Great Balls of Fire Review (10/07/2017)

Ridiculously named yet packed with mouth-watering matches, Great Balls of Fire turned out to be a complete show of brutality that WWE has not done in years!

Ever since the PG Era began, any match that witnessed a wrestler being busted open, was carefully moderated on TV. Catering to the much younger audience ever more than before, WWE had lost its charm in creating a gravity to all its matches. Ever more than before, WWE was being labelled as just a show with a few performers demonstrating their athletic abilities. However, Great Balls of Fire has certainly rubbished that, and Vince has got back his charm to make Raw the dominating force for Monday-nights.

One word for the PPV: Savage!

Credits: cbssports.com

RESULTS:

Kick-off Match: Neville (C) defeats Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship.

Bray Wyatt defeats Seth Rollins via pinfall.

Big Cass defeats Enzo Amore via pinfall.

Iron-Man Match for the Tag Team Championship: Sheamus and Cesaro (C) defeat The Hardy Boyz 4-3.

Raw Women's Championship: Sasha Banks defeats Alexa Bliss (C) via count-out. Bliss retains.

Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (C) defeats Dean Ambrose via pinfall.

Ambulance Match: Braun Strowman wins via tossing Reigns into the Ambulance.

Heath Slater defeats Curt Hawkins.

Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (C) defeats Samoa Joe via pinfall.

1. Cruiserweight Championship Match:

Tozawa, with Titus O'Neil by his corner, had the earlier edge in the match as he began with a flurry of offensive moves. He looked to be in great shape and evidently carried the momentum. However, WWE, failing to realize another superstar's potential in the already failing division, couldn't afford to continue with Tozawa having the edge. Neville barged into his momentum and changed the pace of the match. He was as unforgiving and systematic as he always is and turned around the momentum upon him. Titus O'Neil's incessant vocal support for Tozawa somewhat allowed him to make a comeback, only to be thwarted again. Tozawa hit two successive Suicide-dives and almost had the match won. Another attempt to force a submission via the Octopus-hold, too didn't deter Neville's clinical display. Neville held his own heelish persona and did whatever had to be done (read: kicked the rope into Tozawa's groin) and went onto win convincingly.

Credits: tpww.net

What Next: WWE is trying desperately to build up a superstar to match Neville's intensity, but are continuously failing. Tozawa is probably going to go on pursuing the title as he is currently their best bet, and this rivalry may turn out to outshine Neville-Aries. Additonally, with the release of Austin Aries, that seems to be a long way to go from here. It would be interesting to see how they carry on the story from here given the fact that Vince has never been in support of the Cruiserweight division having a presence on Raw.

2. Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins:

An underwhelming build-up since the initiation, Seth Rollins seemed unhinged by the potential of this match (if there was any). Bray Wyatt had some momentum going on for him early on in the match, as he generally does, but there was no dominating factor here. Both Rollins and Wyatt went to and fro, changing the pace of their match according to their own whims and fancies, before Wyatt had to use the steel steps to thwart Rollins, much unlike to his God-claim. He took over the match only to witness Rollins making a comeback with his high-flying moves. Wyatt, however, put a thumb into Rollins' eyes causing a distraction that ultimately led to him hitting Sister Abigail.

The match lacked everything that could've made it even worth something. The signature moves were all there, but none of them excited a satisfactory response. Both wrestlers seemed uninterested with the entire thing and allowing Wyatt to win by cheating doesn't really make any positive movement in his character.

Credits: WWE.com

What Next: A less-than-impressive segment between these two big names on Raw only proves the fact that their rivalry isn't going to be continued on a one-on-one basis. There will be an angle that brings in Finn Balor, who was terribly missed in the PPV, either against Rollins or Wyatt, or even pitch in a main-event push for all of them, come Summerslam.

3. Enzo Amore vs. Big Cass:

The great talker that he is, Enzo riled up the crowd before the match. With a few quotes put in here and there, that was the only shining star for Enzo in the match. As was predicted before, Big Cass demolishes Enzo Amore. He was literally toying with him, tossing him around and taking out his frustration of Enzo being such a prick in his life. He even threw him into a corner of the ring and started shouting at him. Cass slams Enzo out of the ring, seemingly unmatched by the size of his brother-turned-opponent. A big boot and Enzo was done.

