Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Samoa Joe Would Make Better WWE Champ Than Brock Lesnar

1. Crown The Destroyer

Samoa Joe is a more available, more versatile beast than Brock Lesnar.

The Samoan Submission Machine would be hugely compelling with the Universal Championship in his grasp. He's a top-tier monster, a man who can work the mat as well as he works the mic.

And Raw now has him back in tow. After missing time because of a knee injury, Joe returned Monday night, first blasting fans for not caring enough about him and then laying waste to both Apollo Crews and Titus O'Neil.

The Destroyer's swinging his hammer-like fists and choking the air out of his foes again was a welcome sight.

He didn't look to have a speck of ring rust on him. He was instantly back to being an apex predator and a talent worthy of the marquee.

The folks at Wrestleview.com were happy with what they saw:

That's been the case with Joe for a while. He was a more-than-worthy title contender and foil for Lesnar in July. He has shone in a crowded Universal Championship picture that has also included Roman Reigns, Finn Balor and Braun Strowman.

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There's a case to make that Strowman should be Raw's cornerstone, but the evidence for Joe to take up that spot is hard to ignore.

No Superstar today wields a better combination of mic prowess and can't-look-away destruction in the ring. While Lesnar has to rely on Paul Heyman to speak for him, Joe is both a monster and his own mouthpiece.

He's convincingly scary as he talks of dismantling his foes. He is a master heel whose rage feels like a dangerous storm on the horizon.

In the ring, he's been excellent, thriving in multiman matches and against men like Reigns and Seth Rollins. Joe can hit his opponents with pure smashmouth offense. He's also a deft submission artist and a first-rate storyteller in the ring.

It's no wonder some like Miami Herald writer Scott Fishman are calling for him to be champ:

The Beast Incarnate is a special talent, but it's hard to sustain his momentum as a titleholder. His limited schedule has him out of the spotlight for much of the year. That's not an issue with Joe.

Lesnar will go weeks without appearing on Raw. He'll skip a handful of PPVs a year. Joe's only been gone because he's been hurt.

Now that he has healed, The Destroyer is ready to put the Raw brand on his back. Lesnar is a part-time attraction; Joe is a workhorse ready to charge again.

2. Survivor Series Stats

Success in elimination matches is apparently hard to come by.

A good number of the wrestlers who are on Survivor Series teams for Raw or SmackDown so far don't have a winning record in the elimination bouts the PPV is famous for. Even Randy Orton, who began his career tearing it up in those contests, is barely over .500.

Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle, the respective captains of Team SmackDown and Team Raw this year, have some of the least impressive numbers at Survivor Series of the 2017 entrants, per CageMatch.net:

• Randy Orton (5-4)
• Naomi (2-1)
• Alicia Fox (2-2)
• Natalya (2-2)
• Shane McMahon (1-1)
• Kurt Angle (1-2)

Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode will be entering their first Survivor Series elimination matches on Nov. 19. History says 50-50 booking is in their futures at the event in the years to come.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Ric Flair

Ric Flair is on the brink of being celebrated in grand style. The 30 for 30 documentary Nature Boy will premiere on Nov. 7.

Ahead of that look back at the Hall of Famer's iconic career, let's flash back to one of his many powerful promos. The year was 1983. Flair had just suffered a loss while visiting the World Class Championship Wrestling in Dallas. And The Nature Boy became unhinged:

Flair is so often remembered for his bragging promos, but he nailed his moments of outrage, too.

Every aspiring wrestler should be required to study Flair's mic work. He was simply a master of the craft.

4. A Rock Star in 205 Live?

Rockstar Spud is a free agent. And 205 Live would do well to scoop that dynamic Englishman up.

WWE's cruiserweight division needs more characters, and the former TNA X Division champ is certainly in that category.

Spud recently parted ways with Impact Wrestling, as reported by Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com. That frees him up for a potential run with WWE. Raw's cruiserweights could certainly use him.

