Is Samoa Joe destined for superstardom in the WWE Royal Rumble match?
The Royal Rumble is always a place for surprise entrants and debuts, last year we had the amazing surprise debut for A.J. Styles in the WWE. Since his debut, the man has not stopped and has proven himself to be the Superstar of 2016 in the WWE. Can that happen again this year? The potential is there, the Royal Rumble match is shaping up to be the biggest one in years with the likes of Brock Lesner, Goldberg and The Undertaker taking part.
So what name could benefit from a Royal Rumble debut? That one is easy: Samoa Joe. The man has been a staple in NXT for quite some time, holding the NXT Title on several occasions and having memorable feuds with Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. He has not been on NXT TV recently, and while there are reports of an injury, it does seem highly likely he will make his main roster debut in the Royal Rumble match.
If booked correctly and being an early entrant into the match, Joe can make a huge impact. The star power is there for this man, he can have 5-star matches with anybody. His technique is adaptable to fit his opponent, and there is a lot he could do in a Rumble match. Whether it be a lot of eliminations, going up against superstars you never thought you would see him up against, the list of what if’s is there. He would need a strong showing, and to last through to near the end, or potentially win the entire thing in his debut and give us Joe vs. A.J. Styles at Wrestlemania.
Either way, the Rumble match is the perfect opportunity for the Samoan Submission Machine to debut and make his impact. Smart thinking would put him on Smackdown, the feud possibilities are crazy with that roster. With a great showing in the match, perhaps putting him in as a face, not a heel and having the fans in attendance behind him will put him in a top spot. On Smackdown he could feud with Bray Wyatt, A.J. Styles, John Cena, Dean Ambrose or even The Miz. These are dream feuds and matches in the making, and the excitement over these possibilities is mind blowing.
It really is the time to debut Joe on the main roster. Despite all the big names involved in the Rumble match, having a huge debut will cause a big impact and he is the right one for that position. Waiting until after Wrestlemania would be a mistake, he is someone we need on the card for the biggest PPV event of the year. Fantasy booking would either have Joe win the Rumble match and challenge either A.J. Styles or John Cena for the WWE World Title or make a huge splash and have that lead to a feud with A.J. Styles for a Wrestlemania match.
If he were to end up on Raw, I don’t think the possibilities are as big, who could he potentially feud with? Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho are likely to have their own program leading into Wrestlemania, against Roman Reigns I could only see that playing against Samoa Joe unless they had Reigns as the underdog. I can’t see any chance of a Seth Rollins feud, they are surely going to finally have this feud between him and Triple H.
With all that said, the Royal Rumble is the right time and place for this debut, and if done right it will absolutely slingshot him into a big spot on the main roster. He would surely be contender for a title, and should have a title reign this year and be a big player. Samoa Joe is a huge star, in NXT he helped out so many and gave us 5-star matches, it is his time to shine on WWE’s main roster.
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