8 Ways WWE Can Make Samoa Joe The AJ Styles Of 2017
6. Replace Seth Rollins Immediately
Samoa Joe made a huge statement on Monday night. Not every wrestler gets to make their WWE debut by attacking one of the biggest wrestlers in the company, let alone utterly destroying him. That’s exactly what Joe did, however, and his ambush of Seth Rollins at Triple H’s behest positioned him at the heart of one of WWE’s biggest storylines heading into WrestleMania 33.
All of that is now gone, however. Rollins re-injured his surgically rebuilt knee as Joe took him down for the Coquina Clutch, and now looks set to miss eight weeks of action. The injury rules him out of a potential Fastlane match with Joe, and puts his WrestleMania 33 showdown with Triple H in serious jeopardy.
Joe has gone from being involved in one of the most prominent angles in the company to having absolutely nothing on his plate. That’s a huge, huge disappointment, and if WWE want to do right by him, they must find a suitable alternative.
This won’t be easy, however. Most of Raw’s major players are already booked-up for WrestleMania, and it’s too early to involve Joe in the Universal Title picture. Potential opponents like Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, and Roman Reigns are all booked-up, but there’s a man on the fringes who could serve as the perfect replacement.
Finn Balor isn’t set to return to in-ring action until March, but who’s to say he can’t appear in non-physical spots until then? He and Joe had an excellent feud down in NXT, and they’re already very familiar with one another. Booking them together at WrestleMania 33 makes perfect sense, and all but guarantees an excellent match.