Credit: WWE.com
Samoa Joe has created a lot of buzz since debuting on the WWE main roster. But what could be in store for him at WWE WrestleMania 33?
The WWE main roster of Samoa Joe finally happened. It felt like a long time coming for one of the most unique big men in recent professional wrestling history. After being one of the established stars of the NXT brand from 2015 until a few months ago, Samoa Joe is deserving to be pushed into the top-tier of the WWE roster.
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Coming from a background similar to AJ Styles, Samoa Joe should be given a major push within his first year. Whether that will feature a world championship down the road remains to be seen. But considering the WWE decided to pull the trigger on calling Samoa Joe up, there has to be something big planned for him at WrestleMania 33.
After attacking Seth Rollins per the order of Triple H, it looked like the Samoan Submission Machine was going to face the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Fastlane on March 5. However, the untimely knee injury has forced the WWE to call an audible. It could also lead to an audible moving towards Rollins’ plans for a feud with Triple H.
But there are a few options regarding what to have Samoa Joe do in April. It’s actually an interesting situation because a lot of fans didn’t even know when he was necessarily join the main roster; especially when he was nowhere to be seen at the Royal Rumble in January. Maybe the WWE is planning to have him enter a major top-tier program.
The following are five ways Samoa Joe can be utilized for WWE WrestleMania 33 in April.
5. Dominate in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
It certainly hasn’t been the most popular match on the WrestleMania card since 2014, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal could provide a big boost for Samoa Joe. The match has essentially been a throwaway filler match. It rarely gave Cesaro a push after he won the inaugural trophy at WrestleMania 30. Then again, Cesaro hasn’t gotten much of a push at all.
Big Show winning in 2015 was more of a feel-good moment for the big man’s WWE career. Often compared to Andre the Giant, it was good to see him get the trophy. But the match really could be a way to give a boost to an early WWE career. The only reason Baron Corbin’s win didn’t feel like a big deal was because he never got a lot of hype before he just sort of showed up during WrestleMania 32.
Samoa Joe has arrived in the WWE main roster. He has made his presence known in first few weeks on Raw. Unlike Corbin, Joe is going to enter WrestleMania 33 with at least some momentum. Without a known direction for a singles match, being in this battle royal could be a good thing for both the match and for Samoa Joe.
Besides, we’ve seen him walk into a ring and destroy everyone within it. The WWE would certainly solidify him as a monster by dominating a ring with 19 other superstars.
Credit: WWE.com
4. Carry the United States Championship into WrestleMania
United States Champion Chris Jericho looks like he will have his hands full with his former best friend Kevin Owens. The feud likely will not need the United States Championship. In fact, the bout could very well be focused around the WWE Universal Championship. Either way, it’s very likely that Jericho will drop the title in the buildup for WrestleMania 33.
Besides, Jericho is reportedly leaving the WWE after WrestleMania 33 due to his commitments to the band Fozzy (http://www.ringsidenews.com/2016/12/06/backstage-update-on-chris-jerichos-schedule/). That certainly means the red, white and blue championship belt is going to have to go to another superstar in the next month or so.
Placing the title on Samoa Joe would provide a fresh face to the United States Championship and give him a big push going into WrestleMania 33. It would also make sense because Stephanie McMahon could put Jericho in a match with Samoa Joe for the title at Raw. Owens would likely do some kind of interference to distract Jericho before being locked into the Coquina Clutch.
Samoa Joe would be a credible champion who has a few options for challengers for WrestleMania. The perfect fit would be Sami Zayn, who could be looking for revenge; depending on what happens at Fastlane on March 5.
Credit: WWE.com
3. Switch Brands to Challenge John Cena
Having someone quickly switch brands shortly after his debut might seem a little unheard of. It’s not impossible to see Samoa Joe make a move to the blue brand. Not a lot of people are going to volunteer to stop him. Who knows? Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan might be able to get into the ear of the Samoan Submission Machine. If that’s the case, it could plant seeds for further Raw vs. Smackdown storylines.
Samoa Joe on SmackDown Live could actually provide an opportunity for a number of great feuds with the likes of AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt and even Baron Corbin. Yes, that sort of booking would mean having Joe become more of a neutral instead of being completely a face or heel. The one feud that would really provide Samoa Joe with instant credibility would be against John Cena.
The rumors of Cena’s plans for WrestleMania 33 don’t seem to be the kind you would give a 16-time world champion. Why not provide him a chance to have a singles match that can help put over another new main roster? Considering his improved matches in recent years, Cena would probably be able to have a five-star match with Samoa Joe in a good way to go out on a long break.
2. Face the Returning Finn Balor
This one would make a lot of sense since the whole brand switch would be hard to pull off. It also depends on whether the first WWE Universal Champion can be able to make it back in time for WrestleMania 33. Both men had some great wars when they battled for the NXT Championship in 2016. There’s no concern with the quality of the match they would have on the biggest stage in sports entertainment.
Balor has been out of action since after SummerSlam last summer with a shoulder injury. It was an untimely injury after a bad landing from Seth Rollins’ powerbomb into the barricade. Since then, fans have kept an eye on Balor’s social media accounts for any updates when he could be healthy enough to return.
Balor probably wouldn’t be put right into a match for the WWE Universal Championship right away. Not when the belt could be on the line between one of two matches – Kevin Owens vs Chris Jericho of Golbderg vs Brock Lesnar. With that in mind, it would be better to give the WWE Universe the best possible match involving two former NXT Champions.
The only problem is that both men will be in need of building momentum if they are both involved at WrestleMania 33. Facing each other, only one of them will leave a winner and the other will see their stock drop a little bit.
1. Replace Seth Rollins and Face Triple H
Seth Rollins suffering a knee injury after the attack from Samoa Joe came at a pretty bad time. The WWE had been planning to have Rollins face Triple H at WrestleMania 33. The storyline had been brewing since last August. That’s when Triple H gave Rollins the Pedigree to allow Kevin Owens to win the vacated WWE Universal Championship.
There seems to be a chance that Rollins could be back in time for WrestleMania, but it is a significant knee injury. The last thing fans and the WWE officials would want to see is Rollins not healing properly. That means not rushing back too fast from re-injuring his knee that kept him out of action for about a year.
While it would likely mean a quick face turn for Samoa Joe, a storyline for a match with The Game could work. Samoa Joe has been in the world of professional wrestling for a long time. He even noted it when he cut his first promo earlier this month on Raw. He’s seen a lot of things; including being backstabbed by people who are supposed allies.
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Considering Rollins is just the most recent example of Triple H’s history of turning on his allies, Samoa Joe could choose to attack first. It would be an interesting twist for WrestleMania season. But the WWE can’t assume that Rollins will be 100 percent by the time the first Sunday of April rolls around.