5 WWE WrestleMania 33 booking options for Samoa Joe
Although Fastlane could change things considerably, it seems as though most of the card for WrestleMania 33 has been finalized already, with many of the rumored matches clearly being set up.
It seems obvious Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho will face each other in some fashion while Goldberg and Lesnar is already announced, Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker looks likely, Baron Corbin will face Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship and so on.
In the midst of all this, though, Samoa Joe is one of the few big names who doesn't seem to be heading in any particular direction based off how WWE has booked him since bringing him up to the main roster.
Is this a sign that his role at the biggest show of the year is actually not all that impressive, or does this mean WWE has a plan we're just not privy to at this time?
When you factor in everyone who has matches already in the works, it's starting to look like there may only be five potential options for him at this year's WrestleMania.
#1 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal participant
The absolute simplest thing to do at this point would be to place him in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal match. It requires little to no effort whatsoever, as he can simply announce that he's a participant in a random promo where he talks about asserting his dominance over the roster.
No feuds need to be set up prior to the event, since it's every man for himself and the vast majority of the people involved will be jobbers and midcarders who nobody cares to see eat up precious time on the Road to WrestleMania. It's doubtful anyone will be upset that there's no personal animosity between Joe and Epico when he tosses him over the top rope.
Although this isn't the most high-profile match possible, it's still something to give him a noteworthy victory. After all, he would be winning the biggest battle royal of the year second only to the Royal Rumble itself. Cesaro, Big Show and Baron Corbin weren't pushed to the moon after winning, but it still helps their credibility to say that they've accomplished this feat.
Still, it leaves much to be imagined, doesn't it? One minute he's standing next to Triple H and taking out a top main event talent like Seth Rollins and the next minute, he's busying himself with The Golden Truth and Mojo Rawley? That's quite a fall from grace.
The two biggest signs of whether or not this is the case will be 1) if a handful of established stars throw their names in the hat for the match and seem to be good candidates to win it, and 2) if anybody big enough steps up to the plate to start a feud with Joe that would otherwise tie him up and prevent him from being in the battle royal. If those two things start formulating, Joe will do something else, but if WWE doesn't have a better idea in mind, there's always this as a backup option.