5 Replacements for Samoa Joe on commentary once he makes his in-ring return

Those of you who have watched the recent episode of WWE RAW must have noticed the altercation that Seth Rollins had with Samoa Joe, who is currently fulfilling his duties as a color commentator on the Red brand.

This past Monday, Rollins threatened to assault the lead commentator and the Voice of Monday Night RAW, Tom Phillips, as he cheered for Dominik Mysterio when he was beating The Monday Night Messiah with a kendo stick.

When Rollins ordered his disciple Murphy to attack Phillips, Samoa Joe stood up for his colleague. This led to the former Universal Champion challenging Joe to a fight, which he gladly accepted.

However, before Rollins and Joe could exchange blows, Dominik came out with a kendo stick yet again and forced Rollins and Murphy to retreat.

Although the brawl did not take place, judging by the looks of it, Samoa Joe may be ready to return to in-ring action sometime soon.

The former United States Champion, who is currently not competing due to a head injury. Joe has been immensely praised by his colleagues, fans and even Vince McMahon for his insightful commentary during matches.

However, when Joe returns to action, it will create an empty seat at the commentary table. So, in this feature, we take a look at 5 potential replacements who could replace Samoa Joe on commentary.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.

#5 Nigel McGuiness replaces Samoa Joe

Nigel McGuiness, who was known for his stint as an incredible technical wrestler in Ring of Honor, signed with WWE as a commentator on 15 December 2016 just before the first-ever WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament.

McGuiness made his commentary debut at the aforementioned event on 14 January 2017 alongside Michael Cole. McGuiness then moved to NXT as a color commentator on February 8, 2017 episode. In the Black and Gold brand, McGuiness immediately garnered the attention of the NXT Universe and the officials for his in-depth and natural commentary and for his proclivity to sympathize with the 'heel' Superstars.

McGuiness was reportedly furloughed by the company in April of this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, if Joe was to return to in-ring competition, now could be the best time for WWE to bring back McGuiness and replace the former US Champion on commentary.

#4 Renee Young replaces Samoa Joe

Replacing Samoa Joe on RAW would not be an easy task. WWE would require someone with prior experience and that is where Renee Young could fit in.

Renee Young, made her debut for WWE as a backstage interviewer on WWE NXT in 2013. From there, she took on the role of color commentator for the Black and Gold brand later that year.

Young would then go on to serve the same role on WWE Superstars alongside Tom Phillips from 2014-2015 which made her the first full-time female commentator of WWE.

After her short stint as a commentator, she would go on to become a backstage interviewer on RAW and SmackDown. But her expertise on commentary later helped her to become the first full-time female commentator of WWE RAW on September 10, 2018.

After that, she went to the Blue brand as a special contributor, a role which she has to date.

Since Samoa Joe has been fantastic on the commentary to this day, replacing him on the commentary table will be no easy task. However, as Young has had the experience of calling matches on the Red brand, the WWE Universe could expect to see her return to commentary.

#3 Vic Joseph replaces Samoa Joe

Another commentator WWE could consider replacing Samoa Joe with is Vic Joseph.

He joined WWE in 2017 as the play-by-play commentator of Main Event. When WWE SmackDown revamped its three major shows - RAW, SmackDown and NXT in 2019, Vic Joseph was brought in as the new lead commentator of the Red brand owing to his expertise as a commentator on Main Event and especially in 205 Live, for which he received a lot of praise.

However, earlier this year in January, Joseph moved back to the 205 Live broadcast team and Tom Phillips took over from him as the lead commentator on RAW. Apart from his time on the commentary table, Joseph had also contributed to 'WWE List This!' as its host. His crisp method of describing the scenarios earned him a lot of plaudits from both the WWE Universe and the higher-ups at the company.

If Samoa Joe was to leave the commentary table, Joseph might be the ideal person to replace him and it would allow him to rejoin with his mentor Tom Phillips who is currently the lead commentator on RAW.

#2 JBL replaces Samoa Joe

John 'Bradshaw' Layfield or JBL as he is more commonly known, returned to WWE as a color commentator during the 2012 Night of Champions PPV event by replacing Jerry Lawler who suffered a legitimate heart attack during the WWE RAW episode preceding Night of Champions. JBL then became a full-time color commentator on SmackDown, alongside Michael Cole and Josh Matthews. The soon to be Hall Of Famer can also be roped in to replace Samoa Joe.

In 2013, JBL also became a commentator of Monday Night RAW and joined Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. The former WWE Champion then wrestled his first match in WWE since retiring as a Superstar at the 2014 Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant in the namesake match. However, he was eliminated quickly by Roman Reigns.

JBL stepped away from commentary on September 1, 2017 to focus on humanitarian activities, in and out of WWE, as an ambassador for Beyond Sport. Since then, he has made sporadic appearances as a commentator during WWE's Tribute to the Troops events. Bringing back a veteran like JBL to replace Samoa Joe could be a good move on the part of the company.

#1 Michael Cole replaces Samoa Joe

Although Michael Cole is fulfilling his duties as the lead commentator on Friday Night SmackDown, WWE could draft over Cole back to RAW or have him do double duty on both brands as Tom Phillips does on the Red brand and NXT in a bid to replace Samoa Joe.

Even though Cole is doing a great job along with Corey Graves on the Blue brand, the company could benefit from his veteran experience by having him appear on Monday nights as well. Cole, who started his career in WWE as a backstage interviewer, shortly made a name for himself as a commentator on SmackDown when he was paired with Taz. Cole's heated rivalry with fellow announcer Jerry Lawler on the RAW brand during 2010 gained notoriety and propelled him to further stardom.

If Cole was to come back to RAW to replace Samoa Joe on commentary, the general idea would be to have him be the lead commentator and make Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton the color commentators.

Edited by Alan John