WWE News: Samoa Joe Debuts On WWE ‘Raw’ To Attack Seth Rollins For Triple H, ‘Fastlane’ 2017 Match Next?
The latest episode of WWE Raw featured a huge debut as NXT superstar Samoa Joe finally made his main roster debut. The surprise appearance came during the show’s final segment with Joe making one of the top superstars of WWE Raw his first target. His attack came as the highlight of the three-hour program which also featured appearances from several other top stars including Triple H and Brock Lesnar.
According to ProWrestling.net, the final segment on the latest episode of Monday Night Raw featured Triple H making his return to the show to address his issues with Seth Rollins. “The Game” made plenty of statements about being “the creator” who helped Rollins launch his successful main roster career. Hunter also indicated that he was trying to be more business minded lately and avoid participating in wrestling action, but that his patience had worn thin. With that, he called out Rollins to come meet “his destroyer.”
“The Architect” made his way out and looked ready to do battle. However, as Rollins finally got to ringside, a mystery attacker arrived to knock him down. The commentary team was soon able to identify the man as none other than Samoa Joe. The submission master who is a former NXT champion continued to attack Rollins outside the ring before bringing him back inside for more of a beatdown followed by the Coquina Clutch chokehold. Raw eventually closed out with Joe having just destroyed Rollins for Triple H.
A video showing the attack was posted on WWE’s Twitter page following the incident.
.@TripleH called out @WWERollins on #RAW … and had a surprise in store for #TheArchitect in the form of @WWENXT's @SamoaJoe! pic.twitter.com/2L5u14vd0y
— WWE (@WWE) January 31, 2017
Samoa Joe had been rumored for weeks to be a possible surprise entry for the 2017 Royal Rumble match this past Sunday in San Antonio, Texas. However, instead of arriving out as one of the 30 entrants in the match, he was nowhere to be seen. His fellow NXT roster member, Tye Dillinger, was the only one from the NXT program to participate in the match, with very few surprise entries. As of this report, Joe is among the top 10 favorites to win the 2018 Royal Rumble in Philadelphia.
There had also been some rumors about Samoa Joe possibly participating in the upcoming SmackDown Live pay-per-view, the Elimination Chamber, in about two weeks. The speculation was that Joe might even cost John Cena the WWE World Heavyweight title or go on to fight him in a high profile match at WrestleMania 33. That could still happen, although it seems things are playing out a bit differently now.
Joe is not only a former NXT Champion but also was a multiple time champion while working for WWE’s competitor Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling. He worked with the rival company from 2005 through 2015 for a nice decade-long run. He’s also worked with Ring of Honor from 2002 through 2007 and is said to have formerly trained with and been friends with John Cena, back in the day. The WWE even teased similarities between the two wrestling stars on their website in a video clip.
Still a lock. Possibly Rollins/Joe at Fast Lane now https://t.co/g9aGsB8kqY
— Robby The Brain© (@RobbyTheBrain) January 31, 2017
One has to think that Monday night’s events on Raw will set up a future match involving Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe. There also been continuing rumors that Seth Rollins and Triple H would meet for a match to decide their feud at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando. It seems for now that Rollins will have his hands full with the brand new member of the WWE roster. At this point, it’s unclear if Joe is officially a member of the Raw brand, but based on this attack it would see that his intentions may have been hinted at for which program he’ll be part of.
The next big pay-per-view for the Raw brand will be the Fastlane 2017 event. It’s scheduled to go down on Sunday, March 5, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Will Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins be locking up as part of the match card?
[Featured Image by WWE]
