with Vince and not being appreciated at first by promotions he’s worked for.

“Everywhere that I’ve gone—ROH I remember walking into and Gabe Sapolsky telling me, ‘listen, we can’t afford to fly you in from California, you’ll never work here again, but thanks for coming tonight,’ and shortly afterwards ‘hey, you’re working every show from here until forever,'” Joe said.

“TNA was very much the same thing, ‘Hey you’re an internet guy. We don’t have television. We’re gonna bring you in and I don’t know what we’ll use for you afterwards.’ Then obviously that went well. And it was the same thing here. I’ve never had a nice entry into a company, nobody’s ever said “oh, man, we can’t wait to have you here.” It’s like I show up and they’re like “Oh, why didn’t we hire you sooner?” And, I mean, there’s some satisfaction in that. But that’s been par for the course my entire career.”

You can watch the full interview in the player below:

Samoa Joe on Relationship With Vince McMahon

Joe also commented that many people have gone to bat for him over the years to Vince.

“Oh, there were tons here for years. Years. Vince vehemently opposed me being in WWE. He didn’t know me, wasn’t familiar with me. And now we have a great relationship, everything’s working fine. I think he just realize he already bought it, so he might as well use it. No, like I said, with every partner I’ve ever worked with it’s about time and understanding. And we’ve had some time and we’ve had some understanding. It’s working out pretty well,” Joe continued.

• Samoa Joe Offers Prediction For Brock Lesnar vs. Matt Riddle Fight

Samoa Joe has won world championships in many companies he has worked for. However, despite the multiple opportunities he has received, Joe has failed to do the same in WWE so far.

Since he still frequents the main event scene in the company, a lot of people wonder if Vince McMahon doesn’t consider him to be world champion material.

During a recent interview with Gorilla Position podcast, the former US Champion talked about a number of things and also replied to these speculations from fans.

Joe claimed that it’s crazy that some people think that. He joked that he is sure the people who say that talk to Vince daily because he doesn’t and he doesn’t know what the boss is thinking half the time.

Explaining his relationship with the Chairman of the company, the former NXT Champion said that their relationship is amicable. He shows up and does his thing and their relationship is definitely not contentious.

Samoa Joe was also asked about his proudest moment in the company so far and he claimed that his NXT title run is the one. Joe revealed that he takes great pride in that because it helped propel NXT into a third touring brand.

Apart from this Joe also revealed who he thinks will win in a fight between Matt Riddle and Brock Lesnar and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

Samoa Joe has commented on a potential fight between Brock Lesnar and Matt Riddle. 

During a recent interview with the Gorilla Position podcast, Joe was asked about who he thought would win in a fight between the two stars and if he would like to see it. 

“Yeah, sure I would,” commented Joe. “Obviously, Brock has a big size advantage and Riddle’s very, very skilled, has great movement and he’ll talk trash in your face. It’s a tough call but it’s two different weight classes and usually, you’re gonna fare for the heavier guy.”

As of late, Joe has been a huge focus on WWE RAW as he was featured in the recent Roman Reigns mystery attacker storyline.

At one point, he was named as one of the prime suspects behind the attacks. It’s believed that Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan are behind the attacks.  

Matt Riddle Shares Story Of Interaction With Goldberg At SummerSlam

In the past, the WWE NXT star has called out the former WWE Universal Champion for a showdown inside of the squared circle.

He’ll probably do so again as Riddle has been focused on having a match with “The Beast” under the WWE banner.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription

Samoa Joe had some fun while being interviewed by the Gorilla Position podcast to promote Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event. 

In this interview, he was asked about some of the most annoying questions that he always gets asked by reporters. This includes always being asked what his dream match is and more. 

Thus, if someone is planning on interviewing Joe in the future this might be a helpful guide. You can watch the full video here: 

With Joe being a WWE star, the company sends him to various media outlets whether that’s radio, digital or television to bring awareness to the brand. 

WWE SummerSlam Predictions

Joe was most recently involved in the storyline with Roman Reigns’ mystery attacker. As of this writing, he doesn’t have an opponent lined up at SummerSlam. 

