Samoa Joe, Source: WWE.com
With Samoa Joe officially sporting red, we look at some of the leading names on the Raw roster that Joe could feud with after Rollins.
After what feels like years of anticipation from the moment he first set foot in NXT, Samoa Joe has finally made his presence felt on the main WWE roster.
Blindsiding Seth Rollins from behind on Raw to insert himself as Triple H’s brand new go-to guy in his WrestleMania feud with “The Architect”, Samoa Joe has gotten himself involved in a high profile rivalry to hit the ground running.
It was only a matter of time before “The Samoan Submission Specialist” emerged, considering he’d accomplished all there was left to down in Full Sail.
Many hoped he’d take the #30 spot in the Royal Rumble for a shock debut, but in many ways, this way is better because it puts Samoa Joe at the forefront of a big-time rivalry without much speculation as to where he’s going to go from here.
The fact that Triple H seemingly hand-picked the man is going to be a huge boost to his self-esteem as well. So, Samoa Joe is officially on Monday Night Raw now, and the possibilities are endless. Once he finishes up with Rollins – probably in a match at Fastlane, there are plenty of guys on the roster whom Samoa Joe would be able to weave a top tier story with. Let’s take a look at some of those names.
Credit: WWE.com
4. Cesaro
The tandem of Sheamus and Cesaro is a temporary fix, fans have known that since the two joined forces to quell the issue of either man growing stagnant in the singles division, and so despite the ever-growing sense of chemistry that he and Sheamus have showcased since Mick Foley put them on the same side of the fight, it’s inevitable that both men will go their separate ways before too long.
That’s bound to result in yet another singles feud between the two, but after that, the WWE will want to give both Sheamus and Cesaro top-level stories to work with so as not to put them right back where they were last summer – with nowhere to go.
A rivalry between Cesaro and Samoa Joe would be an incredible display of physicality, with both men possessing a spectacular arsenal of power moves and a heavy-hitting style that would complement one another to perfection for a battle of wills.
What helps is that with Samoa Joe perched to be the most talked-about star on the Raw roster over the next few months, Cesaro in particular will benefit from being in a feud with someone who might help him increase his own stock.
WWE.com
3. Kevin Owens
When he first emerged in 2015 as NXT’s latest acquisition, Kevin Owens was the first man that Samoa Joe set his sights on. “The Prizefighter” was on the verge of making the full-time jump to the main roster, and was taking on all comers in Sami Zayn, Finn Bálor and the debuting Samoa Joe before he left in search of bigger things.
Now, Kevin Owens is the face of Monday Night Raw as the WWE Universal Champion, with Samoa Joe coming in meaner and more determined to make an impact than ever before. The heel vs. heel dynamic doesn’t always work in WWE, with minor exceptions like we saw between Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman this week, but as of this moment, Kevin Owens vs. Samoa Joe isn’t a rivalry that needs to go long.
Owens and Joe have had the best programmes of their career against much smaller adversaries – Sami Zayn and Finn Bálor come to mind respectively – so a match between these two particular heavyweights could be a short-term experiment to see how these two huge individuals fair against a man of equal stature and style, and would be a fun clash of styles in the sea of variety that is the Raw locker room.
The match they had in the summer of 2015 wasn’t exactly a Match of the Year candidate, but it was an intriguing encounter nonetheless, one that would mean a lot more this year given how much time Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens have had to grow in front of the WWE and NXT audiences respectively.
WWE.com
2. Sami Zayn
We saw a glimpse of what this feud could be like when Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe squared off in NXT in early 2016, in a match to determine the no. 1 contender to Finn Bálor’s NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Dallas – two days before WrestleMania.
It was a fantastic match that set the wheels in motion for Samoa Joe’s journey to becoming the NXT Champion a number of months later, and Sami Zayn’s farewell tour that culminated in a spectacular outing against Shinsuke Nakamura.
Now that these men both find themselves on the flagship show of the WWE, a heated rivalry beckons. As we saw with his violent attack on Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe is bringing his mean streak to Monday nights, and Sami Zayn would be the perfect underdog to work off of that vindictive nature on the road to a high stakes clash.
What’s more is that with Rollins inevitably facing Triple H at WrestleMania, and Sami Zayn’s newest adversary, Chris Jericho potentially going to face Kevin Owens, the chips could easily fall into place for Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn to face one another at WrestleMania 33 – perhaps for the WWE United States Championship.
This rivalry would benefit both men tremendously; Samoa Joe in terms of getting a hot start to his WWE career and Sami Zayn with regards to getting out of the slump he’s been stuck in for quite some time now. On top of that, the emotion and intensity heading into this one promises to create a top notch story and subsequent match.
Credit: WWE.com
1. Brock Lesnar
Once he finishes up his rivalry against Goldberg at WrestleMania once and for all, Brock Lesnar is going to be in need of a brand new adversary to keep him relevant in the WWE, and to potentially help him get over the stigma of being leveled by Goldberg twice – potentially three times – over the course of six months.
Samoa Joe would be the perfect man to believably go toe-to-toe with “The Beast”.
Fans have been discussing the potential of a match between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe since the latter first signed a contract, because with the man’s consistent ability to make his matches look and feel like legitimate fights – no matter who he finds himself across the ring from – Joe is one of few men on the WWE roster who could believably give Brock Lesnar a run for his money in a one-on-one affair.
Both men carry an intimidating aura with them to the ring that, paired off against one another, could result in one of the most ferocious fights of either man’s entire wrestling career. It’s a match that Samoa Joe doesn’t need to win in order to benefit from it, and a huge win over Samoa Joe in a hard-hitting brawl would do wonders for Brock Lesnar’s confidence as he attempts to get over his losses to Goldberg.
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