Backstage News On Why Samoa Joe Was Briefly Booked As A Babyface On WWE RAW

As seen on RAW last night, Samoa Joe was booked like a babyface for his match against Sami Zayn. Immediately after the match, Joe turned on the crowd and told them that he would not forgive them for thinking that he was behind the recent attacks on Roman Reigns.

Zayn was a part of a backstage segment with The Street Profits on RAW, where he was tricked into talking trash about Samoa Joe, who was standing behind him. Joe responded by challenging Zayn to a match, which Joe won in less than a minute with the Coquina Clutch. After the bout, Joe said that while he forgives Reigns for accusing him of being his attacker, he will not forgive the fans, who helped propagate the lie.

Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the angle was not meant to set up a babyface turn for Joe. The segment was booked last night because Vince McMahon apparently felt that Zayn would get a big pop in Toronto, which they didn't want given Zayn's gimmick. WWE knew that fans would pop big for a Samoa Joe turn and wouldn't boo him in his first night as a babyface, so they booked Joe like a babyface to curb Zayn's pop. After the match, Joe was turned back heel.

While Joe might still eventually turn babyface, as has been teased with his recent interactions with Reigns, last night's RAW was not meant to be a turn for him.