Samoa Joe Suspended for 30 Days for Violating WWE Wellness Policy

WWE announced on Tuesday that Samoa Joe had been given a 30-day suspension for violating the WWE Wellness policy as of Monday. In a statement on WWE.com, the company wrote, “WWE has suspended Nuufolau Seanoa (Samoa Joe) for 30 days effective Monday, February 24, for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.” The former NXT Champion started off 2020 recovering from a thumb injury, which resulted in him working on the Raw commentary desk until he was fully healed. He turned babyface upon his return and started feuding with Seth Rollins and The AOP, but went down with a concussion on the Jan. 27 episode of Raw.

Rumors of Joe being suspended at the time were shot down at the time and Joe was able to return from the concussion in early February. Unfortunately he suffered another concussion during a commercial shoot for NBCUniversal, and has been off television for the last two weeks as a result.

Back in September Joe appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast and discussed how he still has goals of becoming a world champion in WWE. Though he held the NXT Championship twice during his time on the Black and Gold Brand, he’s come up short numerous times in trying to win either world championship.

“You know what, honestly, time and where we’re at in the story,” he said. “In terms of what the future holds I’m pretty confident about it. Let me put it this way, I’ve faced a lot worse odds in overcoming things and I’m pretty confident of overcoming this one.”

“I look at it like this as in terms of importance there are two varieties of it,” he later added. “There’s what’s important to me and there’s what’s important to my legacy, which includes what the fans think. For my legacy and for what the fans who have followed me throughout my career, it’s very important. For me personally, I find a great amount of enjoyment in what I do. I’m able to do what I do around the world, this is my dream job and I love it. That being said, it’s also very important to me, damn it. Are you crazy? Of course, it’s important to me and my legacy. It’s important to both.”