Since joining the company, Samoa Joe has made a big impact on the landscape of the WWE.

For several years, fans wanted to see Joe sign with WWE following his success in Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Finally, he signed with the company in 2015. However, instead of being placed on the main roster right away like many fans thought would happen, WWE decided to place him in NXT. He was in NXT for nearly two years.

When Joe first signed with WWE and was placed in NXT, he was a babyface as he feuded with Baron Corbin.

He later turned heel when he attacked Finn Balor following the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.

The former NXT Champion recently appeared on 102.5 The Bone's Drew Garabo Live (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc) out of Tampa Bay, Florida. During the interview, he brought up how Triple H instrumental in his WWE signing.

"Yeah, [Triple H] made the call, so I give him a ton of credit for me being with WWE because he was my contact point. Really, it was a bunch of dudes. It was Paul Heyman; it was Road Dogg; it was Joey Mercury. Really, it was a laundry list of people who were with the company who worked with me throughout my [pro wrestling] career."

“The Samoan Submission Machine” stated that originally he was offered an NXT deal only and got the main roster deal less than two weeks later.

"The initial deal on the table, it was a little bit of a low offer, but it was a foot in the door. No, financially, it was actually great, but as far as opportunity, it was a lowball offer. He did take care of me in that aspect, which is much appreciated. He told me from the get that, 'we're probably only going to be used in NXT.”

“You're in your 30s. Vince [McMahon] really isn't interested in bringing those guys up right now.' And that was the edict at the time, 'if you're over this certain age, we're not interested in bringing you to RAW or SmackDown. We're trying to build new talent.' But to me, I already had a pretty good career.”

He continued by saying, “It was just kind of an opportunity to stay going. It was a merch deal, which they do so much distribution I was with, and I said, 'yeah, sure.' And within I believe a week-and-a-half, I was offered a main roster contract and continued to work in NXT with later moving onto RAW after we build the brand up."

When asked if merchandise numbers influence pushes in the company, Joe responded by saying after his NXT merch sold out, he was put on an exclusive deal.

"It definitely does. I know after that happened, the phone call was, 'yeah, we need you to be signed exclusively immediately.' Obviously, it plays a big part, and if there's a fanbase there, especially, if you want to vote, it's the economy. You vote with your dollars. People were excited I was there. It makes a big difference."