By John Napolitano It seems The Destroyer has really found his footing and has been hitting his stride as of late on Monday Night Raw.
Since joining the main roster in January earlier this year, Samoa Joe has quietly flown under the radar as a legitimate badass, putting on quality contests without true direction. Based on his reputation alone, The Samoan Submission Machine brought a lot to WWE’s flagship show, but up until recently he was not connecting with the fan base as the true fearsome fighter he is. A healthy scratch from “The Ultimate Thrill Ride,” WrestleMania XXXIII, Joe’s impact on the main roster was hardly spiking the Richter scale two months into his run. He engaged in a mini-feud with Sami Zayn just prior to The Show of Shows, but those flames fizzled before the rivalry could even ignite. His program with Seth Rollins served a purpose in the grander scheme of Rollins seeking retribution against Triple H, but it was far from his best work, and he came across as an afterthought. It was not until his historic victory at Extreme Rules against the likes of Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor and Roman Reigns in a No. 1 Contender Fatal Five-Way match that Joe’s powerful potential poked through. Winning the right to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at Great Balls of Fire was the spark that Joe needed to explode into the spotlight. The week-to-week build to Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar was some of the most engaging television WWE had produced in years and the perfect wake-up call to the post-WrestleMania lull in which they found themselves. Say what you will about their eventual encounter, but it was refreshingly physical, Joe was able to bring more out of Lesnar than many past challengers and he walked out of Dallas a bona fide star. With a full head of steam, Joe is on his way to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, to headline SummerSlam against Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. Regardless of who has their hand raised when the lights go out and the cameras turn off, here are five must-see feuds for Samoa Joe after SummerSlam.
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Ember Moon def. Lei'D TapaFor those who watched TNA three or four years ago, Lei'D Tapa was a part of the Knockouts division for a cup of coffee as Gail Kim's protege, a storyline that ended abruptly before Tapa departed the company. I wasn't a fan of her work then and she seemingly hasn't improved at all since I last saw her. She had a pretty poor performance here, even while in the ring with someone as skilled as Moon. On the bright side, Moon cut a decent promo afterward that sets her up to face Asuka again at TakeOver: Brooklyn for the NXT Women's Championship. NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain vs. Timothy Bumpers and David Ramos Went to a No Contest (Non-title)Every match where Authors of Pain take on a pair of local athletes is essentially the same, so SAnitY actually did us a favor by beating up Bumpers and Ramos before Authors of Pain could. The brawl that ensured between the two teams was fine, but it didn't make me any more excited to see them do battle in Brooklyn than I was when it was first teased a few weeks back. I understand NXT's tag team division is thin, but it doesn't scream TakeOver worthy to me at this point. Perhaps they'll exceed my expectations.
Texano def. The Mack in a Cueto Cup Second Round MatchI've said time and time again that Texano largely does nothing for me, but at least he can typically be counted on for a quality performance, especially when he's up against someone better than he is. Thankfully, The Mack was able to get a good match out of him. I figured Famous B would interfere and aid Texano to victory, but it was what needed to happen to seemingly solidify that partnership and get Texano another step closer to turning heel (assuming he hasn't already). Pentagon Dark def. Trios Champion Drago in a Cueto Cup Second Round MatchPerhaps I'm biased because Pentagon is my favorite performer in Lucha Underground, but I thoroughly enjoyed this outing between him and Drago. It was far from the best match of the Cueto Cup up to this point, but it was still very well-wrestled and the crowd was engaged in the exciting action. I liked the post-match angle with Argenis saving Drago from getting his arm broken by Pentagon in an attempt to bring him back into the light, only for Drago to attack Argenis and lead to Argenis getting his arm broken instead. It's ridiculous how over Pentagon is right now and I really hope he emerges from this tournament the victor.
#AskGSM Edition #191: WWE Battleground 2017 Fallout, Kanellis Being Buried?, Jinder Mahal, More7/26/2017 #AskGSM is a weekly Q&A video where I, Graham "GSM" Matthews answer fan questions from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in regards to the world of wrestling. Nothing is off limits, and this week’s edition touches upon a variety of topics including:
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