Samoa Joe a Prime Example of How WWE NXT Can Rejuvenate Wrestling Careers

In Lowell, Massachusetts, on April 21, Samoa Joe shocked the world when he unseated Finn Balor as WWE NXT champion at a live event. With the win, he completed a career renaissance that started with his WWE signing last May.

The title victory came almost one year removed from his memorable NXT debut at TakeOver: Unstoppable. Even then, Joe had his sights set on the NXT Championship, and although it took longer than expected, he was successful in taking the title from Balor in their third one-on-one encounter.

Joe's departure from TNA in early 2015 sparked speculation from fans he was headed to WWE, though there was doubt he could flourish in the WWE landscape at this stage of his career. After all, he was largely wasted for a majority of his TNA run and never used to his full potential toward the end.

Despite that, he made a major splash upon his arrival in NXT last spring and subsequently embarked on a path of destruction that has seen him hand Baron Corbin a rare singles loss and win the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside Balor.

As a heel, he has been the best thing going in WWE for the past several months, setting the precedent that any and all notable names outside of the WWE bubble are capable of rejuvenating their careers down in developmental.

Credit: WWE.com

Prior to Joe's arrival, there were few homegrown TNA stars who found success in WWE. Christian and R-Truth were previously a part of the organization before returning, and Vance Archer, Braden Walker, Kharma and Frankie Kazarian all had short-lived stints and fell flat for various reasons.

As seen in his championship clashes with Balor and high-profile matches with Sami Zayn, Joe has been doing the best work of his wrestling career. He has always been talented, but his new-found motivation has skyrocketed him to the top of the NXT roster.

Joe's success opened the doors for other established TNA names to join the revolution, including AJ Styles, Austin Aries and, most recently, Bobby Roode. Even former world champion James Storm looked revitalized in his two appearances in NXT late last year.

At 37 years old, The Samoan Submission Machine is in the prime of his career and is contesting classics every time he steps inside the squared circle. Henceforth, he has proved the cliche to be true: Age is merely a number, and one's worth is not dependent upon how old they are.

Now in possession of NXT's most prestigious prize, Joe will look to extend his reign of terror. It is unknown whether anyone from the promotion's crop of aspiring athletes will be able to dethrone him.

Joe is the most prominent example of a wrestler experiencing a career resurgence in NXT, but he is far from the first. Before the Cesaro Section, Cesaro was honing his craft down in developmental and going to war with Sami Zayn in a strong series of matches back in 2013.

Tyson Kidd was another Superstar who was doing next to nothing on the main roster, though a return to his old stomping ground rejuvenated his stagnant persona. In a matter of months, he was contending for the NXT Championship and was the promotion's top heel for the better part of 2014.

Even Zack Ryder, who has been largely utilized as an enhancement talent over the past five years, has jelled well alongside Mojo Rawley as part of The Hype Bros in NXT. His hard work earned him the Intercontinental Championship (however brief his run) at WrestleMania 32.

It was assumed early on that Joe was merely brought into NXT to add to the brand's hot momentum, but given he has turned everything he has touched into gold since his debut, it wouldn't be surprising to see him surface on Raw by the end of 2016. He would fit right in among the elite in WWE, and there is a slew of awesome opponents waiting for him.

In addition to being the place where future faces of WWE are born, NXT is also where already established competitors can go to regain their strides in order to return—or get called up—to the main roster. For proof, look no further than the newly crowned NXT champion, Samoa Joe.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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