In an exclusive interview with GiveMeSport, former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano spoke when he found out Samoa Joe would be returning to the Black and Gold brand, and his feelings regarding having the former United States Champion back.

Gargano told Louis Dangoor that he saw Samoa Joe backstage at the Capitol Wrestling Center the week before he returned on TV, with the former North American Champion explained that he was caught by surprise at seeing the veteran there:

"I think the first time I found out was I actually saw [Samoa] Joe backstage the week before he came back, and I was like ‘oh what’re you doing here?’ and we kind of started talking a bit."

Samoa Joe was released by WWE in April, much to the surprise of many wrestling fans and critics alike. However, he has now been brought back to the company as an on-screen authority figure for NXT and a behind-the-scenes role in the talent scouting department. 

Samoa Joe was choked out on WWE NXT this week by Karrion Kross

Johnny Gargano then went on to sing Joe's praises, saying that the former Raw star's mind "cannot be matched":

"It’s so great to have Samoa Joe back, obviously Samoa Joe is an absolute legend, everything he’s done. It’s crazy to say, but I was a fan of Samoa Joe in high school like a lot of us. Some of the stuff that he’s done in his career absolutely cannot be topped, and the mind that Samoa Joe has for what we do cannot be matched. So to have him backstage and to have him on-screen as well to kind of give that different vibe to the show. I think he gives such a breath of fresh air to all of his segments, and I think whenever Joe is on-screen it’s absolutely must-see. So to have him in NXT again is absolutely awesome."

Samoa Joe was attacked at the end of NXT last night by Karrion Kross, so it seems like WWE is preparing to have Joe return to the ring at some point in the future.

Speaking about the possibility of wrestling Samoa Joe, Johnny Gargano joked that he isn't all that interested in fighting the former main roster star, but namedropped several people within NXT that he'd like to see Joe go up against:

"I don’t want to face Samoa Joe, he’s my best friend. I just think we are good buddies. I’m good to not wrestle him right now. Who would I like to see Samoa Joe take on? In maybe a not-staring content, I think Samoa Joe vs. Pete Dunne would be absolutely amazing. I think Samoa Joe vs. Adam Cole obviously, that’s a gimme. Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O’Reilly, that’s another gimme, and then Samoa Joe vs. Tommaso Ciampa, they had a crazy five-minute match, again around the same time period that I was facing Samoa Joe, Tommaso and Samoa Joe had this crazy five minute match, and I’m excited to see what they can do with more time in the future... I don’t want to be part of them, I’m good… I’ll be cheering Joe on, ‘go get them, Joe’."

Make sure you're watching WWE NXT on BT Sport here in the UK live every Wednesday at 1am.