WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for March 20

Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe

Result: Samoa Joe defeated Sami Zayn via submission

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Poor Sami, is there a single fat guy with a beard who doesn’t hate his guts?

Kidding aside (because I’m a fat guy with a beard, too), this match was exactly what you would expect from it. Zayn could make offense from James Ellsworth looks devastating, so of course Joe looks like the strongest man in the universe here.

I particularly enjoy that in most Sami Zayn matches, he always starts a run where it looks like he’s going to build momentum, but one move smacks him down. Here, it was the snap powerslam Joe hits. Such quickness from a big man, and Zayn’s momentum was snuffed out.

And the continued teases of Joe hitting a Muscle Buster makes me think we’ll see very few of those in this run. Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, it makes sense to save that as a last resort finisher. It’s the same thing happening with the Red Arrow lately – Neville only uses it when all else fails. It helps to make the move more special – more superstars should have a “super finisher” that is bulletproof and rarely used.

The look of disgust on Joe’s face when Sami avoided getting counted out was pitch perfect. I know Joe made his NXT debut as a hero, but he is so perfect as a brutal monster who doesn’t care about his opponents. It was nice of him to let Sami think he could prevail, but there’s no way Joe is losing matches right now. He’s on fire, and he’s got the backing of Triple H.