Let me first say this, yes, this is a dumb PPV name and I don't understand why WWE did away with July classics, like Battleground or Fully Loaded in favor of this. I will say that the build and presentation of it has been top notch. Obviously using the Great Balls of Fire song was a must and the whole 1950s promos have been awesome and the build to making the show stand out have worked. 8 matches on the card, all Raw Titles are up for grabs, even the rarely seen Universal Title! Let's break it down!
The 2nd best champion in WWE (only second to Asuka) Neville will defend his Cruiserweight Title against Akira Tozawa on the pre show. Again, I believe Neville's current reign (and longest in this lineage of the CW Title) is one of the best yet. He's dominant, plays his role well and puts on hard hitting and amazing matches. His match with Akira should be more of the same. Tozawa embodies the hard hitting style of his Japanese compatriots, Nakamura and Itami so this should be a sick match. I don't think the best reign of the CW Championship will end on the pre show and there's only one person worthy enough to end the reign and I think that's Cedric Alexander. Alexander/Neville would be perfect for the big stage of SummerSlam. After 12 minutes, Neville will win with the Rings of Saturn, which should be called Broken Orbit.
Miz will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose in a direct rematch from Extreme Rules. Sorry, not interested. How about Miz faces Seth Rollins next? Complete the Triple Crown for Rollins. I think they would help out both men while WWE tries to figure out their main event scene. Miz retains.
Big Cass and Enzo have officially broken up. Big Cass is now looking to become the breakout star of the duo and it starts on Sunday. Enzo will get a few quick flurries in but will be unable to stop the new and improved Big Cass. Big Cass wins in a squash.
In a battle between two guys who have nothing better to do, Seth Rollins battles Bray Wyatt because.....why not? The match does nothing for either guy but it should be a great match between the two. I'm going with Rollins for the win here and then move onto the IC Title next.
The Hardys get another shot to reclaim their Raw Tag Titles when they face Cesaro and Sheamus in a 30 Minute Iron Man match. They actually gave away the result of this match when they said Sheamus was going to be a new movie soon. He's going to have to film it right? Which means, he'll have to NOT be a champion. Cesaro and Sheamus with the belts again was a little shocking to me but I guess it was for the story. I see The Hardys winning the titles back here only to drop them to The Revival in the fall. Raw is going to need a new top face team soon though.
Alexa Bliss will defend the Raw Women's Title against Sasha Banks in a battle pitting my two favorite female wrestlers together. In a perfect world, this is the obvious setup for Sasha's heel turn on Bayley, leading to Sasha/Bayley at SummerSlam, two years removed from their classic in 2015 and would be held in the same arena before WWE moves SummerSlam somewhere else. In WWE's world, they seem hellbent on doing Nia/Bliss at SummerSlam, for whatever reason. While I long for the day Sasha and Bayley will face off one on one, there have been a high level of best friend and tag partner betrayals this year. I would love to say I can see Sasha becoming a 4 time champ here but it won't happen. Alexa Bliss will retain either due to a roll up while holding the tights or some type of heelish way.
Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman look to end their feud with the third match in this series; an Ambulance match, a match that was originally suppose to main event Extreme Rules. I'm looking forward to this war. Reigns and Strowman is a great feud for both men. Reigns is looking like a strong force by felling the giant while Strowman is getting the backing of the fans for feuding with Reigns. It's win-win. It's pretty much set that the winner here gets the Universal Title match at SummerSlam. Strowman/Lesnar has been the plan since their showdown a few months ago but plans changes in WWE. The newer plans seem to call for Lesnar/Reigns at SummerSlam, with Reigns going over to bring the title back on a weekly basis. Either way, someone needs to beat Lesnar. This should be a brutal match but it's only ending one way. Roman Reigns will defeat Braun Strowman, setting up to be in the main event of SummerSlam.
Brock Lesnar will defend his Universal Title for the first time against Samoa Joe, a bonafide dream match. Samoa Joe has gone from a person who didn't stand a chance to a legitimate threat to Lesnar's reign. Regardless of if you love or hate Lesnar, him holding onto the Universal Title any longer is severely hurting the Raw brand. It needs to be on someone who is there on a weekly basis. Samoa Joe is the right guy. I just hope this isn't the typical Lesnar squash match. Joe has looked stronger than anyone Lesnar has faced in the last two years. They have built up a serious heel here and the last thing they need to do is have Lesnar throw him around the ring for 6 minutes. This needs to be a serious back and forth match, one that will make people forget about the PPV name and has everyone on the edge of their seats. Will Joe win the title Sunday? Probably not but if Jinder Mahal can become WWE Champion, anything is possible. If the plan is Reigns/Lesnar, then it's obvious that Lesnar retains here. Plans change though.
I'm going with Brock Lesnar to retain in a vicious fight, setting up the Wrestlemania 31 rematch of Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. It's the right main event for a big PPV, like it or not.
Great Balls of Fire may be a sleeper hit if they do it right. I'm really looking forward to the execution of the Joe/Lesnar match. It will either bomb or be great. Time will tell!
