Top 5 Takeaways from WWE Great Balls Of Fire PPV

Top 5 Takeaways from WWE Great Balls Of Fire PPV

By Anton Ware

Hello Geektified family! It's time again for a special PPV review as I cover last night’s Great Balls Of Fire PPV. The show was based out of Dallas, Texas and was a RAW brand exclusive as all titles were defended, yet no title changes took place. The show was also named and marketed after the song by recording artist Jerry Lee Lewis and since the announcement of the show’s title, it has been criticized and parodied by wrestling fans from all over. With this being a new PPV and the last RAW PPV before SummerSlam, this had to be an all-around success for WWE. Did the show live up to expectations? Let’s look at the highlights.

#1: Is Big Cass right in leaving Enzo?

This rivalry started due to a series of backstage attacks on Enzo Amore. The Revival, Big Show and even Big Cass himself were questioned, but no one confessed to the assaults...yet. That all changed on the June 19th edition of RAW when Corey Graves revealed that Big Cass lied about the assaults on himself which led to Cass confessing that he was the one who attacked Enzo backstage. Cass revealed that he was tired of being held back by Enzo due to them never winning championship gold and ended their friendship by delivering a big boot to Enzo. The following week on RAW, Enzo would try to make amends with his former partner, but Cass attacked him once more. Fed up and heartbroken, Enzo would have a match with Cass at the PPV to settle their differences. The match itself was a showcase for Cass. I’m curious as to what’s next for both individuals. Even though they’ve gone their separate ways, can they thrive as singles competitors? What made the duo stand out was that they complimented each other in order to stand out from the pack. Enzo was the talker and had charisma and Cass had the size and power. Even though they were entertaining, they could never turn that magic into championship gold which lead to Cass’ frustration and exit from the team. So what’s next for both men? Do they continue their rivalry or move on to new competitors? Also, is Cass justified in leaving Enzo? It depends on if he has a title around his waist by the end of the year.

#2: Cesaro and Sheamus: Tag Specialists and Face Destroyers

The Hardy Boyz just can’t catch a break with The European Connection. Not only did they lose their 30-minute Tag Team Ironman Match, Matt was the victim of a severe cut over his eye. Even during their first encounter with Sheamus and Cesaro, Jeff got a tooth knocked out thanks to Sheamus. The brothers from North Carolina were on a roll since coming back to WWE, but ever since Cesaro and Sheamus found a new edge, they haven’t cracked the code towards regaining the RAW Tag Titles. Throughout the title match, The Europeans showed clever strategy such as fake and blind tags, count out stipulations and opportunistic spot-picking and it showed with them being in a 3-1 lead over The Hardyz at one point. The brothers would even things up, but Cesaro would get the final pin to eventually give his team the win. I would be shocked if The Hardyz were to receive another title opportunity, but if so, it’ll be a Last Chance opportunity. With Enzo and Cass broken up and The Revival not fully cleared to compete, Team Extreme may have lady luck on their side once more.

#3: Alexa Bliss has the best “playing possum” act in wrestling

This was a solid effort from the ladies, but it was sullied with a count out victory for Banks which allowed Bliss to retain the title. Sasha was a sore loser as she attacked the champion in a rage. The feud will likely culminate at next month’s Summerslam PPV. The highlight of the match was Bliss using her broken arm act to distract Banks and the referee, only to deliver a cheap shot to the challenger. This wasn’t the first time Bliss used this trick as she performed the “illusion” on Becky Lynch during a rematch for the Smackdown Women’s Title when she was on the blue brand. Not only has she used her double-jointedness to her advantage to keep championships, she also recruited a masked Mickie James to help maintain her dominance over the women’s division. This goes to show that Bliss will do anything to keep the title around her waist.

#4: Roman Reigns: Homicidal Maniac

In a rivalry that has been going on since January, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman added the latest chapter in their bloody, violent feud by participating in an Ambulance Match. These two men have done everything to each other in order to permanently take the other man out… or so we thought. The ending saw Strowman win after Reigns speared himself into the ambulance. After the match, Reigns would regroup and restart his brawl with Strowman even though the match was over (sore loser #2). Reigns nailed Strowman with a Spear and threw him in the back of the ambulance. Reigns drove Strowman to the backstage parking lot, put the ambulance in reverse, and rammed it into the back of a trailer truck while Strowman was trapped inside. (TOTAL sore loser). Kurt Angle, backstage officials, and the Dallas Fire Department came to Strowman’s aid.  While concussed and bloodied from the wreckage, he was able to walk away on his own power. These two men show no signs of slowing down and this fierce rivalry could possibly continue into the fall.

#5: Six Minutes

When Samoa Joe won the Extreme Rules Fatal 5-Way at the Extreme Rules PPV, there was huge anticipation for this matchup with Brock Lesnar. The buildup exceeded expectations as Joe engaged in pull-apart brawls and sit down interviews to show his intensity and fearlessness towards The Beast. He even choked out Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to send the message that he was ready for their clash at the PPV. Unfortunately, the match didn’t live up to the hype because it only lasted six minutes. During the introductions, Joe blindsided Lesnar and attacked him by putting him through the announce table. Lesnar regrouped as the referee officially started the match.  He delivered multiple German Suplexes to answer Joe’s attempts of a choke out submission. In in the end, it was Lesnar who scored the victory with an F5. This match left a lot to be desired. The buildup had you believing this was going to be an all-out battle and while it did feature enjoyable action, it wasn’t a main event caliber matchup. This had Match of the Year potential written all over it, but it came off as a main event from an episode of TNA Impact from 2005. Is this the end of the Joe-Lesnar saga? We shall see what transpires on the next edition of RAW.

-So what did you guys think of the show? Hit or miss? Let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

-Anton