10 Things We Learned From Post-Extreme Rules WWE Raw (June 5)

1. Kill Or Be Killed

Samoa Joe Kurt Angle
WWE.com

The 'Samoan Submission Machine' has had a sensational few days, and the momentum looks set to continue as he prepares for his first face off with Brock Lesnar on next week's edition of the show.

The Universal Champion's first appearance on Monday Night Raw since the post-WrestleMania broadcast should be a blockbuster after Joe unleashed a calm but vicious assault on his 'advocate'.

Looking too credible and clever for Paul Heyman's typical sales pitch, Joe waited for the master manipulator to stop talking then got into his face to explain exactly how he was about to assault him.

It was unnervingly brilliant, and did something to assuage the cheers Joe was likely to receive for attacking the almost lovable sidekick in the absence of his 'Beast' for backup.

Joe continued his path of destruction in the main event, getting past Seth Rollins in part thanks to 'The Architect' frozen in confusion when Bray Wyatt's typical jiggery pokery flashed across the screen. For the second consecutive evening, a top babyface passed out in the Coquina Clutch, which will presumably be forced hard as the best way Joe has of slaying 'The Beast'.

He was a safe bet as a killer in TNA, going undefeated for over a year in a run that WWE would do well to ape in preparing him for the huge encounter.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett