WWE Payback 2017: 5 Possible finishes for the Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe match at WWE Payback

The improviser versus the eviscerator, the rebel versus the corporate sell-out, the Architect versus the Destroyer...however you label Seth Rollins’ upcoming clash with Samoa Joe at Payback, you’re likely in concurrence that a rip-roarer of an encounter is in the offing between the former golden boy of the Authority and their latest, ominous-looking enforcer.

While the story arc that has culminated in Samoa Joe picking up the Authority’s vendetta against Rollins – especially after he wrote them out of programming at WrestleMania 33 – seems a little patchy, chances are that their dance at Payback will more than make up for it.

Logic suggests that Rollins’ good fight against the Authority needs knocking down a peg or two, especially after he went clean over Triple H at ‘Mania. And unless you’re a legitimate powerhouse like Goldberg or Brock Lesnar, the money for a babyface is generally in the chase.

On the other hand, Samoa Joe needs to be booked as strongly as possible, especially if the WWE intends to address the less than spectacular impact he’s had on Raw since his call up...or risk losing him as a blue chip prospect for occupying a long term main event heel spot, for good.

But will logic prevail at Payback? With the WWE, that’s always been the million dollar question.

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#1 The Destroyer

This is the most logical way to engender authentic heat for Samoa Joe, while also protecting Seth Rollins in the process.

In case you’ve been watching recent episodes of Monday Night Raw on mute (which I would understand), you would have heard the commentators still nagging away about the ‘compromised’ knee of the Architect.

He doesn’t seem to be outwardly nursing any injuries, nor does the WWE air backstage footage of him taping it up before matches...which only suggests that Creative may still be planning to use it as an angle at Payback.

Samoa Joe could ambush Rollins from behind as he is heading down the ramp and unleash a feral attack on his knee – even before the match starts. Throw in a couple of kendo sticks and chair spots maybe, and we have ourselves a fell picture of Samoa Joe, deranged look in his eyes, standing over a mass of WWE officials and paramedics converging over a severely maimed Seth Rollins.

It would extend their feud, in keeping with the long-term booking that Rollins has been bestowed with over the past year, and truly cement the notion that Samoa Joe is truly a destroyer, not just a chancer who ran with the reputation after he accidentally injured his opponent’s knee.

#2 Seth Rollins cleans house

This is, personally, my least favourite outcome since it pretty much ushers in the end of a promising feud before its potential can really blossom. And given that Samoa Joe hasn’t been booked with as much conviction as he could have been since his main roster call-up, it’s also the least likely.

And yet, because the WWE is the WWE, never say never right?

Allowing Rollins to go over Joe clean is no doubt a feather in the cap of the Architect, but it would effectively kill off any momentum that the Samoan has managed to gather in his run on Raw thus far.

It would firmly relegate him to the mid card instead of fuel his rise to the main event picture, especially because he hasn’t otherwise been involved with any other Titles either.

As much as a clean babyface win sounds tempting, the WWE has to resist giving in to a premature payoff when the spoils at the end of the rainbow promise to be rather more bountiful, should they allow this rivalry to continue.

#3 Samoa Joe brings the fight

Personally, If I had to put my money on a particular finish, it would be this.

Both men will duke it out in the middle of the ring, but when push comes to shove, Samoa Joe displays just enough fortitude to outlast Rollins and claim a hard-fought victory. For storyline purposes, it doesn’t even have to be a squeaky clean win; even a scenario where Rollins’ knee just gives way out of sheer exhaustion would do quite nicely.

It allows Samoa Joe to come across as a legitimate threat that doesn’t have to resort to crude and underhanded methods to win or garner heat – just the intensity with which he works a match and his unrelenting attack on Rollins’ knee during the match would convey that.

Meanwhile, Seth Rollins also earns brownie points with the audience for battling on in the face of adversity, despite taking a loss eventually. Again, this outcome ensures that their feud doesn’t fizzle out prematurely, building towards another hard-hitting encounter at a later pay-per-view.

#2 No line he won’t cross

Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins go at it, hammer and tongs, for the best part of 15 minutes. Joe viciously targets his opponent’s compromised knee, while Rollins manages to muster just enough counter-offence to make sure that the Samoan knows that he’s in a fight for his life.

But what happens when one man – in an attempt to break another’s body – realises that he can’t thwart the steel of his mind? What if, despite receiving ungodly amounts of punishment at the hands of Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins just doesn’t quit?

When faced with an opponent who just won’t give up, Joe finally snaps and unloads on Rollins with one thwacking chair shot after the next. The referee calls for the bell and disqualifies the Samoan...but by then, his reputation as a fiendish heel with a mean streak has been cemented beyond a doubt.

Rollins, on the other hand, comes out looking like a braveheart, with a ‘W’ against his name and lives to fight another day.

Win-win.

#1 The Return of the King

Samoa Joe is under the pump, having just managed to survive a couple of near finishes against a rampant Seth Rollins. The Kingslayer even unearths his new finishing move in an attempt to put the Samoan to the proverbial sword...but to no avail.

At his wits’ end, Rollins positions Joe for the ultimate exclamation point, a poignant message that the era of the Authority is well and truly over – he sets him up for the Pedigree.

Just as he locks in Joe’s arms, a jarring guitar note blares out into the arena...followed by a deafening roar of disbelief from the fans.

It would seem that Seth Rollins didn’t manage to slay the king, after all.

Sledgehammer in hand and bristling with ill-conceived purpose, Triple H bounds towards the ring. Momentarily stunned yet not completely bereft of his senses, Rollins rushes to meet him halfway.

When irresistible force meets incredibly movable object, when sledgehammer meets human skull...there can only be one winner.

Seth Rollins wins the match via disqualification, but he wouldn’t walk out of the arena on his own two feet. Triple H and Samoa Joe win the battle on the day...but the war would be far from over.

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