The Christmas Day edition of Monday Night Raw started off in frustrating fashion for The Shield because they were down a member after it was announced Dean Ambrose was injured and would require some extended time on the shelf.
Everyone wanted a piece of Samoa Joe because that’s who they seem to be blaming for Ambrose’s injury. But Roman Reigns was the guy who got to get his hands around Samoa Joe’s neck and it was quite a contest indeed.
Reigns and Joe work very well together and while some people could have criticized the match for being a little slow because the pace was methodical it soon took an unexpected turn after Reigns wouldn’t let up in the corner when he had Joe down.
The Big Dog kept kicking away at the Samoan Submission Machine and the referee called for the bell. What transpired next was a pretty brutal display at the hands of Reigns. The Shield’s resident center peg in their Triple Powerbomb beat Samoa Joe all around the ring and even got the ring steps involved at one point.
Joe ducked to avoid a chair shot that would have smashed him against the ring post and he retreated to safety. But Roman Reigns was still plenty upset about everything.
WWE reports Roman Reigns was fined $5,000 for his actions against Samoa Joe which is a lot of money for normal people but it would be a drop in the bucket considering how much Reigns probably gets per royalty check from his Shield merchandise, you can believe that.
But the slap on the wrist certainly sends home the message that WWE isn’t cool with Roman Reigns going off like that and nearly killing Samoa Joe in the process. It would be hard to imagine that Samoa Joe won’t have some kind of retaliation coming soon though.
