WWE Superstar Shakeup: 5 Superstars Whose Stock Improved
By Tim Sherry
Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
2. Samoa Joe
It’s hard to imagine that with a resume and reputation of a guy like Samoa Joe, that he would need a change of scenery. And maybe “need” is a strong word in this case, but Joe’s arrival to SmackDown may just be the best thing that has happened to him since coming to the WWE nearly three years ago. As Total Non-Stop Action’s third ever Grand Slam Champion and one of the most successful competitors in that company’s history, “The Samoan Submission Machine” heads to Thursday nights on a mission to win a world championship in the WWE. He all but put the entire roster on warning after his win over Sin Cara Tuesday night as he vowed to decimate the entire roster. And you know what? He might do just that.
Now it’s not that Joe wasn’t successful as a member of RAW. In fact, he was an integral part of the of the Universal title picture for most of 2017. His fatal five-way win at Extreme Rules in June led to him a near stunning victory over Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire the following month, coming up just short. He was then a part of one of 2017’s best matches as he main evented SummerSlam in a fatal 4-way where he also walked out empty handed. But now with the likes of Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman out of his way, his path to a world championship is a bit easier now.
Sure, Joe will encounter some tough opposition in the blue brand’s title picture. But if he can string together a few wins, a ready-made feud with AJ Styles, perhaps his biggest nemesis while in TNA, could be a tremendous summer program. If Joe can stay healthy, something that has been a struggle for him in the past couple of years, 2018 could be the biggest year “The Destroyer” has had in a very long time.