The Glorious One has a different road ahead of him than Corbin, but it could amount to just as many spoils, if not even more, if done correctly.
It’s been long enough now that I think we can all agree Roode as a babyface just doesn’t have the same pizzazz as his character brings out when he’s a heel, so that’s a turn that absolutely must happen at some point in 2018.
In the meantime, he can have feuds with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Elias, but once he turns heel is when things will really pick up, as it opens him up to some great matches with Ambrose, Balor, Rollins and even Reigns (aside from the fact that Roode would get cheered in that scenario).
I wouldn’t go so far as to say Roode stands more than a 30% chance at winning the Universal Championship by next year’s WrestleMania, but if he turns heel in due time and can obtain the Money in the Bank briefcase, there’s a chance WWE utilizes him as the means to take the title off someone like Reigns or Lashley, as he could pull off a dastardly theft of the title much better than most of the other heels on the brand (save for Owens, mostly).
It may take a while for him to hit his stride, but this could be great for Roode in the long run.
SmackDown’s biggest acquisition wasn’t Jeff Hardy with the United States Championship, nor the trio of SAnitY, but The Samoan Submission Machine.
For the entirety of his main roster run, Samoa Joe has been criminally underutilized on Monday Night Raw to an embarrassing intensity.
Had it not been for the company’s preference to keep the title on Lesnar and remain adamant about setting him up with Reigns for WrestleMania, Joe could have very easily been someone to dethrone The Beast Incarnate believably, or win it from Reigns or Strowman if either of them had been chosen to do the deed at an event like SummerSlam 2017.
On SmackDown, I legitimately believe he’ll receive the opportunities he spoke of in his promo on Tuesday night, and for once, I’m anticipating a world title reign for him.
The blue brand has Shinsuke Nakamura in the title hunt right now and Big Cass trying to make a name for himself, but while I believe Andrade “Cien” Almas and Shelton Benjamin will be primary focal points of the United States scene, I’m anticipating Joe to be one-half of the two biggest heels on the roster (more on the other person below).
If AJ Styles retains the WWE Championship against Nakamura at GRR, I’m going all-in that Joe is the one who will take the belt off The Phenomenal One, possibly around SummerSlam.
NEXT PAGE: 5 Superstars To Watch Out For Following The WWE Superstar Shake-Up (Cont.)
