Samoa Joe won the WWE‘s first ever Fatal Five Way to become the number one contender for Brock Lesnar‘s Universal Championship. Despite Joe not being the obvious choice to get the shot, many WWE fans are calling the championship bout at Great Balls of Fire a dream match years in the making.
Joe appeared on Raw Talk after last night’s Extreme Rules pay per view to send a message to Lesnar, who is scheduled to appear on next week’s Raw.
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“To Brock Lesnar, you start your training camp up right now. You climb those mountains and carry those logs, you throw people around, you beat up every sparring partner that you can bring into your camp and I can guarantee you still won’t be prepared for what I do to you.”
Joe also said that the title shot is long overdue and should’ve been granted to him sooner.
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While Joe has only been on WWE’s main roster for a few months, The Destroyer has been relatively hot in the past weeks, scoring consecutive wins on RAW. Upon his main roster debut, Joe was inserted into the upper echelon of WWE’s card. Introduced as a henchman for Triple H, Joe went on to have a long-term feud with fellow 5 Way combatant Seth Rollins.
But, what made them choose Samoa Joe for Lesnar’s first defense?
If rumors are true, he’ll be decidedly losing to Brock Lesnar. For guys like Balor, Reigns, Wyatt, and Rollins, getting squashed in a title match would harm their character’s perception. WWE has too much invested in them to have their top guys more or less assassinated by the Beast Incarnate. Joe makes for the perfect odd man out.
Although he’s nothing more than a glorified sacrifice, Joe should enjoy a nice elevation from winning this match and working with Lesnar. As Universal Champion, Lesnar offers the highest stage WWE owns. Stepping in the ring with him is bound to enhance one’s career. Even it lasts a few minutes.
Unfortunately, WWE’s transparency has killed its parody. With Brawn Strowman out, any WWE fan with an internet connection knows that whoever Brock fights (until Strowman returns) are nothing more than an exhibition. This lack of suspense is bound to hurt WWE in the coming months. Basically, WWE will be in a holding pattern while Strowman heals.
It’s worth re-iterating that WWE can change their mind in the instances leading up to Great Balls, but Joe will be a huge underdog heading into the bout. Perhaps the spectacle of seeing these two face off will outweigh the certainty of the outcome.
