Samoa Joe is on a crash course with Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver II: Brooklyn the Saturday before SummerSlam , but the Samoan Submission Machine already has bigger game in his sights.
In a recent interview reported by Forbes , Samoa Joe said that he picked Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam over Randy Orton “for selfish reasons.”
“For selfish reasons, I’d like to see Brock stand tall until I get my hands on him,” Joe said. “I’d like to see Brock pull through so I can get my shot at him.”
When asked to name the time and place of such an event, Joe had this to say.
“WrestleMania 33. Where else would we fight?”
A main roster call-up for Samoa Joe has been expected since July. However, the draft came and went and he had to take the NXT title as a consolation prize.
TJRWRESTLING: Samoa Joe Talks About Wanting To Face Brock Lesnar At WWE WrestleMania 33 https://t.co/XBAV1ZOATC pic.twitter.com/nD8jkXB4UZ
— John Canton (@johnreport) August 17, 2016
Since then, he has carved a swath of violence through the ranks of the WWE’s farm league promotion. That is expected to end this Saturday with the growing push of Nakamura.
Still, it’s entirely feasible that WWE will delay that payoff and work Nakamura and Samoa Joe for a few more matches to allow a main roster debut at Royal Rumble in January.
It’s no secret that the company is happy with the results they’ve gotten from Joe since he made his debut. After all, they fingered him to be the guy to end Finn Balor’s run in NXT, and now Balor is on the verge of becoming the inaugural WWE Universal Champion.
Fans fearful of Samoa Joe getting buried in mid card hell can probably breathe a sigh of relief for now. However, that doesn’t mean that Vince McMahon will want to place Joe in with Brock right out of the gate.
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In fact, the prospect of putting Samoa Joe in the ring with Brock Lesnar under McMahon’s creative direction should be worrisome to fans of the Samoan.
McMahon has long favored the Brock “look” — a rippling mountain of muscles.
Joe has more of a traditionally thick look with a higher percentage of body fat. However, it probably wouldn’t be wise to write Samoa Joe off in a one-on-one match with the Beast Incarnate.
For starters, Joe is well-trained in mixed martial arts, particularly with submissions. He has a reputation backstage of being one of the few guys on the roster that could handle himself in a scrap.
Furthermore, Brock’s UFC record — while noteworthy — wasn’t exactly deserving of world-beater status. Yes, he won the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but that was after being gifted a shot at an aging Randy Couture.
He lost the belt just as spectacularly against Cain Velazquez and was also stopped by journeyman Alistair Overeem. His professional record until the comeback at UFC 200 against Mark Hunt was just 5-3.
Samoa Joe Still Wants To Face Brock Lesnar, Says He Hopes Orton Loses At SummerSlam https://t.co/pXsTyGZ80A (ICYMI) pic.twitter.com/1jopoCirCQ
— SEScoops (@sescoops) August 17, 2016
In other words, Brock is beatable, and one does not have to look chiseled out of stone to do it.
The only remaining question is this: do you place Samoa Joe against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 in a “no-work” MMA match, or do you book it like a traditional wrestling match?
Going with the former instead of the latter might be the only way to get general audiences to buy Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar as a credible match-up. But what do you think, readers?
Should Samoa Joe face the Beast Incarnate at WrestleMania 33? Sound off in the comments section.
[Image via WWE ]