The Roman Reign vs. Samoa Joe match and its preceding interview between Joe and Renee Young should leave Vince McMahon and fans alike feeling rather hopeful. What a way to begin the new year for both performers.
Young set up the menacing Joe character perfectly to release a verbal cruise missile. She introduced him with the tone of a shoplifting teenager being forced to return a skirt to American Eagle, exuberating both shame and anger knowing Joe took her husband, Dean Ambrose, out for nine months.
Samoa Joe followed his woeful introduction by throwing more shade than Big Daddy V standing in front of one of his red lights. After mentioning that he ruined The Shield’s dream of having all three members be simultaneous champions, he said (to Young) “Because of me, Dean Ambrose is now a stay-at-home husband living off his wife’s pay check.”
After dropping the mic (not literally, as Young was holding it), Joe picked it up to let Roman Reigns know that “It may be his yard, but (he) lives in my world.” This line finished up a promo that finds Joe now aligning himself in the elite of WWE’s current batch of stick men. He sounded just like unabashed savage he is supposed to be, and poses himself as a legitimate threat to Roman’s, or any, title.
Unfortunately, Joe was facing off with the top dog in the WWE.
Anyone still aboard the Roman Reigns hate train should have dislodged him/herself last night. Reigns followed up Joe’s verbal air raid with a cerebral yet brutal clean win over Joe. His clean pin of Joe after the masterful bout showed us two things. Samoa Joe is to be seen as just a hair behind Reigns in WWE’s pecking order, and that Roman Reigns clearly intends to follow up two years that saw him retire (I think?) The Undertaker, and put on spectacles with the likes of John Cena, Braun Strowman, and AJ Styles.
Samoa Joe is always going to be a prominent figure any time he is on WWE television, but it is clear that Roman Reigns is the face of WWE at the moment. The boos are dissipating and even the most steadfast Roman haters are beginning to see that he has earned the position that he is in, and that him being there is, pardon the phrase, best for business.
Reigns as removed himself from the cement shoes he was given the second Daniel Bryan’s feet hit the ground during the 2015 Royal Rumble. He still occasionally has flashes of frat boy, non-relatable arrogance on the mic. There are still times when WWE tries too hard to him to look strong. WWE hopefully saw on Monday night that all Roman needs to look strong is his presence and a ring.
Next: Ranking 10 Greatest WWE Promos Of 2017
No “too cool for school” lines are necessary for Roman. Just let Roman be Roman.