From The Rumor Mill: Samoa Joe backstage at tonight's Raw 

What's the story?

Samoa Joe has been out injured since January after he suffered a foot injury in a match against Rhyno on Raw. It was reported that Joe wouldn't be back in action before WrestleMania, but it seems that 'The Samoan Submission Machine' could be ready to return.

In case you didn't know...

Joe suffered the injury earlier this year and it forced him to be pulled from both the Mixed Match Challenge and The Royal Rumble. The former TNA star hasn't been part of a WrestleMania match since he wasn't booked on the card for last year's show.

Recent reports suggested that Joe had been taken off all WWE Live Events ahead of WrestleMania and many fans speculated that this could mean that the former NXT Champion would have to wait another year to make his first Mania appearance.

The heart of the matter

PWInsider is reporting that Samoa Joe is backstage tonight at Monday Night Raw in Dallas Texas and could be making an appearance as part of the show. The last time Joe was seen backstage was at The Royal Rumble in January, so it seems that this could be a hint towards a return plan for the destructive star.

Braun Strowman will be forced to name a partner to face the Raw Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania tonight and many fans believe that Samoa Joe could be the star that Strowman will choose. There are a number of reasons the star could be backstage, but this seems to be the most obvious.

John Cena and Ronda Rousey are also backstage ahead of what could be an interesting episode of Raw, but three weeks shy of WrestleMania 34.

What's next?

It is hoped that Samoa Joe will make an appearance on Monday Night Raw tonight, which will give him three weeks to build up a potential debut match at this year's WrestleMania.

Author's take

There is a reason why Samoa Joe is called "The Right Hand Of Destruction" the former NXT Champion has been a huge miss on Monday Night Raw and it would be incredible if the company were able to get Joe back in time for WrestleMania so that the veteran star can finally make his debut on the Grandest Stage Of Them All.

Making him partner with 'The Monster Among Men' would be a great idea too, but that is something that is still seemingly up in the air.

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