The injury bug has enjoyed quite the feast on WWE‘s roster this summer. One of the latest casualties, Samoa Joe, had his hot streak come to a screeching halt after sustaining a knee injury about 2 weeks ago. WWE has been quiet on the matter but we now officially have a window for his return.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Joe will be back in a WWE ring by the end of October. Our last update came from PWInsider that claimed Joe visited WWE doctors in Birmingham, Alabama last week. It was estimated that he’d be out four to six weeks. Pushing him back to the end of October overshoots that original timeline, but it’s likely best for all parties to move slowly.
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We can now officially rule out Joe for No Mercy, but that comes as no surprise. The question now is where does Joe go upon his return? He’s carved out a handsome spot on WWE’s card and we can assume he’ll resume his spot near WWE’s top. However, there are rumors that he could be making a jump to SmackDown. While this is speculative at best, it certainly is a tantalizing thought.
A series of unlikely circumstances signify that Joe’s injury conceivably served as a catalyst for change across WWE’s card. Instead of Cena and Reigns holding off until WrestleMania, WWE decided to make an aggressive move to have them co-headline No Mercy with Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman.
Since being folded into WWE’s upper-mid card after WrestleMania, Joe has arguably been RAW’s MVP. After a feud with Brock Lesnar that surpassed the highest of expectations, Samoa Joe became a player in WWE. So much so, it was said that Paul Heyman was lobbying for Joe to leave SummerSlam as the Universal Champion.
As mentioned WWE has yet to make a statement on the matter. But as of now don’t expect to see Joe until October comes around. Here’s to a quick recovery.
