This week on Monday Night Raw , Samoa Joe made his much-anticipated debut on WWE’s main roster, and fans lost their mind. Unfortunately, his debut also led to Seth Rollins aggravating an injury that put him out of action for months. Now, there are rumors swirling that some big-time changes may be coming and not just to WrestleMania 33 . It is quite possible that the next time the fans see Samoa Joe, he will be on SmackDown Live .
Now, the original plans had Rollins facing Triple H at WrestleMania 33 , but Yahoo is reporting that the knee injury is going to keep him out for an extended period. This is likely going to have him missing the biggest pay-per-view for the second year in a row.
Well, that storyline needs to be altered, and it looks as if the plans for Samoa Joe are being changed up as well. PW Mania is now reporting that despite his big debut on Raw , Joe could very well be moved over to SmackDown Live and begin feuding with John Cena.
John Cena is preparing to defend his newly won WWE Championship against five other SmackDown superstars at the Elimination Chamber in less than two weeks. It isn’t expected for him to leave the PPV with the belt still in his possession which means he won’t be facing Randy Orton in the main event spot at WrestleMania 33 .
Just two days ago, Wrestling Inc. reported that Cena’s match at this year’s big PPV really “wouldn’t be celebrated” or seen as a big thing. At that point, rumors of him facing Samoa Joe went out the door, and talk of him facing Baron Corbin or Dolph Ziggler began to fire up.
Then again, that was two days ago.
Now, as PW Mania stated, a lot has changed in the last 48 hours, and it is mostly due to Seth’s injury on Raw . One of the big ideas floating around at WWE is to have Samoa Joe moved to SmackDown through one storyline or another and to be placed into a feud with Cena.
While there is still talk of Cena teaming with his real-life girlfriend Nikki Bella to take on Maryse and The Miz at WrestleMania 33 , but nothing is confirmed yet. The Miz is one of the other five superstars inside the Chamber along with Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Corbin, and AJ Styles.
If that match ends up happening, then, plans for Samoa Joe and Triple H are still up in the air.
Now, Samoa Joe vs. John Cena was reportedly seen as one of the top matches for WrestleMania 33 for months. Then, the former NXT Champion made his debut on Monday Night Raw as Triple H’s assassin and looked to be a permanent part of Team Red’s roster.
The injury to Rollins is one that no-one could have helped, and it isn’t anyone’s fault at all, but it has caused a lot of confusion backstage. Moving the “Samoan Submission Machine” to SmackDown and having him feud with John Cena would be a big-time money feud, but how would it be explained Somehow or another, there would have to be a reason that he showed up on Raw , but is really on SmackDown ‘s roster.
Also, some fans may worry that WWE wouldn’t put Joe over Cena in his first main roster feud, but let’s not forget what happened with Kevin Owens. When KO was first brought up, he didn’t always get the best of Cena, but he did score some clean wins and went on to be rather successful.
Seth Rollins knee injury may end up changing a lot of storylines and seriously altering WWE’s plans for WrestleMania 33 , but it may have set a lot of new wheels in motion. If Joe is indeed moved to SmackDown Live and begins a feud with John Cena, fans would not necessarily be disappointed at all. The only thing is that a lot is riding on the Elimination Chamber and who walks out of there with the WWE Championship around their waist.
[Featured Image by WWE]