10 Best Raw Segments Of 2017 So Far
3. Samoa Joe Chokes Out Paul Heyman (6 June)
Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar is a dream feud, and it was kicked off in appropriately fantastic fashion. Paul Heyman's conversation with Samoa Joe did an admirable job of hyping up the upcoming match, but it's what happened next that really elevated this segment into the stratosphere. The calmness of Samoa Joe as he icily threatened Heyman with "Something very bad is about to happen to you" was sinister beyond belief. His cold continuation that "I'm going to wrap my arm around your throat. And you're going to feel it tighten" was equally chilling. The slowly mounting sense of danger made for excellent viewing as well as further cementing Joe's status as an extremely scary man.
It was impossible to tear your eyes away when Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch on the helpless Heyman. It's been well-protected in the WWE as an absolutely brutal move, so to see Joe submit a non-wrestler to it felt downright merciless. Heyman, ever game, thoroughly sold the pain, spluttering and suffering convincingly. The manner in which Joe finished proceedings was perfect; having rendered Heyman unconscious in the middle of the ring, with the crowd chanting 'We Want Lesnar!', Joe's impromptu bellowing of "And so do I!" showed brilliant ferocity and an intimidation factor that's through the roof.
It takes one hell of an effort to believably make an opponent feel like a threat to Brock Lesnar. In this segment Joe not only did that, but gave us one of the most unique and authentically exciting moments of Raw in 2017.