WWE Suspends Samoa Joe

WWE has suspended Samoa Joe for 30 days due to his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy.

WWE announced the suspension today and noted that it went into effect this past Monday, February 24.

It was reported earlier this month, via @Wrestlevotes, that more WWE Wellness Policy suspensions could be coming. Their report strongly indicated that Joe was possibly being suspended. It was then reported, via PWInsider, that WWE sources “vociferously denied” Joe being suspended, which wasn’t totally wrong as he was still working at that time. It looks like WWE already knew of the suspension in early February, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

Joe is currently on the shelf after suffering a reported concussion from taking a bad table dump during a WWE commercial shoot earlier this month. This would be Joe’s second concussion in less than 1 month. Joe suffered a broken thumb back in September and didn’t return to the ring until late December. He then suffered a concussion while doing a dive on the January 27 RAW episode, returned for one week, and then suffered the second concussion while filming. There’s no word yet on if Joe will be medically cleared to compete before his Wellness Policy suspension is over.

WWE has had a series of Wellness Policy violations since December, after going so long without any. WWE United States Champion Andrade is currently wrapping up his first 30-day suspension. WWE announced back on December 10 that Primo Colon and Robert Roode were suspended for 30 days due to their first violations, and these were the first violations announced since 2016. Seven Wellness suspensions were announced in 2016, including Paige’s first, for 30 days, on August 17, and then her second, for 60 days, on October 10. After the Roode and Primo suspensions in late 2019, it was then announced on January 28 that Andrade had violated the Wellness Policy. WWE then announced Joe’s suspension today.

Stay tuned for updates on Joe’s suspension and return.

You can see WWE’s full announcement on Joe below:

WWE® SUSPENDS NUUFOLAU SEANOA

STAMFORD, CONN., February 25, 2020 – WWE (NYSE: 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.