Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Samoa Joe Thriving in Braun Strowman's Spot on WWE Raw

1. The Destroyer Looking Comfortable Atop WWE Raw

Braun Strowman, eat your dark heart out. A new monster is terrorizing WWE Raw in your place—Samoa Joe.

Strowman had been the core of the red brand for much of the past few months. His acts of violence and his insatiable appetite for doling out pain highlighted Raw time and time again. But just as The Monster Among Men looked ready to take Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship away, an elbow injury halted his upward trek.

Raw has attempted to fill that Strowman-sized hole with Joe, and it's working.

On Sunday's Extreme Rules, The Destroyer looked beastly. He clubbed the other men in the Fatal 5-Way match with the ring steps and thunderous right hands. Joe slipped behind Finn Balor and choked him out with a Coquina Clutch.

That awarded Joe a title shot against Lesnar at the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view on July 9.

The following night, Joe was the star of Raw. He laid out the reasons he wasn't afraid of The Beast Incarnate. He sneered between the ropes, looking ready to tear flesh from flesh.

Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, made the mistake of confronting him. After the two traded words, The Destroyer pressed the smaller man into the corner and warned him of the hell that was coming his way. Joe then left Heyman blacked out and motionless.

It was a captivating performance, one reminiscent of his best work at Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling and NXT.

Later in the night, Joe beat on Seth Rollins to close out Raw. This match was a methodical dismantling punctuated by bursts of high-octane aggression. Joe looked fantastic.

Denny Burkholder of CBSSports.com praised this version of the powerhouse:

This is nothing new for Joe. Only the spotlight is brighter. 

WWE didn't make him a priority during WrestleMania season after he made the move from NXT. He attacked and agitated Rollins but watched the marquee event from the sidelines as his enemy took on Triple H.

With Strowman out, Raw needed a new fearsome force to take over.

Joe has long been ready to do that. He was a centerpiece for ROH in its early days, a key component of the Impact Wrestling brand and at NXT seemed to be revitalized by his new surroundings. 

He has always flourished as a monster, exuding an aura of danger and destruction.

As Ian Williams so aptly put it for Vice Sports: "Joe has only ever been scary. His face radiates displeasure at all times. He seems, simply, angry at everyone he encounters, his surroundings, and the crowd."

WWE is now putting that to use on center stage.

The coming weeks promise to showcase more of Joe's sadism. Whether he's baring his fangs at Raw general manager Kurt Angle or leaving some midcarder seeing cartoon birds swirl around his head, he will be a joy to watch on Monday nights.

Joe's time there is likely to be temporary as Lesnar, Strowman and Roman Reigns are sure to reside above him on the WWE food chain. But for now, fans can watch a master at work, a dangerous man making the most of a long-awaited opportunity.

2. American Alpha M.I.A.

Jason Jordan and Chad Gable have not been on our televisions in a long while.

The SmackDown tag team division is suddenly bustling thanks to The New Day, Breezango and The Usos. American Alpha, though, has been relegated to the end of the bench.

Credit: WWE.com

Jordan and Gable have not wrestled on SmackDown since April 25, per CageMatch.net. The duo has since missed six consecutive episodes of the show. This year, they missed the cut for the Royal Rumble and Backlash cards and have earned only seven TV or PPV wins in 2017.

SmackDown can't highlight everyone at once, but to completely ignore American Alpha is a mistake. Even the odd squash match would be better than letting the squad collect dust somewhere.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Lou Thesz

The song which inspired WWE's latest PPV—"Great Balls of Fire"—hit the charts in 1957. The company has fully played into '50s nostalgia with the event's hype video.

For some perspective of how old of a reference that is, the NWA world champion at the time was Lou Thesz:

Thesz wrestled at a time when 60-minute draws were common, when a suicide dive was unheard of, when the sport was simpler. Harkening back to his time via PPV name choice sure isn't timely, but it is a good excuse to peer back into wrestling's history, to a time when one of the purest wrestling technicians ever reigned.

4. Long Live the King

Neville has owned the cruiserweight division all year, and it's been a beautiful thing.

The King of the Cruiserweights forced Austin Aries to tap out at Extreme Rules. That gave Neville his third consecutive victory over him. And on Tuesday's 205 Live, Neville added TJP to his list of victims.

