5 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Apr 10)

3. Samoa Joe Stays Strong... For A Minute

braun strowman samoa joe
WWE.com

It's a bit ambivalent, this one. Rey Mysterio's unfortunately timed ankle injury meant that what could have been a marquee debut WrestleMania match for Samoa Joe was cruelly cut to just half the time it takes to cook a two-minute egg. At the very least, WWE made a minor virtue of the circumstances, putting the submission specialist over like a monster.

Joe, surely the world's hardest looking man in a pair of PE shorts, continued his mean streak on Tuesday, ripping R-Truth to shreds before barking down the mic in echoes of the similarly convincing aggression he showed following his SmackDown debut last year.

The dramatic interruption of Braun Strowman threatened to undermine the Samoan's upswing, and though he ultimately legged it like a bit of a fanny, he nevertheless held his own against the Monster Amongst Men. Besides which, Braun moving to SmackDown can only be a good thing - if it's permanent.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.