The last program that Joe was heavily featured in involved the WWE United States Title. Ricochet beat Joe to win the title at the WWE Stomping Grounds pay-per-view event in Tacoma, WA. 

Joe became champion again once Rey Mysterio was forced to vacate it when he separated an acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder last month. In early June, Rey handed him the title that saw him be crowned the new champion.

Samoa Joe was rushing out to the parking area to confront Roman Reigns last night when a car narrowly avoided hitting Roman in a hit-and-run incident. It was the second straight narrow escape from disaster for Roman, who was almost crushed by falling steel beams on Smackdown last week.

• 6 Takeaways From WWE RAW (8/5)

When RAW returned back from commercial, Samoa Joe could be seen helping Roman and calling for a medic. WWE.com caught up with Joe and asked him why he helped Roman after the incident.

Samoa Joe On Why He Helped Roman Reigns

Joe as asked what was going through his head after seeing the car almost hit Roman.

“A lot of things. One of them, some of the fans out there were so quick to point a finger at me,” Joe said. “One of them is, I’m known to bend the rules, to take things to a leval that may be uncomfortable, but that is something different. It needs to be dealt with differently.”

“What are my thoughts?” Joe continued. “My thoughts are, I hope somebody finds who’s doing what they’re doing before I find them. My thoughts are don’t doubt me because who was the first guy out there pulling Roman out of the wreckage?”

WWE did an angle involving Samoa Joe at an airport that they filmed for the ongoing Roman Reigns storyline. 

On Monday, the company announced a storyline fine for the former NXT Champion after an incident at the Pittsburgh International Airport. According to the story, Joe aggressively knocked a phone out of one of WWE’s producer’s hands to the ground at the Pittsburgh International Airport. 

This was after Joe was asked by the WWE producer if he was responsible for the forklift incident that almost fell on Reigns last week on SmackDown Live. This was when Joe reacted. 

WWE noted, “Samoa Joe has been fined an undisclosed amount by WWE due to his behavior earlier today at Pittsburgh International Airport.”

As of this writing, there’s no word yet on if WWE will use this footage on Monday Night RAW or SmackDown Live to further fuel speculation as to who is behind the attack on “The Big Dog.” 

Drew McIntyre Releases Statement On Roman Reigns Incident

Footage

It should be noted that Joe is not currently scheduled for a match at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event that takes place this Sunday night. You can watch the incident below:

Reigns’ mystery attacker is expected to be revealed on either RAW or SmackDown Live this week before SummerSlam. 

Samoa Joe did not successfully retain the WWE United States Title in his latest title defense as the secondary champion on the RAW roster.

Instead, Ricochet beat Joe to win the title at the WWE Stomping Grounds pay-per-view event in Tacoma, WA. This marks Ricochet’s first title on the main roster.

This contest was set up when WWE held a Fatal 5-Way Match on Monday’s RAW that saw The Miz, Braun Strowman, Ricochet, Cesaro, and Bobby Lashley battle it out to find out who would become the new #1 contender for the United States Title.

As seen in the match, Ricochet won the contest and now has earned the right to challenge Joe for the United States Title at this show.

Joe became champion again once Rey Mysterio was forced to vacate it when he separated an acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder last month. In early June, Rey handed him the title that saw him be crowned the new champion.

Joe originally won the United States Title for the first time when he beat Mysterio, Andrade, and R-Truth in a Fatal 4-Way Match on the March 5th episode of SmackDown Live in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This marked the first set of gold as part of the WWE main roster for the former two-time NXT Champion.

• WWE Stomping Grounds Results & Live Coverage

What are your thoughts on Ricochet winning the United States Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

Samoa Joe has received an opponent for his match at the WWE Stomping Grounds event.

On Monday’s episode of RAW, WWE held a Fatal 5-Way Match that saw The Miz, Braun Strowman, Ricochet, Cesaro, and Bobby Lashley battle it out to find out who would become the new #1 contender for the United States Title.

As seen in the match, Ricochet won the contest and now has earned the right to challenge Joe for the United States Title at this upcoming event. Post-match, Joe tried to attack the RAW star, but Ricochet fought back to stand tall. 

