Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe! The seventh edition of this series is about one Samoa Joe! Known as one of the tough guys in wrestling, his NXT run was very successful but some would say his main roster career fell flat. Questionable booking an many injuries didn't help his cause. Has Joe been a complete failure on Raw/Smackdown? Let's take a look:
NXT Highlights:
- Made his NXT debut at Takeover: Unstoppable in May 2015, aiding Sami Zayn as Kevin Owens attacked his former ally
- Was hired full time in June by WWE due to his impressive merchandise sales (was allowed to work outside of WWE become this deal was agreed upon)
- Defeated Scott Dawson on June 10 in his in ring debut
- Fought Owens the next week that ended in a no contest and brawled after the match
- Defeated Baron Corbin at Takeover: Brooklyn in August via submission
- Was paired with then NXT champion Finn Balor in the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and won the tournament, defeated The Lucha Dragons, Cass and Enzo, The Mechanics (Revival) in the semifinals, and Corbin and Rhyno in the finals at Takeover: Respect in October
- Turned heel after attaching Balor in November
- Lost an NXT Championship match to Balor at Takeover: London in December
- Defeated Sami Zayn in a number one contenders match in February 2016, but lost again to Balor at Takeover: Dallas in a NXT Title match in early April
- Finally beat Balor at a NXT live event in mid April to become the new NXT Champion
- Successfully defended the tite vs Balor at Takeover: The End in June in a steel cage match
- Lost the title to Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover: Brooklyn in August
- Regained the title vs Nakamura at Takeover: Toronto in November, thus becoming the first ever 2 time NXT Champion
- Lost the title back to Nakamura in Japan 14 days later, the shortest reign in NXT history
- Lost the rematch to Nakamura a few days later in a steel cage match
- Teamed with Bobby Roode vs Nakamura and Tajiri in January 2017 but lost, ending his NXT career
Main Roster Highlights:
- Debuted on Raw in January 2017, attacking Seth Rollins and legitimately injuring Rollin's knee
- Defeated Roman Reigns in February in his in ring debut
- Beat Sami Zayn at Fastlane in March via submission
- Lost to Seth Rollins at Payback in April
- Won a fatal five way extreme rules match at Extreme Rules in June to become number one contender for the Universal Championship, but lost to champion Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire (!) in July
- Was part of a fatal four way Universal Title match at Summerslam in August vs Roman Reigns, Braum Strowman, and champion Brock Lesnar but Lesnar pinned Reigns to retain his title
- Suffered a knee injury and returned in October
- Was part of the Raw Men's team at Survivor Series which team Raw won
- Feuded with The Shield but suffered a foot injury and returned after Wrestlemania 34 in 2018, feuding with Roman Reigns
- Traded to Smackdown in April, but still competed for the IC title at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in late April vs Seth Rollins (champion), Finn Balor and The Miz in a ladder match but didn't win
- Lost to Reigns at Backlash in May
- Feuded with WWE Champion AJ Styles and this is what happened: beat Styles via DQ at Summerslam in August, lost at HIAC PPV in September, lost at Super Showdown in October, and lost at Crown Jewel in November
- Was part of the Men's Smackdown Team at Survivor Series but was quickly eliminated by Drew McIntyre
- Entered the Royal Rumble in 2019 but was eliminated by Mustafa Ali
- Competed in the Elimination Chamber at that PPV for the WWE Title but did not win
- Won the US Title on Smackdown in March, defeating R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, and Andrade
-Successfully defended the title vs the same men at Fastlane and also vs Mysterio at Wrestlemaina 35 in April
- Traded to Raw in late April
- Lost US Title to Mysterio at the MITB PPV
- in June, Mysterio gave the title to Joe due to injury and Joe attacked him
- Lost the title to Ricochet at the Stomping Grounds PPV in late June
- Lost a WWE Title match to Kofi Kingston at Extreme Rules in July, and again in a triple threat match (Dolph Ziggler the 3rd participant) at the Smackville event later that month
- Competed in the KOTR Tournament that began in August, defeating Cesaro in the first round. In the quarterfinals, his match vs Ricochet ended in a double pinfall, so both men advance to face Baron Corbin in the next round, which Corbin won
- Made sporadic appearances on Raw due to breaking his thumb
- Was attacked by AOP in late December and formed an alliance with Kevin Owens, turning both men face
- Was suspended 30 days by WWE for violating their wellness policy
- Replaced Jerry Lawler on Raw's commentary team
With all that said, has Joe been a success or failure on WWE's main roster?