No one has been able to take down the champ, not Rich Swann, not Jack Gallagher.

Neville won the Cruiserweight Championship in January and is now going on over 125 days as champ. That constitutes a long title reign in today's era.

Here's hoping WWE doesn't end Neville's run anytime soon, either. He's been tremendous as a snarling predator with a loose moral code. The more he takes down challengers, as he's done so far, the bigger his eventual loss will be. That's a WrestleMania-worthy moment right there.

The goal, for now, should be for Neville to continue devouring his competition while WWE builds up a new challenger who could take the crown from him at The Show of Shows.

5. The Adam Jones Quiz

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones attended Sunday's Extreme Rules PPV in style. He and his friends sat front row at the event dressed as WWE stars of the past.

Jones tweeted a look at his decked-out crew, asking if fans could identify everyone:

That's Big Boss Man (albeit during his slimmer days apparently) on the left. Any self-respecting WWE diehard can rattle off the rest no problem.

6. The Monster Deserves to Be in the Hall

It's hard to picture Abyss in a tux, but he needs to go get fitted for one.

The masked, hulking beast must be inducted into Impact Wrestling's Hall of Fame. The company has only welcomed one name at a time to the Hall since its inception in 2012. And that name is typically announced at the Slammiversary event.

If James Storm is going in this year, as Impact Wrestling seemed to indicate in a recent tweet, Abyss should be next on the list.

The Weapon of Mass Destruction has held their X Division Championship, tag titles, Television Championship and the NWA world heavyweight crowns. He has been with the company since 2002 and been a staple of the brand.

He gets bonus points for playing Joseph Park, Esq., too. It's not often a wrestler can slide from a monster role to a slimy lawyer role one so well.

7. The Miz By The Numbers

When The Miz dethroned Dean Ambrose at Extreme Rules, he further padded a strong resume.

The title win marked the beginning of his seventh reign as intercontinental champion. Only Chris Jericho has more with nine, per WWE.com.

Beyond that, The Miz drew closer to a career milestone.

The A-Lister is closing in on 400 career wins with 396 victories to date, per the Internet Wrestling Database. He has managed to spread those wins to various PPVs. He was now won at Extreme Rules twice, four times at Night of Champions and Survivor Series, and has three at WrestleMania and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs victories to his name.

Those aren't John Cena numbers by any stretch, but few would have imagined The Miz would have tallied that many wins back when he was just the guy from MTV trying to make it in the business. 

8. Bayley at Her Best

Fans haven't seen Bayley's act translate from NXT to the main roster.

Poor writing has gotten in her way. And misguided booking hurt her badly in her Kendo Stick on a Pole match against Alexa Bliss on Sunday. The bout proved to be Extreme Rules' biggest disappointment.

Bayley, though, can thrive as a gutsy babyface, as she showed at NXT. For those unfamiliar with her work there, take a look at these highlights and seek out the full matches:

• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair: NXT TakeOver Rival (Fatal 4-Way)
• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks: NXT TakeOver Brooklyn
• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks: NXT TakeOver Respect (Iron Man)
• Bayley vs. Asuka: NXT TakeOver Dallas
• Bayley vs. Asuka: NXT TakeOver Brooklyn II

When is the version of Bayley from these contests going to show up on Raw? When is WWE going to figure out how to maximize her character?

She seemed like a can't-miss prospect at her NXT peak.

9. Fashion Files Forever

The Fashion Files segments have been the highlight of SmackDown for weeks.

WWE is giving Breezango the room to be creative, outlandish and ridiculous. Tyler Breeze and Fandango have responded with their best work to date.

Subtle sight gags, rapid-fire jokes and an off-the-wall tone power these entertaining bits. And on Tuesday, they got even better with The New Day entering Breezango's world.

The success of Fashion Files is a reminder of the power of using every part of the roster, the comedy midcard guys included. For so long, Breezango was a non-factor. Including them in the mix on SmackDown in this inventive way has drastically altered the conversation surrounding the duo.

Somewhere, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, The Ascension and others are wondering when the WWE writers will bring them something to sink their teeth into.

10. Rhodes on Recent Tragedies

Former IC champ Cody Rhodes weighed in on what's been weighing on many a heart—the recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester. During a tense and trying time, Rhodes delivered a message of unity:

Sometimes the simplest statements are the most powerful.