WWE presents the Stomping Grounds pay-per-view event on Sunday, June 23 at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE Stomping Grounds Card

• WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin – Special Guest Referee TBA
• WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler – Steel Cage Match
• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans
• Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
• WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet

WWE RAW will emanate from the Staples Center in Los Angeles this week. Recently announced for the show is a fatal 5-way match with the winner earning a shot at current US champion, Samoa Joe.

Ricochet, Braun Strowman, Cesaro, and Bobby Lashley all appeared during a MizTV segment last week, with each Superstar claiming they deserve a shot at Joe’s title. The Miz himself has also been added to the match to determine Joe’s next challenger.

No other matches have been booked for Monday’s show thus far. Baron Corbin is scheduled to announce who will be the Special Guest Referee for his match with Seth Rollins at Stomping Grounds.

Samoa Joe’s US Title Reign

Joe first won the US title on an episode of Smackdown from March 5th, 2019. He defeated R-Truth and Andrade in a triple threat match. He would defend the title successfully in a fatal 4-way match at Fastlane and then defeated Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania.

Joe would drop the title to Mysterio at Money in the Bank but an injury to Mysterio forced him to hand the title back to Joe. Mysterio gave Joe the title back on June 3rd.

• Rey Mysterio Discusses How AEW Has Changed State Of Pro Wrestling

Current WWE United States Champion, Samoa Joe, competed last Friday during WWE’s Super ShowDown event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The champion didn’t have a title defense, however, instead taking part in the 50-Man Battle Royal, which NXT Superstar Mansoor eventually won.

In an interview with Brian Fritz of SportingNews.com, Joe recalled the experience of wrestling in the Saudi Arabian heat, and also touched on the injury he sustained at Money In The Bank.

“It Was A Chaotic Scene”

Joe described the Battle Royal as a “chaotic scene” adding that “let me tell you that in 101-degree weather and a lot of human body heat. It was quite the inferno in that ring.”

He explained that “That’s the kind of heat you don’t make adjustments for. You just realize it’s going to suck really, really bad. You’re going to have to grin and bear it. With the exception of maybe running sprints in a sauna, I don’t think there’s anything you can really do to prepare for that.”

“It Wasn’t A Break”

When asked about getting his nose busted during his match with Rey Mysterio at Money In The Bank, Joe confessed that it wasn’t a “major break” and that he’s had his nose broken enough times to know.

“I’ve broken it plenty of times and have stopped counting. Not really, it wasn’t a major break. Everything was fine. There’s always those who are very precautionary, which is appreciated. Yeah, it wasn’t a major issue. It wasn’t a break.”

Longing For A Long-Term Challnger

It was noted that Samoa Joe has yet to enter into a long-term feud for the United States championship. He replied that “I’ve always found myself in this unique situation in my career where people realized the magnitude of what it is to get into a program with me, but a lot of times, both creatively and physically, some cats aren’t ready for it. That’s the way I look at it. Yeah, obviously, I’m bummed. I’m out here searching for these long-term challengers and for that next great entanglement. It’s a process, but I think it’s going to happen, certainly.”

Samoa Joe competed in a losing effort last night on Monday Night RAW. He and his partners, Cesaro, and Bobby Lashley would lose to Ricochet, The Miz, and Braun Strowman.

Ricochet has since expressed his interest in challenging Samoa Joe for the championship—so it seems it won’t be long before Joe gets that long-term challenger he’s been waiting for.

Rey Mysterio no longer holds the WWE United States Title as he has relinquished it due to injury.

After hyping the announcement for a week, on Monday’s episode of RAW in Austin, TX at the Frank Erwin Center, the future WWE Hall of Famer made the news public.

Samoa Joe would then walk out to the ring where Rey handed him the title that saw him be crowned the new champion. Mysterio warned Joe that he will be back to get the title. This led to Joe dropping Rey into the Coquina Clutch and walked to the backstage area with the title.

Mysterio separated an acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder during his match against Samoa Joe where he won the title at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view event in Hartford, CT.

