As reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet prior to the show, Samoa Joe was indeed back on the announce desk when Raw got underway.
Joe did a brief stint on commentary towards the end of last year before being cleared to return to action as one of Kevin Owens' allies in his feud with Seth Rollins and his cronies, but it wasn't long before he suffered another injury while shooting a commercial for USA Network, which put him back on the shelf. Then, he was suspended for his first violation of WWE's Wellness Policy.
There were reports that Vince McMahon was getting a bit fed up with these constant setbacks, but he's clearly happy to have the Samoan Submission Machine back on commentary. Whether we will see him to return as an in-ring competitor or not remains to be seen.
Joe replaced Jerry Lawler last night, although "The King" did make an appearance in the final segment to set-up the contract signing segment between Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins. There are rumors that Joe may take over from Lawler moving forward (the veteran announcer has come under a lot of fire for his constant sexist/racist remarks), but we haven't heard anything solid on that.
What did you think of Samoa Joe on commentary last night? Would you like to see him in that spot from now on?