Samoa Joe And Braun Strowman Give Life To WWE ‘Raw’ By Beating On Roman Reigns
WWE Monday Night Raw has come to life as Samoa Joe makes his main roster debut. As reported in the Inquisitr last week, Samoa Joe made quite a splash when he attacked Seth Rollins on behalf of Triple H. Rollins was on his way to the ring to confront his former mentor, when Samoa Joe launched himself from the crowd to ambush him. Sadly, the outcome of Samoa Joe’s attack was an injury to the same knee that he had surgery on in 2015. That injury may cost Rollins a high-profile match at WrestleMania 33.
The WWE network has been building a feud between Rollins and Triple H for many months, and Samoa Joe’s intervention was intended as a story builder. The WWE network will not have anticipated Samoa Joe’s impact; Rollins injury was obviously accidental. That may prove to be a disaster for Rollins, and the WWE network could not have anticipated the unintended outcome, but Samoa Joe’s main roster debut was an altogether different affair.
Last night saw Samoa Joe make his WWE Monday Night Raw debut in a way that has immediately made him a favorite with the WWE universe. His debut match on Monday night Raw saw Samoa Joe face off against Roman Reigns, the man the WWE universe loves to hate. As reported by the Indian Express, WWE fans saw Samoa Joe sign his Raw contract at the beginning of the evening’s entertainment. Joe had declared his allegiance to Triple H, when he was interrupted by Roman Reigns, and a war of words ensued.
The outcome saw Monday Night Raw General Manager Mick Foley agree to a match between Samoa Joe and Reigns as that evenings main event. OK, let’s not pretend that the WWE network made a spur of the moment decision, the match and its buildup was obviously scripted, but that did not detract from the sense of theater of the moment.
Samoa Joe Beat Roman Reigns, With A Little Help From Braun Strowman
In recent months, many have criticized the Monday Night Raw creative team, storylines have not gone anywhere, and a feel of “same as last week” was developing. The biggest and meanest bright spot has been Brawn Strowman. We have seen Strowman demolish Sami Zayn and wreak havoc backstage on Monday Night Raw. Strowman has all the attributes needed to make him one of the WWE network’s favorite heels. The Abominable Strowman showed his increasing importance to WWE during the 2017 Royal Rumble.
Strowman entered the Royal Rumble at No. 7, and he eliminated seven competitors, more than anyone else on the night, before being eliminated by Baron Corbin. As reported on the official WWE website, Strowman confronted Mick Foley demanding that he be allowed to face competitors who provided him with something of a challenge. Foley was happy to oblige and announced that Strowman will face Roman Reigns at WWE Fastlane 2017 on March 5.
Whilst Strowman is obviously delighted with that opportunity, the Monster Among Men didn’t want to wait that long before getting his hands on Reigns.
When Reigns took to the ring to face Samoa Joe in the main event on last night’s Raw, he had quite a surprise. Joe sucker punched Reigns before the first bell, and then set about battering the three-time champion. Reigns managed to recover and was getting on top, until Strowman intervened. Strowman distracted Reigns, and thereby set up Samoa Joe for his first Monday Night Raw victory. Joe sensed victory and smashed Reigns, whilst he was distracted, to win the match.
Strowman then smashed Reigns through the ringside barriers with a Running Power Slam, and continued, what is developing into, a fierce rivalry between two WWE giants. It was a great piece of wrestling entertainment from three men who breathed life back into Monday Night Raw. You can be sure that there is much more to come from Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe.
[Featured Image by WWE]