It’s a shame that Mysterio suffered an injury in this match as it was a memorable night for the future WWE Hall of Famer as he became a Grand Slam Champion.

Joe originally won the United States Title when he beat Mysterio, Andrade, and R-Truth in a Fatal 4-Way Match on the March 5th episode of the blue branded show in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This marked the first set of gold as part of the WWE main roster for the former two-time NXT Champion.

Rey Mysterio emerged as the United States Champion during Money In The Bank. He earned a surprisingly quick victory over Samoa Joe. After the match, Joe would ambush and beat down the new champ in front of his son, Dominick.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Mysterio suffered a legitimate injury during his match with Joe. He allegedly separated his shoulder on his way to a win—albeit a controversial one, given that Joe’s shoulder was not on the mat.

This injury was acknowledged by WWE on Monday Night RAW, with the company teasing the future of the United States championship given Rey’s injury.

They highlighted that Rey won the matchup due to a bad call by the official and stated that the WWE Universe can find out what will happen to the state of the championship next week on Monday Night RAW.

“There Will Be Justice”

In an effort to continue incorporating Mysterio’s son into the feud, Samoa Joe has sent out a veiled threat directed at Dominick.

“There will be justice, lest the Son suffer the sins of the Father..”

In a backstage segment, he gave Rey Mysterio an opportunity to “do the right thing and hand me back my United States championship. Rey, I’m giving you the opportunity to lead by example. So be the man that I know you hope Dominick grows to be. Because if you don’t, just imagine the example that I will set for you.”

The Money In The Bank match between Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio ended very quickly and latest reports suggest that the company made the decision to cut this match short after the bout had begun.

A lot of fans noted that Joe’s face got injured during the opening moments of the match and according to PWinsider, the former United States Champion suffered a broken nose early in the bout.

The Officials then decided to cut the match short because of the blood coming from his nose though the post-match angle went exactly as planned.

Although it looks like the former TNA Star might have not been the only star to have suffered an injury and Rey might have suffered some damage as well.

According to the report, Mysterio was being evaluated for a shoulder injury backstage after this match was over, however, there is no update on the result of the medical examination.

A broken nose means that Joe will definitely be missing some time and it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see a new star challenging the United States Champion on this week’s Raw.

On the other hand, Mysterio’s injury has not been confirmed and it’s possible that the new United States Champion doesn’t stay away from the ring for long, if at all.

Samoa Joe will no longer remain as the WWE United States Champion, which is the secondary title on the SmackDown Live brand.

He did not successfully retain the title over Rey Mysterio in a match that took place at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view event in Hartford, CT but rather lost it.

Joe went for a powerbomb but Rey countered it and pinned him. Quick match. Joe’s shoulder was clearly up and that will be part of the storyline going forward. Post-match, Joe beat down Rey as Dominic looked on.

This was actually a WrestleMania 35 rematch as Joe beat Mysterio in quick fashion back in April. Mysterio had been dealing with an injury heading into this contest. The match was added to the card with little to no build.

It should make things interesting going forward with these two WWE stars.

Joe won the United States Title when he beat Mysterio, Andrade, and former US Champion R-Truth in a Fatal 4-Way Match on the March 5th episode of the blue branded show in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This marked the first set of gold as part of the WWE main roster for the former two-time NXT Champion.

• WWE Money in the Bank Results & Live Coverage

What are your thoughts on Mysterio winning the title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Money In The Bank PPV. WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe will make his next title defense against Rey Mysterio at this show.

This marks a rematch between the two WWE stars from WrestleMania 35 last month in East Rutherford, NJ that saw Joe retain the strap in just one minute.

WWE presents the Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday, May 19, 2019 in Hartford, CT at the XL Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE Money In The Bank Card

• WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles

• WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens

• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans

• WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

• Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Braun Strowman vs. Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Baron Corbin vs. Randy Orton vs. Andrade vs. Finn Balor vs. Mustafa Ali

• Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Dana Brooke vs. Mandy Rose vs. Bayley vs. Ember Moon vs. Carmella

• The Miz vs. Shane McMahon – Steel Cage Match

• Roman Reigns vs. Elias

• WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio

Here is an article that dissects and predicts who will win each card. The only thing is, it doesn’t have predictions for the match between Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio.

