It’s All in the Story: Joe vs. Lesnar

The power of pro wrestling are the stories that are told in the squared circle. What else would be the point if they weren’t telling stories? It’s the reason why wrestling is art. This Sunday at “Great Balls of Fire” we should get the culmination, or the payoff, of the Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe story. I believe this story ends on Sunday, which is unfortunate because they have been the best segments on RAW in the last six months. In my opinion, this should be the RAW main event at SummerSlam for the Universal title. It has been that good.

Samoa Joe has headlined pay-per-views and super shows all over the country for years but this his first chance headlining in WWE (not counting NXT, of course). I’m not alone in thinking that Samoa Joe has completely capitalized on this opportunity. His stuff with Paul Heyman has been great and his stuff with Brock Lesnar has been better. He’s been the heel (the attack on Heyman), he’s been the face (searching for face-to-face time with Lesnar and getting held back), he’s done it all and at a level that other guys should be taking notes on. The argument can be made that even if he does lose (according to 5Dimes he is the heavy underdog) it is still a win for him because he’s been amazing. Samoa Joe should one day be the WWE World / Universal Champion.

One of the negative things that people say about Brock Lesnar is that he does not work as much as everyone else.  This is the deal that he and Vince McMahon have agreed upon. If you’re mad at anyone, be mad at McMahon. The fact remains that Brock Lesnar is on a whole other level.  As far as I’m concerned, Lesnar is the genius in this situation because he doesn’t need the WWE. The WWE needs him and that’s obvious. But enough about his contract, Brock has been great in this feud with Joe because he’s really allowed Samoa Joe to look like true competition. Brock has elevated Joe to a new level since this program started in June. Although, Brock has been great in a lot of his feuds over the last four years, so it should come at no surprise.  Brock is a big ticket guy, a big ticket attraction. Enjoy him while we have him.

On Sunday we will have the challenger, The Destroyer, with the finishing move that has already put the champ down going up against the Conqueror, The Beast, the man that has beaten them all. Creative has built this story around one main question: Can Samoa Joe put the Coquina Clutch on Brock Lesnar? I also think the underlying question here is can Samoa Joe survive Suplex City (bitch)? Building this story around one move works with these two because they work that “MMA style”. Brock Lesnar is the most legit guy on the roster and Samoa Joe is right behind him. The story that these two are going to tell on Sunday will resemble a shoot fight more than a work. I expect it to be physical and hard-hitting. I think it’ll be different than what Lesnar has done in his most recent matches. There’s just something about the Samoa Joe dynamic that makes this different. The one thing that I noticed during this past Monday’s RAW, Brock Lesnar came across as very confident. Almost too confident. Did the WWE give us a hint?  Does the too confident Brock Lesnar get caught in the Coquina Clutch by Samoa Joe and lose his title?

If the WWE wants to protect the Coquina Clutch, then Joe can’t put it on Lesnar unless he is going to win. I expect there will be several attempts that Lesnar will foil.  They need to protect that finish if Joe isn’t going to win. In the current day, everyone pops for the false finish or the kick out at two and a half so they agents are going to have to find a different way to build it to the climax. Leave the Coquina Clutch out of it. I WANT THE COQUINA CLUTCH TO MEAN SOMETHING, DAMMIT! Brock Lesnar does not need to escape the Coquina Clutch. Lesnar can win this match go on to SummerSlam, face Braun Strowman or whatever is next without escaping Joe’s finisher and beating him. Of course, there’s the thought where the WWE has put such an emphasis on the Coquina Clutch, plus Joe already applied to Lesnar, that Lesnar will definitely be escaping the move on Sunday. Of course, this is all based on the idea that Brock Lesnar is going to retain the Universal title. Which is he is the heavy favorite (as of this writing) to do so.

If Samoa Joe is winning, Brock Lesnar will be passing out to the Coquina Clutch. He won’t tap out. He will pass out. Or hell, maybe Paul Heyman will throw in the white towel!

It all depends on the story that Vince McMahon wants to tell us.

I’ll be rooting for the underdog, for the Coquina Clutch, for Samoa Joe.