Watch: Samoa Joe Debuts On WWE’s Monday Night Raw, Blindsides Seth Rollins

Former NXT champion Samoa Joe made his long-anticipated debut on WWE’s Monday Night Raw as Triple H’s accomplice of sorts.

Watch: Samoa Joe Debuts On WWE’s Monday Night Raw, Blindsides Seth Rollins

On Monday Night Raw, Seth Rollins called out Triple H for his recent antics, which led to a confrontation at the end of the night. Rollins headed to the ring to get revenge on Triple H when he was blindsided by the 37-year-old Samoa Joe, who attacked Rollins and choked him out with the Coquina Clutch, which looks like this:

Joe has been in NXT since 2015 and has fought with several NXT superstars both current and former, including Baron Corbin, Finn Bálor and No Way Jose. During Joe’s time in NXT, he became the first-ever two-time NXT Champ after defeating Balor on a house show for his first reign and Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover: Toronto for his second. However, his second reign was short-lived, as he then lost it to Nakamura at a live event in Osaka, Japan.

Many WWE fans were hoping Joe would debut in Sunday’s Royal Rumble match, although Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that there were never any plans for Joe, Triple H or Rollins to participate in the Royal Rumble match at any point. According to Meltzer, the angle was being saved for Raw the following night to boost the ratings for the show.

The only other match Joe and Rollins have had was a dark match at ROH Rising Above in 2008, which Joe won.

Bleacher Report’s Kevin Berge and Ryan Dilbert shared their opinions on the decision to pair Joe with Triple H:

Following a surprise like that, Joe is bound to make yet another big WWE appearance in the near future.

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 23: Seth Rollins celebrates his victory over John Cena at the WWE SummerSlam 2015 at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on August 23, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images)