Jacob Fatu made his return to Smackdown on Friday night after three months away from WWE. Fans had been wondering when and how the Samoan Werewolf would re-introduce himself to the current storyline structure, and it all happened unexpectedly in Germany.
During the 3 Stages of Hell match (standard, falls count anywhere, steel cage) between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre, Fatu interfered at the final stage when the two men were battling it out in the cage. He was dressed in all black and nobody knew who it was until he revealed his face after preventing McIntyre from escaping out the side door.
Fatu got in the ring and started whaling on McIntyre, but then completely snapped. After Rhodes tried to stop him from interfering so he could continue the match, Fatu turned his attention to the champ, backed him into a corner with another round of blows, and saw McIntyre slither away out of the cage to win the final stage and the WWE title.
It was a fairly stunning finish and one of the more entertaining ones in quite a bit, but ... what does this mean now for Fatu? His popularity was soaring shortly before he went on hiatus. How is that going to affect him after he accidentally dethroned the fan-favorite champion? Because now there's no conceivable way he'll be able to avoid feuds with Rhodes over the next few months (at least).
But wait a minute ... isn't this the exact type of pivot Fatu needs to complete his superstar arc? Face status be damned! Because the birth of a new, high-stakes narrative involving the biggest face actively in the industry would give Fatu exposure like he's never had before.
Let's say WWE chooses a different No. 1 contender for the WWE championship for the time being. That would create runway for Rhodes and Fatu to battle it out between now and Wrestlemania to settle their new beef, setting the stage for ... anything, really. The possibilities are endless. Wouldn't it be incredible to see this get built up to a street fight in the near future? A ladder match? I quit? Premier television.
Though that won't improve Fatu's face status he's continued to build admirably after splitting with Solo Sikoa, it will further thrust him into the top-tier conversation and essentially announce his long-term contender status. The groundwork was laid for his storyline ties to Drew. And now Cody has just entered the mix without the bloodline overshadowing Fatu.
It could be the year of the Samoan Werewolf, and we might find out as soon as Wrestlemania — a full year after he won his first singles belt by defeating LA Knight in Las Vegas.