WWE SmackDown: Samoa Joe Will Rejuvenate Tuesday Nights

The arrival of Samoa Joe on WWE SmackDown Live was surprising as well as a welcome change. We look at how Joe will infuse the brand with more energy.

The WWE Superstar Shake-up concluded after this week’s WWE SmackDown Live. Both Raw and SmackDown Live rosters have been refreshed and changed beyond recognition. Earlier I had made predictions about which stars from the blue brand could end up on Raw and who would move from Raw. Both rosters have turned around immensely and it’s safe to say SmackDown Live looks a lot better after all the announced list of talents.

Stars who are yet to show up on the blue brand include Gallows and Anderson, who might rekindle their alliance with AJ Styles, four-time Raw tag team champions The Bar, former IC champion The Miz and Sanity from NXT. Of the names that made the most impact last Tuesday night, two names stand out the most. The first is the returning Big Cass, who is immediately placed into a feud with Daniel Bryan. However, I do have questions about his motives, beyond all the fuss being about Bryan. We will address that in this week’s burning questions post.

But the man who has created the most amount of excitement with his out of the blue (pun intended) brand switch is Samoa Joe. The Samoan Submission machine has been slated to be a part of more than one big-time Raw matches. He would challenge for the IC title in Abu Dhabi in a ladder match against Rollins, Balor and the Miz. If either the Miz or Joe wins the IC title, the mid-card title could end up on SmackDown Live.

More from Daily DDT

Joe is also set to face Roman Reigns at WWE Backlash. We are yet to know if this match would be for the WWE Universal title. However, we can firmly ascertain that Joe will be a part of team Blue going forward no matter what the outcome of these matches are.

Joe will infuse Tuesday nights with an energy and spark that will transform the show into a wrestling-centric show once again. After the initial fire following the brand split, SmackDown Live was the place to go for actual wrestling and less melodrama.

However, things had changed en-route to WrestleMania 34. The authority figures began to take up more airtime and even with two promising wrestlers as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn taking the center stage, the show had lost its original spark.

This is where Joe comes in. The Samoan Submission Machine now has a plethora of challengers and feuds awaiting him, all the while remaining as a merciless heel. Last night he picked apart Sin Cara limb for limb. Sooner than later, he can move on to bigger targets like Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. He is a no-nonsense bad ass heel the show needed desperately. Joe has been portrayed so well that even authority figures wouldn’t dare to get in his way. So expect less melodrama and more in-ring action.

Joe will take the show to new heights with stellar matches against the likes of Rusev and AJ Styles. As we have seen multiple times in the past, Joe and Styles have ample history and chemistry to work a classic. This will be the first time we see these two men compete in the WWE. However, Joe’s biggest match would be when he eventually faces off against the most over babyface on the entire roster; Daniel Bryan. Joe vs. Bryan is a match unlike anything else in the WWE at the moment. Yes, it is even better than Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan or Lesnar vs. Balor.

Next: WWE Raw: What Lies Ahead For Drew McIntyre?

Shinsuke Nakamura’s heel turn was a welcome change by the creative. Adding Samoa Joe to the mix truly makes things exciting. Joe is a heel unlike any other. Throw in the promising Big Cass and Tuesday nights has already turned itself around to become the wrestling-centric show once again. Samoa Joe will reign supreme at the top of the brand with his stiff strikes and merciless submissions.