When it comes to recovering from his recent injury, WWE Superstar Samoa Joe is taking it one week at a time.
During an appearance on Booker T’s “Heated Conversations,” the Samoan Submission Machine provided an update on his current status and a little bit of insight into the recent injury he suffered and how he is taking the recovery process. Joe injured his foot during a match with Rhyno on the Jan. 8 episode of Raw.
The injury resulted in him being removed from the WWE Mixed Match Challenge tournament where he was scheduled to team up with Bayley. It also scratched the two-time NXT Champion from this year’s Royal Rumble.
In the interview, Joe noted a younger version of himself would be stressing out and making the situation a lot worse than what it is. However, the season veteran knows what he needs to do in order to make a healthy return to the ring. Wrestling Inc., provided a transcript of the interview on their website.
When asked if Joe had a specific time for his return, he said it is something he’ll have to take a “wait and see” approach with each week.
“With these injuries sometimes they heal sooner, sometimes they heal later. They are going to do a little bit of an ultrasound, check it out every week. They’re going to be giving me treatments. It’s not something that can be fixed surgically. It’s basically a lot of time, rest, and elevation, and letting it heal. It just depends on how quick it heals. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later. Obviously, we’re going to be past the [Royal] Rumble, but I don’t know how much further past that.”
Joe made his WWE main roster debut on the Jan. 30, 2017 episode of Raw, attacking Seth Rollins and aligning himself with Triple H.
In the last year, Joe has been involved in some high profile feuds against fellow former NXT Champions Rollins, Finn Balor and Sami Zayn. In June, he defeated Balor, Rollins, Reigns and Wyatt in an Extreme Rules match to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal title at Great Balls of Fire. During the build up to this feud, Joe famously choked out Lesnar’s manager Paul Heyman.
Joe would receive his second Universal title shot at Summerslam in a fatal-four way with Lesnar, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns in what would be a Match of the Year candidate.
In the latter part of 2017, Joe took part in the Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown traditional Survivor Series elimination match, and later challenge Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship in a losing effort.
Although Joe had not won any championships in his first year on the main roster, he has certainly made an impression on the WWE Universe. Fans are drawn to his promo skills and killer instinct in the ring.
Joe will miss the first part of 2018, but he has the right mindset when it comes to focusing on getting healthy before he returns to the ring. When he does return, the WWE Universe be on their feet.
