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What's the story?
Samoa Joe is on the shelf due to an injury which took him out of action and he's set to return in a few weeks, but the question still remains about who he will be facing. Dave Meltzer speculated on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE might already have a couple of wrestlers in mind to face "The Samoan Submission Machine" once he returns from injury.
In case you didn't know...
Samoa Joe is a very intimidating force in WWE and he has run roughshod over just about everyone he's ever encountered not named Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns. For some reason, he wasn't used for WrestleMania 33 which is still a puzzler.
But Samoa Joe jumped straight to the top of Raw following WrestleMania and remained there until a knee injury took him out of action.
The heart of the matter
It looks like Samoa Joe's time on the injured list might be coming to an end because he only has a few short weeks before being medically cleared for a return.
Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE has a couple options on who to book against Samoa Joe. Braun Strowman is a top contender if Samoa Joe is able to return before TLC. This would set up an amazing match even if it was booked on short notice.
He went on to hypothesise how Finn Balor would be a likely candidate to face Samoa Joe. After all, Joe and Balor have had some amazing battles in the past. Of course, this is only likely if Finn Balor isn't paired against Brock Lesnar leading into Survivor Series.
What's next?
When Samoa Joe returns it will be full-steam ahead for him. There's no stopping Joe at this point because people have already seen what he can do in the ring.
No amount of bad booking will make people forget his ability. But it would be nice to see him highlighted a lot better upon his return.
Author's take
Samoa Joe has been a favourite of mine since the early days of TNA. His skill has always been higher than most people he's in the ring with and his ability to tell a story is top-notch.
When he arrived in NXT it was no surprise to see him dominate. I just hope he can start getting that same "monster treatment" on the WWE main roster sooner than later.
