Quick Hits: Great Balls Of Fire

Coming away from Great Balls Of Fire yesterday, the landscape of WWE appears to have been affected in a big way. The build-up to Summerslam has been permanently changed after all of the action on Sunday night. After watching the show, I’ve come away with some different thoughts on the matches, segments, and the newly altered storylines and what all of it may mean for the next several months of WWE television. Without further ado, here’s a match by match breakdown of the pay-per-view and some quick thoughts on each of them:

Akira Tozawa vs Neville

• The ending of this match, a cheap shot finish to allow Neville to retain, is the right decision for the Cruiserweight division at this point in time
• Tozawa, as a member of Titus O’Neil’s management brand now, appears to be connecting with the audience and should be allowed for another chance at the title on the main card of Summerslam where a proper title change may be in order

Seth Rollins vs Bray Wyatt

• It’s honestly hard for me to come up with a complete list of things I disliked about this match but, nevertheless, I’ll try anyways
• This rivalry has been completely stale and meaningless (a hallmark of many of Bray’s rivalries as of late) and needs to end immediately which no longer appears to be a possibility given Bray’s thumb to the eye win
• Rollins losing on his first pay-per-view since being announced as the cover athlete of WWE 2K18 is a baffling decision to me at the very least
• Hopefully, after whatever blowoff to this feud happens at Summerslam, Rollins can turn heel, to not only match his character in the video game, but to revive his stale character

Big Cass vs Enzo Amore

• Enzo has surprisingly carried this rivalry, in my opinion, by giving the same impassioned promos he delivered before the match
• Cass appears to have a bright future in the WWE but, they need to work on his squash match work because, military press to the outside aside; this squash paled in comparison to someone like Braun Strowman’s work

Sheamus and Cesaro vs The Hardy Boyz

• I had a hard time getting into this match as it felt like an unnecessarily long conclusion to an unnecessarily long rivalry
• I’m sure the action was good in this match it just felt tired after all the matches that have happened between these two teams
• Hopefully, Sheamus and Cesaro are able to transition into an immediate rivalry with a new team and the Hardys can continue on a trajectory towards reobtaining their broken gimmicks

Sasha Banks vs Alexa Bliss

• This was an ok match and was an obvious set-up to a potentially bigger body of work at Summerslam hopefully with some of the other stars of the women’s division in tow
• Honestly, I would much rather have seen Nia Jax, Emma, or Bayley take center stage in a rivalry against Bliss because the Sasha Banks title hunt has been rehashed for what feels like an eternity now. Bliss better just hope that she doesn’t have to fight Banks on Raw for the title before Summerslam

The Miz vs Dean Ambrose

• Thank god this is over. I can’t stand this rivalry. It’s been boring, idiotic, and drawn out for months now and needed to end. I never want to see these two fight each other again.

Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns

• This match, and accompanying segments, were my favorite on the whole card. It truly had the right pacing and feel which made both competitors come away looking strong
• The action throughout was solid and featured many of the Roman Reigns sells that have highlighted this great rivalry
• The vehicular massacre after the match was a nice touch that hasn’t been used by WWE in quite some time. I don’t suspect it will lead to a full-fledged heel turn for Reigns but it should continue him on his path of being the ultimate divisive character in WWE

Curt Hawkins vs Heath Slater

• The fact that this match occurred made me incredibly happy. I loved that WWE ran a match to “cover up” the Strowman ambulance drama that was going on backstage
• Both competitors sold the impromptu feel the match was suppose to have incredibly well. It also let Heath Slater get a pay-per-view win which is always a good thing

Strowman Ambulance Aftermath

• Strowman stumbled out of the ambulance covered in blood was a great touch that really helped sell the devastation of the accident
• Strowman walking away without seeking medical attention kept his character looking strong and drove home the fact that he is a near unstoppable monster

Samoa Joe vs Brock Lesnar

• The start of this match was thrilling and truly set the pace and tone for the encounter
• The table shot from Joe was epic and easily my favorite move of the night
• I thought that Joe resorting to dirty tactics later in the match helped sell the story that Joe would stoop to any level to defeat Lesnar
• The match ending with a singular F-5 made me a very happy fan since it helps keep the mystique and power of the move. One finisher rarely finishes a match anymore, especially in the main event, and thus it was a great change of pace to see

Overall, I feel like Great Balls Of Fire lived up to the Great portion of its title. The two main event matches were both exceptional encounters and made up for some of the lackluster action at the intro of the show. Hopefully, the results of the two main events of this match will result in several interesting routes WWE can take for their build to Summerslam. I for one, am thoroughly excited to see what happens next on WWE’s flagship show.