6 Ups And 9 Downs From WWE Raw (Dec 2)

by Scott Carlson

1. Joe Kills It On Commentary

aleister black tony nese
WWE.com

If Samoa Joe’s in-ring career ends tomorrow, WWE would be foolish to not immediately and permanently move him to the commentary booth.

Joe filled in on Raw again Monday night, and once again he showed that his smooth promo delivery translates really well as an announcer. Joe was insightful, particularly during the Tony Nese/Aleister Black match as he explained Nese’s strategy to not give Black room to use his strikes. He also criticized No Way Jose for focusing on his dance steps rather than handling his business in the ring.

Contrast Joe with other color commentators, such as Byron Saxton, Jonathan Coachman, Dio Maddin (who was improving, to be fair) and even Corey Graves in recent months. Joe sounds authentic, and unlike all of those just mentioned, the Samoan Submission Machine has credibility having walked the walk.

If Joe has another run in him in the ring, wonderful. But when you’re done Joe, please head to the desk.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.