Samoa Joe - Muscle Buster

[DCLXVI]

Last night was an awesome match with Samoa Joe and Lesnar... thank whoever they decided to make this happen. I think Samoa Joe has exceeded expectations - took this ball and ran with it. I was worried at first - but he's looked vicious through this feud and was actually having "JOE'S GONNA KILL YOU" chants to Brock last night with Brock selling his ass off. I am happy for Joe.

Here's what I'm wondering - does anybody else feel Samoa Joe feels a little incomplete without the Muscle Buster? I know he basically decapitated Natalya's husband at a house show with it but he hasn't changed anything else and was using it all the time in NXT. It's weird to see him after 10+ years not use that as at least a teaser spot. AJ Styles uses the Styles Clash and broke several necks with it.

I really like Joe but I can call all his moves... jabs, Inverted Atomic Drop, running elbow, Senton, Uranage/Rock Bottom/Book End whatever, back head kick in the corner, Coaquina Clutch. It seems like he used to have a lot more range with his move set. Not just this match but since being called up. AJ Styles didn't lose a whole lot even though it was dialed back... the guy does Springboard 450's.

I guess just like a rear-naked choke/sleeper hold all the time is kind of boring. Even though they are building the finisher - which I like. Kurt Angle had the Angle Slam/Ankle Lock, Cena has the AA/STF thing. You are just watching a guy pretend to squeeze the life out of someone.

A Muscle Buster teased like AJ Styles teases the Styles Clash would be great. It's one time in thousands of times the guy has done the move and was a freak thing hurting someone.

 

[The Perfect Max]

The accident with Tyson Kidd was really just that: an accident. The problem is though, as seen with other moves like the piledriver and even the curb stomp, the WWE are unwilling to take the risk. And I completely understand that. It is frustrating to a certain degree because these moves are fun to see, but ultimately you have to understand that the risk is very high. Why someone like AJ Styles is allowed to use the Styles Clash still can perhaps be answered by the answer to why Undertaker and Kane were still allowed to use the Tombstone. It's almost an iconic move associated with a hugely popular star. I don't know if that has some bearing or whether WWE has more faith in Styles than they do Joe to execute the move correctly. After all, the accident with Tyson Kidd happened in NXT, which is obviously WWE programming. AJ has yet to have that accident that maybe tips WWE to the decision to ban it.

But even with Joe's muscle buster banned, I really don't think it takes anything away from him. He's debuted on the main roster programming without it and established himself as a beast who possesses a devasting submission hold during his angle with Lesnar. I think that's quite unique on the roster right now and has served him well recently to really drive home his potential dominance. In that respect, I really don't think he needs the muscle buster. Now if he was to tease it, especially in front of a "smarter" crowd (I hate that phrase but you know what I mean) and in a big time match, I think that could be a great moment that would go down really well with the audience.

Honestly though, I'm just really happy for Joe right now like you. This feud with Lesnar has served him so well in raising his stock on the main roster, and I hope it continues. Muscle buster or not, he's doing great, and because of that nothing really feels incomplete.

 

[OYDK]

Vince doesn't like his big guys to have a wide-ranging moveset. It's why you've seen Owens, a guy who had one of the most complete and comprehensive movesets on the indies, severely limit his to nothing more than headlocks, a senton, cannonball, the odd fireman's carry neckbreaker, and the Pop-Up Powerbomb.

It's just WWE's style of wrestling.

And the Muscle-Buster did almost kill somebody. From their perspective, I can see why they wouldn't want to risk it even if it was just a one-time accident. Even teasing it would lead to speculation that he's going to eventually use it and I think they just feel they're better off not even referencing it at this point.

 

[DCLXVI]

Nobody can really say "What Vince likes" without talking to the guy. Samoa Joe is a different beast than Kevin Owens. He's a convincing bad ass. It's just strange he used it in NXT for a year following that then dropped it on the main roster. Looks like he's going to start using the Uranage as a finish dropping to his knees like Booker T's Book End as well seeing he used it last night on Lesnar after he'd already done the table spot. Bruce Prichard said Vince saw Samoa Joe as a "fatass"/"not a real Samoan" and he's in the main event now. So who even knows what Vince likes any more.

 

[A11oftheLights]

It doesnt make sense to say that WWE doesnt want to deal with the risk. There is no way that if they didnt want him to do it he would have been doing it down in NXT

 

[Psykohurricane55]

The problem is that wwe is a publicly traded company so they can't really take risk anymore. The muscle buster while a really awesome move is a really dangerous move to take and could result in paralysis or even death if took wrong. So when you considered what happened to tyson kidd as a result of the move, is understandable why they don't want joe to use the move on the main roster. I'm sure that if an accident like that happenned with the styles clash, wwe would probably ban it as well.

 

[DCLXVI]

How many people has Styles hurt with the Styles Clash? I think three broken necks in the past two years and Cena took it. Sting jumped off an apron with a splash and ended Rick Rude's career. Who knows. Just seemed to fit the character and was a freak thing. Undertaker also hurt a couple people when he introduced the Tombstone at first.