3 reasons why the Authors of Pain attacked Samoa Joe on RAW

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On the latest episode of WWE RAW, the trio of Seth Rollins, Akam and Rezar (Authors of Pain) stood tall in the main event. Even though Rollins couldn't take the United States Title off Rey Mysterio, the Architect conveyed a message to the US Champion.

However, one interesting piece from the main event was the brutal attack from the Authors of Pain on Samoa Joe who has been working as a commentator on RAW.

Mysterio retained the United States title after interference from Akam and Rezar, and the trio then beat up the US Champion and opted to put the Master of 619 through the announcer's table. However, Joe refused to move for the three heels, prompting AOP to lay their hands on him.

In this article, we'll take a look at a few reasons why the Authors of Pain attacked Joe on the main event of RAW

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#3 To weave Samoa Joe's return into a storyline

A minor altercation between Braun Strowman and Tyson Fury led to a marquee match at Crown Jewel 2019

Samoa Joe has been on the sidelines for a while now. He suffered a thumb injury during the triple-threat King of the Ring semi-final against Ricochet and Baron Corbin. That's the primary reason why Joe is active on WWE Backstage and the commentary panel of the Red brand. However, the good news is that according to reports, WWE has cleared Joe for an in-ring return.

WWE has been trying to provide a storyline reason for major returns lately, as well as debuts of several Superstars.

For example, Brock Lesnar repeatedly attacked Rey Mysterio and his son Dominick on RAW. Such attacks prompted Dominick's kayfabe Godfather Cain Velasquez to make his debut in WWE. Similarly, Tyson Fury only made his debut at Crown Jewel 2019 against Braun Strowman because of repeated taunts from the Monster Among Men. The attack on Joe by AOP will tie into his in-ring return.

#2 To confirm Samoa Joe's babyface turn

Samoa Joe as a heel

Samoa Joe made his NXT debut as a babyface who saved Sami Zayn from the brutal attack of Kevin Owens, but soon he turned heel and started destroying his opponents one after the other. Joe made his main roster debut as the henchman for Triple H, as he ambushed Seth Rollins when he tried to attack the King of Kings.

Since then, Joe has always been a heel. However, if you observe Joe's commentary on RAW, you can tell that he comments as a babyface. He has openly criticized the actions of Rollins and the Authors of Pain, cautioning the babyfaces of RAW about the potential attacks of the AOP & Seth Rollins.

A heel giving such warnings to the babyfaces and criticizing heels is an uncommon act in WWE - even for commentators. Corey Graves, the heel commentator on SmackDown repeatedly justifies all the actions done by the heels of the Blue brand.

The attack on Joe by AOP confirms that the Samoan Submission Machine is now a babyface. We can add him to the list of Superstars who shone as heels but have recently transitioned to the 'good side'.

#1 To start building a faction war

Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio will need one more member to even the odds

Seth Rollins and the Authors of Pain began siding with each other after RAW lost badly at Survivor Series 2019. The new friendship has been fruitful, and they have been getting more powerful with every passing episode of RAW.

The trio's first target was Kevin Owens, as Rollins lured the Prizefighter towards AOP, and they didn't hesitate to ambush him. Last week, Rollins, Akam, and Rezar turned their attention towards the United States Champion Rey Mysterio, who tried to help Owens by giving him the steel pipe he used against the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.

As of last week, two major WWE Superstars, Owens and Mysterio, have made it into the blacklist of Rollins and the AOP. The babyface duo needs one more member, and the latest episode of RAW put the final piece on the puzzle.

In the coming weeks, we could see a faction war between the team of Rollins & AOP against the team of Owens, Mysterio, and Samoa Joe. Since Lesnar is not yet advertised to defend his WWE title at Royal Rumble, this six men war could occupy the main event of RAW for a few weeks.