Previewing The Great Balls Of Fire 2017 Main Event Matches

If Brock Lesnar was not gracing us with his presence, Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman would be the main event of this PPV. This is an Ambulance match. This feud has been going on and off all year. It got started at the Royal Rumble in January when Strowman cost Roman Reigns the Universal Championship. It took a break for Reigns to face The Undertaker. It took another break when Strowman was injured. This should be where it ends.

If the WWE still wants Strowman to face Lesnar, you might think that they let him win this match to get momentum. That is not necessary. AJ Styles lost to Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania last year and went on to become #1 contender for the WWE Championship. A PPV loss would not hurt Braun Strowman. Moreover, this being a gimmick match might give some room for a finish that still keeps Strowman strong in a loss. Remember when he had that Dumpster match with Kalisto? Strowman lost that match. Did it matter? No. Reigns, who has not won a PPV match in a while, is likely winning here.

Brock Lesnar finally defends the Universal Championship. Samoa Joe was obviously not meant to have this push a couple weeks ago. He still had unfinished business with Seth Rollins. Due to injuries back then, this is the title feud we are getting.

How has the WWE done in developing this guy that the mainstream casual audience just saw debut a couple months ago? Wrestling fans know who Joe is. But a lot of people don't. And he has not had the greatest few months prior to this push. He debuted before Wrestlemania and didn't even get on the card. He lost to Seth Rollins. All of a sudden, big push against Brock Lesnar for Raw's top title.

Not surprisingly, they have booked him as a beast. They have to if they want people to buy into this match. Some fans are loving it. It is not hard to please these kind of fans. It's just booking. It helps that Lesnar has also looked weak to put over Joe. I am not saying Samoa Joe does not have a "tough guy" presence, but how the WWE has presented him has really helped.

On the other side of that, I have seen fans say that Lesnar looks like a wussy. Some have used more colorful language than that. That is obviously a side effect of how the WWE has booked this feud. But could this hurt some of Lesnar's luster? I think it is possible to create a feud without one side having to look weak for the benefit of the other. Just have Lesnar and Joe spend a few weeks attacking anyone but each other. Joe can go after Heyman, like he has. Joe can also wrestle regularly and pick up wins against top guys, like he has. Lesnar can come in and F5 someone that tries to confront him, like Big Show. Joe and Lesnar can then have a face off, but not actually get physical yet. On the last Raw before the PPV, they finally brawl and have to be pulled apart or brawl to the back, leaving no clear winner to the fight. This way, Lesnar does not have to look too weak.

Should Samoa Joe win? I am not talking about whether he is likely to win. Does he deserve to win the title from Brock Lesnar here? No. All those fans in love with how he looks need to realize it is mainly thanks to booking. If I felt like Samoa Joe was really breaking into his own here as something special, I would say he does deserve to be the guy that beats Brock Lesnar. Unlike the last time Lesnar lost the title, there is no briefcase that is going to come into play here to save him from taking the pin or submission himself. The guy that ends this title reign might just get a big rub. Samoa Joe does not look like he deserves that.

Will Joe win? Probably not. This is not a main PPV. This is Lesnar's first title defense. Samoa Joe was just filling in for Strowman. Signs just point to Lesnar retaining.

Last thing to consider, the story of this match. Some fans are dreading that Samoa Joe will get squashed. Considering that Lesnar has helped Joe look strong in this feud, I don't think it will be the worst thing in the world. This should not be a match where Samoa Joe dominates for 99% of the match and Lesnar hits a desperation F5 for the win. That would just kill Lesnar's mystique. He's not exactly a grand draw for the WWE, but if they make him look that bad in this match, he just becomes like Ronda Rousey. He just won't be that big of a deal anymore. The match should last about 5 minutes. Let Joe look good to start out, but then have Lesnar bounce back with his usual stuff and win it.  

Previewing The Great Balls Of Fire 2017 Midcard Matches

Neville defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Akira Tozawa. If Austin Aries couldn't win the title in a million tries, Neville might as well retain here.

