5 Wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: WWE wants Roman Reigns to beat 3 more legends, Released Superstar was originally supposed to be the "next Goldberg"

By Rohit Nath

Modified Apr 18, 2021 15:32 GMT

#3. Hope isn't true: The reason why WWE released Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe was perhaps the most shocking name on the WWE release list. He hadn't competed throughout WWE's pandemic era, shifting his role to the RAW commentator for over a year.

It was due to him suffering a concussion and WWE not medically clearing him to compete. While there was some speculation that Samoa Joe being replaced on the RAW commentary team meant he was cleared, that wasn't the case.

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Instead, he was part of the "spring clean-up" on April 15th. Dave Meltzer of WON reported that despite Joe being an all-round performer, WWE viewed him as a potential liability:

"It becomes an interesting strategy because Joe, in particular, if he is in good shape, because he’s a star to the AEW fan base and can talk, could be a valuable acquisition. But perhaps WWE believes with his age and injuries, he wouldn’t be, similar to not competing to keep Jay Reso (Christian Cage)."

We hope this isn't true because Samoa Joe is legitimately one of the world's best all-round wrestlers. His release is a huge loss to WWE, but a big gain for any other promotion that decides to sign him.

About the author

Rohit Nath is a content writer from Bangalore, India. A former full-time employee of Sportskeeda, Rohit was a part of building Sportskeeda's WWE section in its rapid growth. His work has been featured in both Sportskeeda and Wrestlezone.

Some of the big names interviewed by Rohit are AJ Styles, Jinder Mahal, Jimmy Uso and Sasha Banks. Some of his popular weekly features include RAW Preview, "X things Subtly told us" and "Wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't".

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Edited by Zaid Khan