What Might WWE Do With Samoa Joe At Summerslam?

SummerSlam is just a couple days away at this point. We pretty much know the card, barring some last minute changes-which some folks in WWE have a bad habit of doing. One match that has not yet been announced (but by the time you read this, it hopefully will be) is the pairing of Samoa Joe with Roman Reigns, against Daniel Bryan and Rowan.

That pairing seems kind of odd, considering it wasn’t that long ago where Joe and Roman were beating the hell out of each other. As we saw Monday following that hit and run, however, nasty Joe apparently has a soft side. 

So, this all brings us to asking an important question: what might WWE do with Samoa Joe on Sunday, assuming we do get that tag match?

There are a couple options, so let’s take a look and see.

Turn him face

This seems to be a popular choice. Sure, he was angry that he was accused of being behind the forklift incident. He was cleared by being present and not behind the wheel for the car incident.

When he walks to the ring, fans chant for him. Even though he can be an incredibly good heel, he can be a great, take no guff face too. If you check social media, plenty of fans feel Joe has been great as a face in the past, and can be again. My first intro to Joe in WWE was when he showed up in NXT, chasing off Kevin Owens. That’s what a babyface does, right?

I think a face Joe could work. Maybe he helps Reigns too. I will say this-it’s certainly a curious and compelling move to make, so long as WWE does not flip flop (like with Elias).

Keep him heel

This could still be a thing. For what it’s worth, there’s chatter that Daniel Bryan is being positioned as a heel that even other heels don’t like. In this case, it’s plausible to have Joe be against Bryan, but also Reigns.

In this scenario, sure, you can have Reigns and Joe team up. At some point of the match-either during it or after-have Samoa Joe attack Roman Reigns. Maybe the Samoans win the match, and as they celebrate, Joe locks Roman in the Coquina Clutch out of nowhere. Instant and total heel move, and should probably get his heat back pretty quick.

The challenge here, of course, is the polarizing nature of Reigns. There will be fans who will cheer for Reigns getting choked out, so it could possibly make Joe more over as a face.

Keep him a ‘tweener

This seems possible. WWE is no doubt still searching for the next wise-cracking, bad boy face. Think of Attitude Era Austin or The Rock, when neither cared what they said. Austin would just as likely drop a babyface with a Stunner as he would drop a heel with one. I do think WWE is trying this with Kevin Owens, so it’s possible they will embrace it with Joe too. This could be an interesting role for him…if they go this way.

In the end, the one great hope here is we just don’t see Joe become a sports entertainment ping pong ball. WWE has done a few turns in the last year or so, where someone was supposed to be a heel, or a face, and was quickly turned and then turned back again, without much rhyme or reason. It happened to Elias, it was done with Kevin Owens, and we almost had it with Becky Lynch too. Let’s hope Joe isn’t added to that particular list.

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