Cass takes on Enzo. This was an elaborate storyline. That is a good thing. But they broke up one of the best face teams they had on Raw. That is a bad thing. Cass should be winning this feud, but how long will the feud last? Will the WWE take this to Summerslam? I will say Cass wins this Sunday.

The Hardys get a rematch for the tag titles against Sheamus & Cesaro. This time, it will be a 30-minute Ironman Match. The WWE has really forced this rivalry by extending it like they have and including so many gimmick matches. Have to kill time. Not too many tag teams, especially if the WWE keeps killing them off. Are we really supposed to eventually buy into Titus & Apollo as contenders for the tag titles? Rhyno & Heath Slater are not that interesting anymore. If the heels retain here, what do they move on to? If the faces regain the titles, after retaining against Sheamus & Cesaro to end the feud, they can move on to The Revival. Those guys look terrible right now. That is why I believe The Hardys should be getting the titles back, even though the idea of these two getting so many title runs in just a few months back leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Dean Ambrose gets his rematch for the Intercontinental Championship against Miz. Why does Miz get so many title reigns? Contrary to what fans might chant, no, he does not deserve it. This is his third run with the Intercontinental Championship in the last year. Dean Ambrose doesn't exactly need the title back. And since the WWE has invested a lot in The Miz recently, he is probably keeping the title.

Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt in an overrated feud. They probably would have gotten a better story out of Balor/Wyatt. Seth Rollins will win this feud against Bray Wyatt. Bray is just a jobber to the stars. The question is whether this will be an extended feud or just a 1-PPV thing. If it is extended, they might give Bray Wyatt the win here to give him momentum. If it is a short feud, Rollins wins and Bray can move on to Finn Balor. I will say Rollins wins.

Previewing The Great Balls Of Fire 2017 Women's Match

It will be Sasha Banks getting a title shot against Alexa Bliss. She won an over-hyped gauntlet match on Raw last week. It is not surprising that Sasha Banks is getting this push, but I do not like how we got here.

They could easily have had the gauntlet match two weeks prior to when they actually had it. Why does it matter? Because then they could have time to build a good feud between Sasha and Alexa heading into the PPV this Sunday. More importantly, the other women in the division would then be free to develop their own storylines in the remaining weeks, whether it leads to a match at Great Balls Of Fire or not.

Another reason they should have done this sooner is the fact that things were just a mess prior to Sasha Banks just getting the title shot. The first Raw after Alexa moved on from Bayley, it looked like they were starting some angle involving Mickie James, Dana Brooke, and Nia Jax all having issues with Alexa Bliss. Week after that, Sasha Banks becomes more involved and Emma returns. Alexa Bliss walks away from her heel partners in a match that night, Emma and Nia. You now might start thinking that might be a story they would develop. Week after that, Emma comes out to confront Alexa Bliss, but then ends up shrugging off her issues with her. Bayley, who had been mostly irrelevant during this time, runs out to save the day during a brawl. You have just had multiple angles being developed every week and it seems a lot of it has been killed off when the WWE just gave the title shot to Sasha Banks. Terrible feud development.

I was all for Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss since before Bayley lost her rematch. I anticipated the WWE going in this direction. But with the way the WWE handled things all these weeks, it just doesn't feel like something to become creatively invested in. I already mentioned all the other storylines that were brewing. Creatively, some fans might have started to get excited for Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Dana Brooke at one point, or some other multi-woman match. I am not a fan of too many multi-women matches, but it just feels like that is what the WWE should have done here. That would have somewhat justified the sloppy developments in the Raw women's division all these weeks. All these women have an issue with Alexa Bliss. All these women have to watch their backs with Nia Jax. This situation just calls for a multi-woman match. To just kill that off two weeks prior to the PPV to go with a singles match involving Alexa defending against a woman that has not been properly developed creatively in this picture all these weeks seems terrible. Not only might it be hard for some fans to care about, it is completely unfair to the majority of Raw's women. They lose out on proper creative development.

Alexa Bliss will likely retain here. This is not a one-PPV feud, especially with the rushed job it has had. Sasha Banks will likely win the title at Summerslam.