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

WWE will be teaming up with indie wrestling promotion World X-treme Wrestling C4 for a fundraiser event aimed towards helping the former WWE Tag Team Champion Samu Anoa’i, who is battling a stage 4 liver cancer.

The event will take place later this month on Wednesday, May 29 from the Mt. Ville Sports Center in Allentown, PA and will feature the current WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe.

Other stars expected to appear on the event include Kassius Ohno, WWE referee Shawn Bennett, WWE Hall of Famer Michael Hayes, Billy Kidman, Afa, Tommy Dreamer, Terri Runnels, Gene Snitsky, Manu and other members of the Anoa’i family.

The indie promotion is owned by WWE Hall of Famer Afa and you can check out a promo video for the upcoming show featuring Joe and others below:

Samu wrestled for WWE on various occasions during early 80s and early 90s. While he had a number of runs with the company, none of them lasted very long.

The longest single run he had with the company was when he signed with them in 1992 and started teaming with Fatu. It was during this time that he won the Tag titles in the company, before being released in 1995.

Samoa Joe Expected On Raw Next Week

We noted before how Samoa Joe was expected to appear on Raw this week but he was down with a flu that caused the company to nix a planned segment for him.

Now a new report has revealed that Joe will not miss a lot of TV Time and according to PWInsider, WWE is expecting the United States Champion to be back on WWE Programming next week.

The site also reports that they will execute the plans they had for this week during his return and it’s possible that he gets involved with his planned challenger on Raw, Braun Strowman.

Brian James Taking An Extended Time Off From WWE

‘Road Dogg’ Brian James stepped down as the co-head writer of WWE SmackDown Live recently and the position has not been filled yet.

Brian has been away from WWE since then and now providing an update on his status, Pwinsider is saying that he’ll be taking an extended break from the company until both sides figure out a new role for him.

Though he is not expected to leave the company and as we noted before the Officials are looking to reposition him within the organization.

While this move has not been made official by WWE, all signs point to Samoa Joe being drafted to Raw and it appears that WWE has a big feud planned for Joe at the Red Branded Show on his arrival.

Last week’s episode of SmackDown saw Braun Strowman making an appearance at the show to promote Superstar Shakeup and he had confronted the United States Champion during the segment.

During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about this angle and revealed that it wasn’t just to promote the shakeup.

According to Meltzer, WWE is planning a rivalry between these two stars and the segment on SmackDown Live was the start of their feud.

As we noted before, Samoa Joe was expected to make an appearance at this week’s episode of Raw which would have made his move to the Red Brand official.

However, this segment was nixed because the United States Champion was down with a bad case of flu. This change of plans left many people wondering about the former TNA Star’s future.

Though the Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor joined SmackDown Live during this week’s episode of the show which was a very strong indication of the mid-card titles and their holders switching brands.

Now with this new report, we can be sure that Samoa Joe will be competing on Monday Nights going forward and it’d be interesting to see when he returns to WWE TV.

Samoa Joe will remain as the WWE United States Champion, which is the secondary title on the SmackDown Live brand.

He successfully retained the title over Rey Mysterio in a match that took place at the WWE WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium on the WWE Network.

Joe won the United States Title when he beat Mysterio, Andrade, and former US Champion R-Truth in a Fatal 4-Way Match on the March 5th episode of the blue branded show in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This marked the first set of gold as part of the WWE main roster for the former two-time NXT Champion.

Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the next pay-per-view event, Money in the Bank, that goes down on May 19th in Hartford, Connecticut at the XL Center. The match was added to the card with little to no build which should make things interesting going forward.

• WWE WrestleMania 35 Results & Live Coverage

What are your thoughts on Samoa Joe retaining the title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

Not so long ago, Rey Mysterio and Andrade were embroiled in an escalating feud. The two SmackDown Superstars would steal the show with each passing Tuesday. Many assumed it would lead to a major payoff, with fans and WWE Superstars giving their bouts praise.

