At WWE Extreme Rules , Samoa Joe became the No. 1 Contender to Brock Lesnar’s WWE Universal Title. It’s been rumored since that the Joe vs. Lesnar feud will be short lived. Their match at WWE Great Balls of Fire was expected to be a one-and-done situation, but their rivalry has a lot of momentum heading into the PPV.
The buildup for Joe vs. Lesnar has been excellent. A big reason for that is Paul Heyman has been hands-on with their segments to create as much anticipation and buzz as possible. The final decision falls onto Vince McMahon as it always does, but a lot of the credit for the feud’s momentum is being given to Heyman. Since their rivalry has more steam than WWE officials were expecting, they are seriously considering extending it.
It’s being reported that Brock Lesnar knows when there is big money in extending a rivalry. He has no issue putting someone over, like he did with Bill Goldberg last year, to make the angle as huge as it can be. There is a lot of speculation that Samoa Joe may get the win over The Beast Incarnate at WWE Great Balls of Fire .
It’s been rumored for several weeks that Braun Strowman or Roman Reigns would face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Title at WWE SummerSlam this year. However, WWE officials are seriously reconsidering their plans for Joe vs. Lesnar to only be “one and done.” If the powers that be still move forward with Lesnar vs. Strowman or Reigns, it’s likely that another match between Joe and Lesnar will happen at a later date.
Samoa Joe has elevated his position on WWE television no matter what the result is at WWE Great Balls of Fire next weekend. He has challenged Lesnar and has been a great foil to him a way very few stars have been over the past few years. WWE officials are going to ensure Joe has a huge match at SummerSlam even if he is taken out of the Universal Title picture. The rivalry with Brock has proven Joe to be a top guy on Raw.
WWE officials have a tough decision to make because WWE SummerSlam will have a lot of influence on the card for Wrestlemania 34 next year. The match will also have a lot of impact on Samoa Joe’s heel run. If he is given the win, he will become the WWE Universal Champion and most likely face Roman Reigns instead of Brock Lesnar. The powers that be have a big decision to make over the next week regarding the future of WWE programming.
[Featured Image by WWE]
