10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Jan 19)
5. WWE Wanted Samoa Joe's Segment With Heyman To Be Different
The June 5, 2017 episode of Raw was a real coming-of-age moment for Samoa Joe in WWE. There, Joe confronted Brock Lesnar's manager Paul Heyman before choking him out and sending a message to the Universal Champ. It was all very dramatic, powerful stuff, but it almost never happened that way.
Backstage, WWE writers couldn't agree on Joe's promo. The Samoan told the In This Corner podcast he wanted to show a different side of his character by speaking slowly, almost with the same deliberate patterns as Jake Roberts. Meanwhile, creative wanted a by-the-numbers heel promo during which Joe would shout loudly at Heyman. This led to a stand off.
Joe got his way eventually, and it's a good thing he did. The way Joe stalked Heyman before locking him in the Coquina Clutch was a thing of beauty; the segment wouldn't have had the same impact had Joe went along with WWE's plan to roar at Heyman without stopping to freak him out with calm promises about taking he and Lesnar out.