Samoa Joe Recalls Internal WWE War Over Contracts

AEW star Samoa Joe has been on quite a ride the past few years, having been released twice by WWE before ending up in All Elite Wrestling/Ring of Honor. Joe's time with WWE saw the "Samoan Submission Machine" take on several roles, including a main-event talent on the main roster and a color-commentator for "WWE Raw." Joe also spent time in NXT, where he was a three-time NXT Champion and a trainer at the WWE Performance Center.

When speaking about his roller-coaster, seven-year career with WWE, Joe revealed to Renee Paquette on "The Sessions" why he was first released in April 2021 while working as a color commentator. It's a much-discussed moment in his career because he was gone for just two months before being re-signed to NXT and returning to his dominating ways as one of the company's biggest stars.

"As I understand it, there was issues between the two upper echelons of management and they were playing out their war with the careers and the contracts of the people underneath them," Joe said. "After the initial [release], I didn't have much of a chance to breathe because essentially I was hired back within hours."

Joe's recollection of the situation brings into question several of WWE's releases at the time by then-Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, including a number of people who were close to current WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H. That list includes Joe and behind-the-scenes figures such as William Regal, Ryan Katz, and "Road Dogg" Brian James, as well as wrestlers such as Malakai Black, Keith Lee, and Adam Cole, adding validity to the idea that McMahon and Triple H were at war regarding WWE personnel.

The former AEW TNT Champion also spoke to Paquette about his second release in January 2022, stating that he "chuckled" because he had realized the situation was much the same as his first departure. Joe said he wasn't bitter or mad at WWE, noting that he was expensive to keep and cutting his contract "saved the company money."

"I wasn't hot about that. It was more of just the silliness of the situation and what they were doing and the reasoning why they were doing it ,which I can't ever officially confirm, but I've heard from a few people who have a pretty good idea, including many people that were involved," Joe said. "After that, I think I spent a day kind of pissed, more at the situation than the actual firing, and then all these super awesome opportunities literally materialized."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Sessions" podcast with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.