Credits: sportskeeda.com

What Next: Big Cass was portrayed as the dominant beast that was hidden in his Sawft days. His mauling of Enzo showed that he held no regard of the fact that they were a team. Cass has bigger things going on for him now and WWE looks to cash in on his momentum. Seems more like a replication of what WWE did with Baron Corbin albeit the team angle.

4. Cesaro and Sheamus vs. The Hardy Boyz for the Tag-Team Championship (Iron-Man Match):

This was technically the best match of the night. As predicted, Raw's immensely talented Tag-Team division brought the house down like only they can. Sheamus and Cesaro dominated the proceedings as they scored the first pinfall in a matter of a few seconds via a Brogue-kick to Matt. At 0-1, The Hardyz started beating up Sheamus and wore him out to gain the advantage and get back the momentum. Inciting a brawl in the middle of the ring, 'Sheasaro' took over the proceedings as Jeff Hardy faced a White-Noise to be floored. At 2-0, The Hardyz again attempted a comeback as they scored the next pinfall, via Poetry in Motion, Side Effect and Twist of Fate by Matt, to decrease the champions' lead. 2-1, Matt Hardy allowed a count-out win to 'Sheasaro' after being shot into the pole that led him to lay out cold. 3-1, Cesaro says, "All the time in the world", as their dominance resonated around the arena. Matt absorbed all the brutality that was meted out by the champions. However, a sudden change of momentum, led the Hardyz to go all out on the champs. Jeff leaped off the ropes to score one over Cesaro as Matt then floored Sheamus to even the proceedings.

At 3-3, the match was evenly placed with both teams giving it their all. The crowd erupted with all the adrenaline flowing inside the arena. Exhausted, they were all reeling to score just one more to win the match. Cesaro, known for his monumental stamina, dug deep and after a furious sequence, scored the final pin over Jeff. He then ran around the ring to let the time run out, thereby retaining the championships. The Hardyz returned, with Matt covered in blood.

Credits: dailyddt.com

What Next: Due to the fact that WWE hasn't yet procured the rights to the 'Broken' gimmick, WWE is seemingly looking forward to the individual careers of the Hardy Boyz, in their swansong. Particularly interesting is the fact that Jeff suffered a major chunk of the losses, which might be an indication that Matt is about to turn heel very soon. This is probably a far-fetched idea, that is bound to build-up later on, WWE will look to probably find different opponents for the champions now, or go for one last opportunity for the Hardyz at Summerslam.

5. Sasha Banks vs Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship:

An out-and-out physical match, WWE keeps scoring well with the Women's division. Alexa Bliss is the perfect heel for the division as she sneaks past a victory here.

Both women pulled off their individual characters with ease. Sasha Banks dominated the proceedings as she had Alexa Bliss on the ropes right from the beginning of the match. The perfect heel, Alexa Bliss tried to sneak away, but Sasha didn't allow that. Banks pulled her in, only to be led into cheap shots from Bliss that resulted in her gaining momentum. The champ continued to dominate as she crashes Banks' head on to her knees. Frustrated with Banks refusing to give up, she metes out a piece of her mind. Sasha's undying attitude allowed for a brave comeback which led to Bliss faking an elbow injury. Realizing the futile efforts of Bliss, Sasha leaped off the announce table to gash Bliss in with both her knees. An unsatisfactory win for Banks via Count-out cut the match short of the magic it could potentially create. 

Credits: sportskeeda.com

What Next: This wasn't the finish we expected, but this only proves the fact that this rivalry is going to continue well into the summer. These two have a lot of chemistry between them, that is often misread by their short statures. They possess fights bigger than themselves and it is going to be really exciting to see them fight into the Summer.

6. The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship:

A lackluster match from the onset, these two couldn't build up enough chemistry for their rivalry even with the help of Miztourage. 

Ambrose went into battle, trying to ward off Bo Dallas and Curtiz Axel only to allow The Miz to gain dominance in the match. The numbers game caught up, resembling Ambrose's Shield days. Ambrose was outnumbered, clearly. The Miz took the opportunity and held on to it dearly. A clinical beat-down followed as Miz overpowered Ambrose. Dean gathered momentum via a gutsy comeback only for Miz to target his left knee. A limping Ambrose brought the fight to Miz, as he jumped off from the top rope over Bo, Axel and Miz. Ambrose generated quite the response due to his valiance with a bad knee as he warded off distractions from everybody at Miz's corner, including Maryse. Maryse even went as far as to pull Miz's leg onto the ropes to avoid Ambrose from scoring the win. In the end, Ambrose fell short as Miz hit his Skull-Crushing Finale to pin Ambrose.

