So the first ever ‘Great Balls of Fire’ pay-per-view is in the books and it’s fair to say that the event divided opinion before it aired this past Sunday.
It was certainly an awful name for a wrestling show, but the match card was one of the strongest WWE have put together in a long time and was well received by the majority of the WWE Universe.
That’s not to say it was a perfect show, and with that in mind, it’s tome to run through ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and decide what was good and what was bad…
#1 Good – Enzo promo
Starting with the positive points, a special mention has to be given to Enzo Amore who delivered a compelling and passionate promo prior to his match against former tag team partner, Big Cass.
The recent break-up of Enzo & Cass has widely been seen as a push for Cass, but in recent weeks Enzo has cut some excellent promos, arguably the best of his career, and reminded everyone that he can be just as much an asset to the company as Cass, if not more.
The eventual match went as expected with Cass picking up a dominating and convincing win over Amore, but this still has to go down as a good night for the Certified G.
#2 Good – Double switch?
While we still have to wait to see how it plays out, WWE may have set up a sensational double switch last night, with Strowman turning face and Reigns finally turning heel.
Despite Strowman picking up the win in a decent ‘Ambulance match’ last night, it was what occurred after the bout that has everyone talking. Roman did not take the defeat lying down as he jumped out the back of the ambulance before attacking Braun and putting him in the back of the vehicle and driving it out of the arena himself.
In the parking lot, Reigns would reverse the ambulance at full speed into a production truck while Strowman was in the back. Essentially attempted murder because he lost a match, is that PG?
Surely this is Reigns heel turn, surely Vince can’t expect him to be cheered after this, right? But then again, we have been here before.
#3 Good – Bliss & The Boss go to battle
Although not a marquee match on the card, the Raw Women’s Championship match was won of the better bouts of the evening.
It was arguably Alexa Bliss’ greatest match of her career, plus it was great to see Sasha Banks in the main event, reminding everyone how good she is. Banks and Bliss had great chemistry and put on a competitive, physical match that looks set to be just the start of their feud.
This is due to the finish of the match (we’ll speak more on that later), that seems to suggest their will be a rematch at some point in the near future and that’s fine by me.
#4 Good – Tremendous Tag Team action
The Raw Tag Team Title match had a surprising stipulation added to it last Monday, it was made into a 30-minute Ironman match, the first ever tag team Ironman match in WWE.
It was quite odd to add this stipulation to the match so late, but there was no doubt that The Hardys and Cesaro & Sheamus could deliver in this match, and they did just that. The tag team psychology in this bout was outstanding and every fall made sense and were well executed, besides a couple of mistakes, such as the referee counting to three when he shouldn’t have and Jeff’s shoulder clearly being up for one fall.
But regardless, it was a great match and could be the end of the Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Hardys feud.
#5 Good – Joe belongs in the main event
Unquestionably the main event of ‘Great Balls of Fire’ was the Universal Championship dream match between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe.
Who’d have thought just a couple of years ago that we’d be seeing this match in a WWE ring?
The build to this colossal contest certainly lived up to expectations and made Samoa Joe a bonafide main event star. This continued on Sunday when Joe attacked Lesnar before the match had even began and then dominated ‘The Beast’ for a large portion of the bout.
Despite coming up short in his first main event match, this performance will surely lead to good things for him in the future.
#1 Bad – Short and sweet, but was it too short?
Joe vs. Lesnar was great while it lasted, but therein lies the problem for me, it didn’t last very long.
The action was physical and fast paced but went about half the time that most people were hoping for. Therefore, despite the positives from this match, the ending was quite flat.
You could say it left the audience wanting more, but it doesn’t look like we will be getting a rematch. It’s a match that fans can tick off their bucket list, but in the end, the Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar story ended anti-climatically.
#2 Bad – The common count-out finish
As I mentioned earlier, I enjoyed the Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks, but the finish did leave a lot to be desired.
I have nothing against a deliberate count-out loss that let’s the Champion retain while also keeping the challenger looking strong, and it does work in this instance and I’m looking forward to Bliss and Banks go at it again. However, it happens far too much in WWE nowadays, The Usos used this same tactic against New Day at the previous pay-per-view.
This type of finish certainly has it’s place in pro-wrestling, but it shouldn’t be as common as it is. Whenever it occurs now it feels flat and unimaginative rather than something clever and sneaky by the heel champion.
#3 Bad – Pointless filler
So, in the aftermath of Reigns’ attempted murder of Braun Strowman, we got an impromptu match between Heath Slater and Curt Hawkins.
This was seemingly done to try and distract the fans from the backstage drama as neither man was ready to compete, however, WWE apparently changed their minds and shown the live footage from backstage instead of the in-ring action. They didn’t even show the finish of the match!
What was the point in that?!
Surely it would have made more sense to air a video package before coming back to Strowman and the ambulance, this was just confusing.
#4 Bad – Ambrose vs Miz – Round 237
While there was nothing specifically wrong with their latest match per se, I am just sick and tired of seeing The Miz and Dean Ambrose feud over the Intercontinental Championship.
The addition of Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel as Miz’s entourage didn’t really add anything to this match as they didn’t do anything particularly different from what Maryse has been doing for Miz for the last year already. Also, I don’t think many people want to see Ambrose defeat Miz for the Championship anyway, so the face/heel dynamic is lost in this match.
I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to move away from this rivalry and hopefully The Miz will go on to bigger and better things at Summerslam.
#5 Bad – A Nothing match
Similar to the Miz vs, Ambrose match, I personally just couldn’t make myself care about the Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt match.
Both men are quite stale right now and this feud has done nothing to help either competitor develop their characters. The story is mainly centred around Bray thinking that he’s a God and Seth disagreeing, so of course, they have to have a match.
What’s at stake in this match exactly? Who knows?
I’m a fan of both guys and they are clearly talented, but as of right now, unfortunately I couldn’t care less about a Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins match.
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