WWE Releases Samoa Joe

WWE has released Samoa Joe for the second time in nine months, according to a tweet from Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.

Joe's release comes the day after several other NXT/Performance Center notables, including William Regal, Road Dogg, and others were also released.

Last April, Joe was part of a wave of ten releases from WWE, days after he performed commentary duties at WrestleMania 37. He was re-signed by WWE in June, reportedly due to Paul Levesque being unhappy with his initial release.

Originally returning to NXT as GM Regal's enforcer, Joe won the NXT championship from Karrion Kross in August, his third time holding the belt. However, due to what was termed an undisclosed injury, Joe vacated the title the following month. He never returned to television after that.

The 42-year-old had also been working as a talent scout for NXT over the preceding months.

Joe is the fourteenth known individual to have been released from WWE over the previous day, the sheer majority of whom were administrators and staffers in WWE's developmental system. The list includes:

* William Regal

* Road Dogg

* Chris Guy (Ace Steel)

* Ryan Katz

* Dave Kapoor

* Timothy Thatcher

* Scott Armstrong

* Danny Burch

* Hideki Suzuki

* Allison Danger

* George Carroll

* Sarah Cummins

* Gabe Sapolsky

* Samoa Joe