WWE Raw: Babyface Samoa Joe is about to be awesome

Samoa Joe has returned from injury on WWE Raw, and after getting thrown through a table by the Authors of Pain, it looks like The Destroyer is being set up for an awesome babyface run on Monday nights.

Paul Heyman has a new top male heel in Seth Rollins and a clear-cut top male babyface in Kevin Owens heading into 2020, and the rest of the WWE Raw Men’s Division is filled with breakout stars like Andrade, Humberto Carrillo, Ricochet, Aleister Black, the Authors of Pain, and Buddy Murphy.

But Samoa Joe is a man whose star power and impact in the division next year should not be underestimated. Even though Joe has yet to hold a world championship on Raw or SmackDown, that hasn’t stopped the Samoan Submission Machine from making a big impact. He’s had acclaimed feuds with AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar, providing memorable soundbites and bone-chilling promos.

Joe has the gift of making everything seem vivid, and he’s largely shown his gifts as a heel. Wrestling fans have been waiting for Joe to have a true, bad-ass babyface run, and, like Owens, it appears he’s poised for exactly that.

After lending his talents to the Raw commentary team for several weeks due to an injury, Joe is now ready to return to the ring. On the Dec. 23 episode of the show, Joe calmly sat at the announce desk while the Authors of Pain prepared to send Rey Mysterio into a world of hurt. He threatened Rezar and Akam, telling them that he would come after them if he got up out of his seat.

As usual, the audience hung onto every word Joe said and followed his piercing eye contact at the heel stable of Seth Rollins and the AoP. Joe ended up getting thrown into the announce desk, but the impact of his misfortune will be a relentless pursuit of vengeance on the heel trio. Additionally, the physical bump was a clear sign that Joe is ready to compete after being out with an injury.

Samoa Joe is a living legend in pro wrestling and has achieved success at many promotions. Whether or not he wins a world title in WWE, he’s undoubtedly been one of the top performers in the company over the past couple of years when looking at his consistency and the quality of his character work.

He is a rare talent and an experienced veteran of the business who is ready for his first true babyface run in WWE. Under Heyman’s direction on Monday nights, Joe could have one of the best years of his career in 2020 as a face, so fans should be ready to see some special moments and memorable feuds from a man who has shown there are few bounds to his talents.