Full Predictions for Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe Feud on WWE Raw

During a plodding, tired stretch for WWE Raw, Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe for the Intercontinental Championship will invigorate the brand.

With no pay-per-view on the docket until Royal Rumble on Jan. 28 for Raw and the holidays on the way,  WWE's marquee show is poised to go into neutral. But the collisions between Reigns and The Destroyer promise to be the red brand's keystone, a reason to tune in each week.

Moments after Reigns earned a hard victory against Elias in his first defense of the IC title, he found out who he will clash with next thanks to an arm sliding around his throat.

Joe ambushed The Big Dog on Monday's Raw, choked him out on the entrance ramp and kickstarted a rivalry between two surging bruisers.

What's ahead for these two enemies? How will their battles affect Raw and WrestleMania? Read on for a look forward at Reigns vs. Joe.

Centerpiece of Raw

As we saw Monday night with Raw stretching out its matches longer than normal, the show promises to be lighter on content in the next month or so. That's a normal part of the holiday schedule. There's often a down period around Christmas.

The brand's star power will be lacking, too.

Brock Lesnar is not likely to be around much at all until the build for Royal Rumble kicks off. The Miz is off shooting a movie, as Mike Johnson of PWInsider noted.

That means that the IC title feud will be a major part of the show, not midcard fare as it would be in other cases. Look for Reigns and Joe to main event a number of Raws along the way.

Best of the Brand

There's an inherent spark to this rivalry. 

As soon as it became clear this was the direction WWE was going, a buzz within the fanbase grew. Kyle Fowle of Real Sport wrote, "There's no way a feud between Joe and Reigns over the Intercontinental championship goes wrong." And Fightful was among those plenty excited about the showdowns on their way:

This feud will deliver.

Reigns was at his best this year when colliding with Braun Strowman. Joe serves as a similar powerful foe with a smashmouth offense. The two have looked excellent against each other in the past as well.

They excelled in a Fatal 4-Way at SummerSlam that also included Lesnar and Strowman. They clicked as part of a Fatal 5-Way at Extreme Rules. Now, WWE will have a chance to fully explore the issues between these two men.

The result is going to be fantastic.

Street Fights Await

This isn't the type of rivalry that will see both men engage in a lot of mat wrestling. Things have turned personal between them. Plus, Joe's mauling style begs for Reigns to be more of a brawler.

At least one of their matches will be of the Extreme Rules variety.

The Street Fight stipulation is an ideal fit for this seething feud featuring two hosses. There promises to be pull-apart brawls, fights in the stands and heavy usage of weapons as this all unfolds.

Credit: WWE.com

Much like with The Big Dog's battles with Strowman, WWE will look to punctuate the violent nature of their rivalry with hardcore bouts. That will help up viewership in a down period as well.

Precursor to WrestleMania 

All signs point to Lesnar vs. Reigns headlining WrestleMania 34. The last time the intercontinental champ marched into the marquee match of The Show of Shows, though, was when Ultimate Warrior battled Hulk Hogan in 1990.

The safe bet is that Reigns drops the IC crown ahead of WrestleMania to free it up for someone else. WWE, though, will want to continue to make The Big Dog look unstoppable as he charges toward a showdown with the universal champ.

The Miz will be the key to a title change that softens the blow for Reigns.

Once The A-Lister returns, he'll surely want a crack at the gold he lost. Eventually, he, Joe and Reigns will meet in a Triple Threat match. That will open the door for Joe to seize the title without Reigns taking a direct loss.

WWE will be able to elevate Joe, crown him on the main roster for the first time and not hurt Reigns in the process. The Miz will play the fall guy. Joe will emerge as champion. Reigns will go on to attempt to conquer The Beast Incarnate.

In that way, Reigns vs. Joe will give Raw something to build around before shuffling the deck ahead of WrestleMania. Judging by the sparks these men have created in their previous wars, it will be quite the ride getting to that point.