The closing segment of Raw between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu was quite revealing, as the stakes for Tribal Combat this Sunday at Clash In Italy are clear: If Fatu wins, he’s the new Tribal Chief, Head of the Table, and World Heavyweight Champion.
Conversely, if he loses, he must become subservient to the OTC.
Fatu’s response to Reigns’ promise to “domesticate” him?
“It looks like a win-win for me then. So, if you do dog-walk my ass, hey, it looks like I still got a job here.”
It was at that moment
that the “Samoan Werewolf” had already lost.
Complacency Sets In
Before Backlash, winning the World Heavyweight Championship was of dire urgency to Fatu. Now, just days before Clash, his words suggest he’s okay with whatever happens in Italy because he’s set no matter what.
It’s a telling line that signals Fatu has lost his edge and become complacent, giving his character an out on Sunday.
But here’s the thing: if Fatu thinks keeping his job is a win, something tells me that the OTC is fixing to put him to work.
Spoiler, though: That tough love Fatu is about to be on the receiving end of? It’ll serve him well in about a year, when he’s chasing Oba Femi, Reigns’ eventual successor at the top of WWE, for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Tribal Combat for Raw’s richest prize goes down this Sunday at Clash In Italy, at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT, on the ESPN App with an ESPN Unlimited plan in the United States. Internationally, Clash airs on Netflix.
