Samoa Joe Working As A WWE Scout Has Been In The Works For Years

Two months after his WWE release, Samoa Joe returned to the company on the June 15 edition of NXT as William Regal's enforcer.

Beyond his on-screen role, The Samoan Submission Machine is also working behind the scenes in the Talent Scouting department. This new position isn't a sudden opportunity for the former NXT Champion, though, and Triple H revealed to the New York Post that he and Joe have been talking about a backstage role for years.

"It was something that we were already talking about anyways and what people tend to focus on, because it's the visual, is the in front of the camera, the character side of it. But what Joe and I have been talking about for a long period of time, before COVID, probably from the time he started in WWE in general [is] that's he's a very smart guy that's very business-oriented, has a level head, and all those things. And [we discussed,] 'What is the future like and how can he help build the future,' and he was enamoured with the other side of the business and what we do," The Game said.

Triple H also commented further on Joe's new role, adding: "It wasn't like he got let go from one part of the company and the other part of the company [hired him]. It's all one big company. Everybody knows what everybody's doing... There was an opportunity for him to transition, no different than you would say, 'Well, he was released from this pitching contract and started managing the team and became a coach.' It's a similar situation.

"There was an opportunity for him to leave one realm and come into the other, but in coming into the other it sort of connected the dots for him to still do something in-ring from a preference standpoint - no different than I do, [or] other performers who have other jobs as well. It's a piece of it, but the bigger component is the talent-development component that he'll be a big part of. I'm really, really excited about that because again, at this stage of my career, it's all about developing the next generations of superstars."