Turns out, the feud between the two was meant to lead to “The Grandest Stage Of Them All,” WrestleMania.

According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, “Rey and Andrade were booked for WrestleMania, and why that changed I have no idea.”

He explained that Rey being choked out by Samoa Joe at WWE’s last event, Fastlane, is apparent evidence that Mysterio vs Joe at WrestleMania wasn’t on the table. At least at that time.

“To show you how short-sighted or how far this booking went, Joe choked Rey out at the last pay-per-view to win when you had R-Truth who could have lost or Andrade who could have lost that are going nowhere,” Meltzer said. “So that tells you on the day of the last pay-per-view there’s no way that this match was planned.”

Mysterio is now slated to wrestle Samoa Joe for the US Championship at WrestleMania 35. There is no word on whether the feud between himself and Andrade will reignite. There were, however, rumors at one point that the two would form a latino stablealong with Sin Cara.

Samoa Joe will remain as the WWE United States Champion, which is regarded as the secondary singles title on SmackDown Live.

Joe successfully retained the title over Rey Mysterio, Andrade, and former US Champion R-Truth in a Fatal 4-Way Match at the at Sunday’s (March 10th, 2019) WWE Fastlane pay-per-view event from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on the WWE Network.

EVER THE INNOVATOR = @reymysterio. #WWEFastlane pic.twitter.com/mHRJzvG3Uo

— WWE (@WWE) March 11, 2019

Idolize this man.#WWEFastlane @AndradeCienWWE pic.twitter.com/hr7gwMVUCl

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 11, 2019

This was a late addition to the card as originally, Joe and Truth didn’t have a match booked on this show. On the flip side, Mysterio and Andrade were slated to meet inside of the squared circle in a singles match on the pre-show.

This was actually a rematch. If you recall, Joe won the United States Title when he beat these three men on the March 5th episode of the blue branded show in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

This marked the first set of gold as part of the WWE main roster for the former two-time NXT Champion.

• WWE Fastlane 2019 Results & Live Coverage

What are your thoughts on Bryan retaining the title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

John Cena is scheduled for a book signing in New York City on April 5th. This happens to be over WrestleMania weekend.

It has been speculated that this might not be mere coincidence, and that Cena will be appearing at WrestleMania in order to compete.

His rumored opponent? The new United States Champion, Samoa Joe.

R-Truth held another US Open Challenge on SmackDown Live this week in honor of his hero, wanting to make him proud. Samoa Joe, however, would emerge victorious this past Tuesday during what became a Fatal Four Way matchup.

“I Sure As Hell Ain’t A Man Who Loves John Cena”

After his win, Samoa Joe would be interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton. His words teased a future confrontation with John Cena.

When Braxton brought up that his fellow WWE Superstars “accused” Joe of being unable to win “the big one,” Joe would interrupt her.

“Accusations? No gentlemen, they were not making accusations. They were merely unanswered prayers. Because every SmackDown Superstar, they know the lengths I’ll go to win gold and they fear what I’ll do to keep it.

“You see, gentlemen, it’s quite simple — the champ is not one to come out here and do dance breaks. I don’t pander to the masses of the unexceptional, and I sure as hell ain’t a man who loves John Cena,” Joe claimed.

“Hustle, loyalty and respect? No, no, no. All my opponents will find is disrespect for any man who has the audacity to come for the king and his crown. And to all you SmackDown Superstars who wanna lie awake at night, every night, having nightmares about the day you might step in the ring against me…rest assured boys, I’ll be along soon enough to make you all go night-night.”

Despite being off WWE television, John Cena’s name and legacy has been mentioned a number of times, particularly around the United States Championship and R-Truth’s short run of US Open Challenges.

With all this name dropping, it seems apparent that WWE is prepping the WWE Universe for the return of John Cena. But could it be against Joe for the US Championship at WrestleMania 35?

Samoa Joe has captured his first set of gold as part of the WWE main roster.

During Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live in Wilkes-Barre, PA at the Mohegan Sun Arena on the USA Network, the former two-time NXT Champion beat R-Truth, Andrade, and Rey Mysterio in Fatal 4-Way Match to win the United States Title.