Credits: cagesideseats.com

What Next: Dean Ambrose and The Miz don't have anything left to offer together. There was not enough chemistry, or perhaps it didn't make a mark. It is high time that The Miz moves onto battling someone else for the IC Title, going into Summerslam. As for Ambrose, a Shield reunion is the only saving grace for his career right now.

7. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman (Ambulance Match):

The baddest match in the entire card for the night. Roman and Braun brought their inner beast here as both went to war with a lot riding on them. There was an imminent big-fight feel here as both these superstars brought the house down.

The match was gore. From the beginning, the brutal rivalry between both these superstars emanated from them, as Braun beat down Roman. A dominating figure towering over Roman Reigns was the sight that was perhaps an insight into the match's outcome.

Braun meted out a clobbering to Roman that he hadn't faced before. The Monster among Men pounced on Roman Reigns as if he was the only thorn in his path to glory. He crushed Roman's ribs, tossed him around the ring and to cement it all, use the ring post and the steps to beat him down further. In a shimmering light of hope, Roman somehow managed to get back the momentum by targeting the recently repaired elbow of Strowman. Even a steel chair couldn't stop Strowman as he demolished the proceedings. The two superstars brawled outside the ring, into the audience and then finally around the ambulance to signal a concluding sequence about to arrive. An adrenaline-pumped, errant spear caused Roman to crash into the Ambulance as Strowman scored the victory.

In a post-match sequence, Roman popped out of the ambulance and shoved Strowman into it. He drove it to the back of the arena and then crashed it into a tour bus. Roman was cold-blooded and calculative in his response to the loss and this segment seemed planned right from the beginning. This wasn't the babyface character than Roman is supposed to portray and neither was Braun in his heelish element in this segment. Although WWE made this more of an affair for Roman Reigns than Braun Strowman, Braun was in his monstrous best. Roman looked strong even in defeat, perhaps laying the foundation for his heel persona that had always seemed to be coming. 

Credits: forbes.com

What Next: Braun has perhaps become the biggest babyface on Raw now after this segment and a further push into the title picture with Brock Lesnar will probably provide the classic Heel vs. Babyface storyline.

8. Curt Hawkins vs. Heath Slater:

An unannounced filler match, there was nothing to be seen here as the entire segment consisted of footage from back of the arena where firemen were called upon to free Braun from the ambulance.

Even the announcers talked about Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman's gory match. Slater won, no wonder how.

Credits: wrestlinginc.com

What Next: Nothing, as usual.

9. Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe for the Universal Championship:

Samoa Joe scored the early dominance as he went right after Brock Lesnar with a fury of rights, outside the ring. There was a time when Joe was looking unfazed by the big-name Beast. He left Brock reeling with unorthodox offensive moves that Lesnar wasn't really accustomed to, before slamming Lesnar on the announce table. Lesnar has never been manhandled like this before by an upcoming superstar. 

A brawl broke out as both superstars exchanged blows leading to Lesnar dominating Joe. Just as he was trapped against the ropes, Joe, the badass that he is, landed a low blow. This led to Samoa Joe locking Brock Lesnar into the Coquina Clutch, trying desperately to squeeze the air out of him. The champ's face turned purple as the audience shouted, "Joe is gonna kill you". Lesnar however, the Beast that he is, turned things around with one F-5 that allowed him to pin Joe and retain the Title.

Credits: sbnation.com

What Next: The match wasn't allowed to turn out the way it was meant to be. An abrupt ending caused a lot of disappointment and lowered the drama quotient. Joe legitimized his 'Destroyer' status in the match as he had most of the upperhand. This is significant of the fact that WWE, in spite of striking gold with the rivalry, won't do much to extend it. Lesnar's first ever Raw-exclusive PPV surely won't be his last. His first defense of the Universal Title garnered the attention it should have, but did not justify the attention. Despite all the billings for a great rivalry, Lesnar will now welcome a new challenger (read: Braun Strowman) at Summerslam, while Samoa Joe goes onto other things.

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