There have been persistent reports from reliable sources that Samoa Joe, who was recently released by WWE, was set to return as part of the NXT brand, and it happened sooner than any of us were expecting!
William Regal hinted that he might be stepping down as General Manager last week, and after an emotional speech, he seemed ready to do just that when NXT Champion Karrion Kross (who now appears to be in full-on heel mode) interrupted. The Duke of Doom told Regal that he was pathetic, and to get on with his goodbyes. With that, the Samoan Submission Machine made his way out to the ring.
Regal officially asked Joe to take over the day-to-day running of the show, but the former champion refused, offering instead to help the beleaguered GM maintain order. Joe then turned his attention to Kross, who actually backed down and left the ring.
Later on, Adam Cole made the mistake of putting his hands on Joe while attempting to scrap with Kyle O'Reilly, and paid the price!
Joe has already enlivened and refreshed the black and gold brand just when it needed it most. We really hope he steps back between the ropes at some point.