He boasts Enzo Amore-level swagger but is a better hand in the ring. He's been able to make just about anything work, from a showdown with Ethan Carter III to a comedy feud with Swoggle.

5. T-Pain Rocks?

Rapper T-Pain had to be rather confused.

While walking in New York's LaGuardia Airport, an elderly woman approached him, believing him and his entourage to be former tag team champs The New Day. Elle Collins of Uproxx recounted the moment after T-Pain posted about it on his Instagram account.

He has since removed the post, but the story continues to make the rounds.

T-Pain doesn't look a thing like Big E, Xavier Woods or Kofi Kingston. And it wasn't as if he were wearing a New Day unicorn horn on his head. But jet lag can do a number on the brain.

6. The Cow Palace and JFK

In the latest example of wrestling being everywhere, the recent release of previously classified files about the late President John F. Kennedy touched on the mat world.

Apparently, the documents mentioned a match that took place in San Francisco's famous Cow Palace. CNBC's Jeff Cox noticed the oddity:

David Bixenspan went into detail about the wrestling connection to this news story in a Deadspin article. It's all delightfully strange.

7. Emma's Opportunities

Emma didn't get many chances at the proverbial brass ring.

The company ended the Australian Superstar's story too early. WWE released her along with Summer Rae and Darren Young over the weekend.

In the time from her main roster debut in 2014 to her exit, the numbers speak to how little WWE actually put her in the spotlight. Per CageMatch.net, Emma had just four PPV matches, and only one of them was a one-on-one bout.

She had two total title matches on the main roster. And the vignettes announcing her arrival as Emmalina ran from October to February, leading her delayed re-debut to become a running joke.

Emma is now free to seek out other promotions that will make her a higher priority, giving her a shot to make WWE look foolish for undervaluing her.

8. The Deadman on Raw

Undertaker is returning to Raw, stepping onto the red brand's stage just as he did 25 years ago on the show's debut episode in 1993.

WWE is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the show in a big way. As seen on WWE.com, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash will be among the special guests that night.

Credit: WWE.com

Undertaker's greatest matches often came at PPVs, but he had some memorable showings on Raw over the years, as well. Check out these below for a retrospective look at what The Deadman did on Monday nights:

• Undertaker vs. Mankind: Dec. 9, 1996
• Undertaker vs. Steve Austin: June 28, 1999
• Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy: July 1, 2002 (Ladder)
• Undertaker and John Cena vs. Jeri-Show vs. D-Generation X: Nov. 16, 2009
• Undertaker, Kane and Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield: April 22, 2013

He won't be competing this time around, but his presence will surely cause a downpour of memories of his past battles.

9. More Qualifying Matches

It's no coincidence that Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler's best match together came when the contest had high stakes attached.

On Tuesday night, the two SmackDown stars fought over the right to be on the brand's Survivor Series team. The 2-out-of-3 Falls stipulation certainly added to the excitement, but having a clear prize hanging over them was huge.

This was no regular TV match. This was the difference between representing SmackDown at a major PPV and sitting on the sidelines.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Kevin Owens battled in another qualifying match later that night. Rusev and AJ Styles will go at it next week. This trend is certainly a welcome one.

WWE needs to go this route more often. Superstars should more regularly have to push their way past a foe like Roode and Nakamura did on Tuesday to claim their spots in the Royal Rumble, the Money in the Bank ladder match and elsewhere. Matches begin to feel more like playoff games this way.

10. Wisdom from The Destroyer

Samoa Joe isn't just a monster. He's a philosopher.

The wrestling world reacted swiftly and harshly when NXT prospect Lio Rush joked on Twitter about Emma's recent release. As Joseph Currier of Figure Four Online noted, Rush apologized for the tweet amid a wave of backlash.

Possibly referring to the situation, Joe offered some poignant thoughts on character:

Hard to argue with Joe here. And not just because he's a 282-pound beast. Sometimes a response to a mistake is more telling than the mistake itself.

Ryan Dilbert is Bleacher Report's Lead WWE Writer. Follow him on Twitter @ryandilbert.