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WWE superstar Samoa Joe is making his long-awaited return to in-ring competition for an NXT Championship match against Karrion Kross at TakeOver 36.
After being out of action due to injury since February 2020, WWE superstar Samoa Joe is finally set to make his in-ring return for an NXT Championship match against reigning title-holder Karrion Kross.
Joe is slated to challenge Kross for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver 36, which will emanate from the Capitol Wrestling Center (the WWE Performance Center) in Orlando on Sunday, Aug. 22. This is the second match to be announced for TakeOver 36, with Walter already set to defend his NXT United Kingdom Championship against Ilja Dragunov.
Joe’s return to the ring was confirmed during the most recent episode of NXT, which saw him quit as General Manger William Regal’s personal enforcer. Regal then signed a contract to add Joe back to NXT’s active roster and make his title match against Kross at the next TakeOver event official.
Samoa Joe (real name Nuufolau Joel Seanoa) made his professional wrestling debut in 1999. He is perhaps best known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002 to 2008 and his time in TNA Wrestling (now Impact Wrestling) from 2005 to 2015. Joe debuted for WWE under the NXT developmental brand in 2015, subsequently becoming the first two-time NXT Champion. He was called up to WWE’s main roster in 2017 and went on to become a two-time WWE United States Champion. In late 2019, Joe began providing color commentary on Monday Night Raw while on the shelf with an injury, returning to action just before the end of the year.
However, in February 2020, Joe once again had to step away from the ring after suffering another injury during a commercial shoot. He has not wrestled since, though he did return to the Raw commentary desk in April 2020, staying there for an entire year. On April 15 of this year, Joe was released from WWE alongside a number of other superstars. He managed to negotiate a new contract shortly thereafter, returning to the NXT brand as Regal’s enforcer on June 15. Not long after his return to NXT television, Joe explained in a shoot interview that — in spite of his new role as an on-screen authority figure — he was “absolutely” still working towards an in-ring return.
NXT TakeOver 36 airs live on the WWE Network and on pay-per-view on Sunday, Aug. 22.
Source: Twitter
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