Why Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe Will Probably Be Better Than You Think

Whatever the outcome of the Fatal Five Way at Extreme Rules, you probably would have rolled your eyes anyway. To the winner of that bout, the spoils of war; in this instance a date with reigning Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. Frankly, we wouldn’t have blamed you for being sceptical.

Brock’s merchandise is embossed with the slogan “Eat. Sleep. Suplex. Repeat” and as luck would have it, that’s essentially described his in-ring oeuvre for the best part of three years. From the fearsome competitor who debuted in 2002 and carved out his own niche in Vinnie Mac’s Circus O’ Steroids with high risk manoeuvres (remember that Shooting Star Press?), sheer otherworldly strength and a physique that would put the incumbents of Mount Rushmore to shame, Lesnar’s in-ring work since 2014 has narrowed down to shoulder thrusts, release German Suplexes and the F5.

With that, his matches have suffered too. Tell me what Brock’s last great match was. Headlining Wrestlemania 31 against Roman Reigns? Maybe, but it was a truly one-sided affair that is more fondly remembered for Seth Rollins last-minute cash in than anything else.

Ending the Streak the year before? Nah. Not only was the match slow and plodding, but Undertaker spent most of it in dreamland after being heavily concussed very early on. That match is remembered – rightly – for its outcome, not what came before.

His brawl with Goldberg at this year’s Wrestlemania was fun, sure, but it was like watching two hyperactive kids playing their PlayStation with an unlimited finishers setting on. A 53-year-old Goldberg, who hovered around for nearly five months before taking a bump of any kind, is not a suitable opponent for a man of Brock’s standing and – we can only assume – ambition.

So who better than Samoa Joe, winner of the aforementioned Five Way and Brock’s opponent at the upcoming PPV, Great Balls Of Fire (look there’s nothing we can do about the name so we’re just going to have to live with it, okay)?

Of the five competitors from that night that also included Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt, Joe is best placed to give the fans what they really want: something actually resembling a competition that provides a level of tension and a certain ‘just maybe’ element.

In terms of pure pedigree, Joe has as much – if not more – of a standing than the self-proclaimed Nightmayor of Suplex City. A former ROH World Champion, collector of belts and accolades in TNA and the first two-time NXT champion, Joe has been around the block more than a few times. A man of his stature – in a literal and figurative sense – is more than primed to soak up the punishment usually meted out by Lesnar to whoever is unlucky enough to cross paths with him.

Their titanic clash on the June 12th broadcast of Monday Night RAW was pivotal in showing fans that we can expect the unexpected. Planned or otherwise, Joe’s superkick sent Brock sprawling into the arms of the roster that had come out to split the two behemoths apart.

Witness once more events that transpired on RAW’s June 26th broadcast, with Brock being left embarrassed, helpless and being forced by Joe to do his best impression of the fruity stars of Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes.

This is key, and it follows the narrative set in place last year that the Beast is showing chinks in his armour as times goes by and he finally succumbs to the aging process we long thought he wasn’t susceptible to.

It was narratively jackhammered into our living rooms by Goldberg’s 86-second destruction of Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016. Suddenly, the man who infamously toyed with and ripped apart John Cena two years prior, the man who ended the most reputable streak in pro-wrestling – indeed one of the most famous in all sport – and the man who tosses people like Reigns, Strowman, Harper, Ambrose and all and sundry around for fun finally looked like the house that Jack built.

Joe will be the most credible opponent Brock has faced in a long time. Far from being cowed and fearful in his presence, Joe has been presented as a man with nothing to lose and all to gain. Sticking Heyman in the Coquina Clutch on the June 5th episode of RAW showed he was willing to poke the bear, before he confronted the man himself and left with more than enough credit in his bank by seemingly gaining the upper hand over the champion.

Brock has managed to retain his mystique by virtue of being part time. While it remains frustrating that he is as absent as an East African despot in forced exile, it has managed to elevate him to the level of WWE’s ‘final boss’. You fight, you scrape, you cheat, you win but still, you gotta beat Brock. Many have expressed their frustration at his absences – Balor’s dig at him a few weeks ago on RAW no doubt echoed the concerns of both fans and the locker room – and his lack of action does serve to devalue the fledgling (struggling, let’s be honest) Universal Championship, but he is arguably still the company’s top draw. You’ll bitch and moan about his workrate, his disappearances and his obvious dislike of the business, but you’ll tune in with the faint hope that finally he’ll be unseated from the pedestal he’s made for himself.

Brock Lesnar vs Samoa Joe is a ‘dream match’. It’s their first encounter, potentially their only one. In the post-Invasion WWE-monopoly era, the Dream Match Money Pit has been well and truly dug. While the smart money most likely resides on a Lesnar win, it’s the best bet for us mere mortal fans. We might even be treated to a quick one-two title hotshot: Joe wins in shady circumstances and drops again a few weeks later. It’ll give Brock some impetus to reach those former heights and will show the fans that the championship is worth fighting for.

We all expect Lesnar to walk into next year’s Wrestlemania as champion to face Vince’s blue eyed boy Roman Reigns, but Brock vs Joe is the best chance we have at a little tumult and unpredictability. Here’s hoping.