Samoa Joe is a dangerous man who can do some despicable actions to victimize his opponents in the ring. It’s hard to believe that two years ago, Joe was mere seconds away from toppling The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar and winning the Universal Championship at Great Balls of Fire.
The last time we saw The Samoan Submission Machine was two weeks ago in the triple-threat semifinal match for the King of the Ring Tournament where Baron Corbin defeated him and Ricochet to advance. Earlier this year, Joe and The Monster Among Men Braun Strowman appeared to be on a collision course battling over the United States Championship but it never happened.
Now that we have a permanent full-time Universal Champion in The Kingslayer Seth Rollins, Joe might actually have a shot at becoming the Universal Champion once-and-for-all. Joe is in dire need of a reset and here are the best three options for The Samoan Submission Machine.
#3 Becoming a Three-Time United States Champion
Before the King of the Ring Tournament, Joe became entangled with The Big Dog Roman Reigns’ murder mystery to the point of coming to his aid after a car crash. Joe won the US title on the March 5th episode of SmackDown Live in a United States Championship Open Challenge defeating Rey Mysterio, Andrade, and the then-United States Champion R-Truth in convincing fashion.
Joe successfully retained his title at Fastlane and WrestleMania 35 however, at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view he lost the US Title to his rival Mysterio. Joe would be literally handed back the United States Championship to an injured Mysterio on the June 3rd episode of Raw. He would drop it shortly after at the Stomping Grounds pay-per-view to Ricochet.
Currently, AJ Styles is the United States Champion and these two have such a storied history as both allies and rivals from their days in TNA. Joe could easily insert himself back into the US title picture. Styles versus Joe for the United States Title would be A+ fantastic matches. Not only will it help Joe get back to his dominant ways but, it will help elevate the US Title scene.
#2 Battle The Monster Among Men
Joe and Strowman have faced each other one-on-one a few times dating all the way back to 2017 while both powerhouses were chasing after the Universal Championship. They both were involved in the Fatal-4-Way at the 2017 SummerSlam pay-per-view the biggest SummerSlam main event in history both physically and figuratively. As previously stated Strowman and Joe recently came to blows on the Post-Mania episode of SmackDown Live when The Monster Among Men emerged and delivered a brutal onslaught to the United States Champion.
I would have loved to see both monsters wage war over the prestigious United States Championship but, WWE decided to go a completely different route and prematurely take the title off of Joe. Currently, The Monster Among Men is finally being rebuilt as the monster we all know and love. Strowman has been re-inserted back into the Universal Championship title scene having some of the best matches in a long time with Seth Rollins.
If Joe and Strowman want to beat the holy hell out of each other over who should be the next number-one contender for the Universal Title I don’t think the WWE Universe will mind. Imagine the sight of The Monster Among Men and The Samoan Submission Machine competing in monstrous falls-count-anywhere matches or even a last-man-standing match.
#1 Samoa Joe Takes His Rightful Place As Universal Champion
It’s about damn time Joe wins the World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately, Joe made his main roster debut positioned secondary to the year-long program between Triple H and Seth Rollins. Who could forget The Samoan Submission Machine putting Rollins to sleep in the middle of the ring while The Cerebral Assassin just looked on in amusement? At the 2017 Payback pay-per-view, Joe and Rollins went one-on-one but, the story was all about Rollins’ triumphant road to WrestleMania.
A few months later, Joe made his ascension to the top of Raw during Brock Lesnar’s stranglehold on the Universal Championship. Joe would suffer a few foot injuries that would keep him sidelined for a few months. Joe would be drafted to SmackDown Live via the 2018 Superstar Shakeup and Joe would challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at the SummerSlam pay-per-view.
The two would former TNA superstars would clash over the WWE Title for several months but Joe would be unsuccessful in his attempts. It would take Joe six months to claim the United States Championship on March 5, 2019. Currently, Rollins is feuding with The Fiend Bray Wyatt and set to do battle inside Hell in a Cell. If Joe wants to make the most impact when he returns to Raw, he must get back into the Universal Championship title picture.
Joe and Rollins are no strangers to each other going all the way back to their time in Ring of Honor when Rollins was known as Tyler Black. Both amazingly gifted athletes have impeccable in-ring chemistry and the WWE Universe will get the pleasure of watching the magic take place. Now that Lesnar is on Smackdown and we have a full-time Universal Champion, Joe needs to win the big one. It’s criminal that the only singles championship that Joe has won is the United States Championship. It’s time to change that!
