More Backstage Details on Samoa Joe's Contract Situation in WWE

Despite signing a talent contract with WWE, Samoa Joe was still scheduled to appear for ROH's June 20th tapings to team up with A.J. Styles to take on the team of Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian: The Addiction.

Because of ROH's new deal with Destination America, WWE officials were reportedly trying very hard to prevent that match from being taped for television. It wasn't so much that they were trying to stop Joe from appearing for ROH altogether, but they don't want him to appear for television tapings for Destination America.

Regarding that tag team match, the latest word is that it won't be taped for television and they may not even do it at all.

Joe will become exclusive to WWE and NXT in late August/early September. Until then he can still make indy appearances and ROH would still like to use him in some capacity until then.

Regarding Joe's future in WWE, his name has been a hot topic of discussion. There were reports that WWE COO Triple H made the decision that he should still be known as Samoa Joe, at least for right now. But there is still a chance that his name could change before he gets called up to the main roster.