The nightmare is real. #SDLive #AndNew @SamoaJoe pic.twitter.com/LbRxipLnjV

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 6, 2019

.@SamoaJoe is the BRAND-NEW #USChampion! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/FVdtLFSUsd

— WWE (@WWE) March 6, 2019

R-Truth held the title for a little over one month as he won the title back on the January 29th episode of SmackDown Live when he beat Shinsuke Nakamura for the title in Phoenix, AZ at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

He got this title opportunity once The McMahon’s had granted him a championship match due to him being attacked by Nia Jax and not allowed to compete in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match.

With this being the go-home show of the blue brand for Sunday’s Fastlane pay-per-view event at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, it will be interesting to see if the company grants Truth a rematch against Joe for the title in order to add another match to the card.

It’s safe to say that Dean Ambrose’s decision to not renew his contract with WWE and leave the company when it expires in April has been one of the most shocking news coming from the wrestling world in recent months.

During a recent interview with The Tacoma News Tribune, the Samoan Submission Machine Samoa Joe discussed a number of things and also revealed his thoughts on Dean’s imminent departure.

Joe first praised Ambrose to be a fantastic performer and said that he’s the kind of cat who will step away and pursue other things if he is not into what he is doing:

“I think Dean’s the type of cat that he wants to do things that he’s into and if he’s not into what he’s doing at a certain time then he’ll have no problem stepping away and pursuing other things, If that’s the case then cool, more power to him.”

Continuing on the topic, the former TNA Star said that Dean Ambrose is a goal oriented person. If he gets a goal in mind, he is going to try and accomplish it while also claiming that he will be missed:

“I think there are so many people who are wrapped up in the needs and wants of wanting to become a WWE superstar that they forget sometimes there other goals they want to achieve. I think Dean is a goal-oriented person and when he gets a goal in mind he’s going to try and accomplish it, more power to him. He will be missed.”

Apart from this, Samoa Joe also discussed the recent character change of both the WWE Champion Daniel Bryan and Becky Lynch and more. You can check out his full interview at this link

WWE has taken to their social media accounts once again in order to officially announce another three entrants into this year’s Royal Rumble event.

Joining the list of previously announced superstars for the male Royal Rumble will be Bobby Lashley, Samoa Joe, and the current WWE Intercontinental Champion, Dean Ambrose.

BREAKING NEWS: @fightbobby makes it official…he’s entering the #RoyalRumble match! #WWEFortMyers pic.twitter.com/HyjDRvhYkv

— WWE (@WWE) January 7, 2019

The #RoyalRumble just became painful for 29 other men, @SamoaJoe is officially in! #WWEFayetteville pic.twitter.com/G1reqHsfUc

— WWE (@WWE) January 7, 2019

Another HUGE announcement for the #RoyalRumble match as the #LunaticFringe @TheDeanAmbrose has declared he’s IN! #WWEFortMyers pic.twitter.com/mirw9c10qx

— WWE (@WWE) January 7, 2019

With these further additions, the men’s Rumble match now includes:

• R-Truth (#30)
• Drew McIntyre
• Xavier Woods
• Big E
• Kofi Kingston
• Finn Balor
• Seth Rollins
• Jeff Hardy
• Bobby Lashley
• Samoa Joe
• Dean Ambrose

The women’s equivalent currently features:

• Carmella (#30)
• Ember Moon
• Natalya
• Bayley
• Sasha Banks
• Ruby Riott
• Liv Morgan
• Sarah Logan
• Sonya Deville
• Mandy Rose

Royal Rumble 2019

The Royal Rumble event will take place near the end of the month on January 27th at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

Women’s Royal Rumble match

Men’s Royal Rumble match

Smackdown Women’s Championship
Asuka (c) vs (Winner of Carmella vs Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch)

WWE Championship
Daniel Bryan (c) vs AJ Styles

Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Braun Strowman

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Fatal 4-Way
Buddy Murphy (c) vs Kalisto vs Akira Tozawa vs TBD

Who do you think is liable to win the Rumble this year? Which Royal Rumble contest are you more excited for?