Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Robert DeFelice, Callum Wiggins and Cayden Parkhurst will be giving their opinions and predictions on the WWE Great Balls of Fire Pay-Per-View.

Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of Fire! WWE presents the first extravaganza with that moniker and this article will tell you exactly why you need to be excited for it.


DeFELICE: In a perfect world this match would've happened at WrestleMania. Back in January, I predicted this match for this year's show of shows. The scenario that I suggested was much different than this but I'm just glad we're getting this matchup at all. This is a match that I wanted to see since I was about 12 years old. Now that I'm older, I'm even more excited. I can truly appreciate the rarity of this matchup and I'm so excited for the possible outcomes. I predict we get one of the most down and dirty brawls of the modern time and that we get a non-finish which will lead into scenarios that I talk about below but even if we get any finish at all I just hope that these two men don't disappoint and I don't think they will. I do, however, have my reservations as to all that they have to follow but again, more about that below.

WIGGINS: When the match was first announced I will admit to being quite skeptical. As this will be Brock Lesnar's first defense of his Universal Championship, I presumed that he would undoubtedly retain regardless of his opponent, so the choice of Samoa Joe, one of the few on the roster that could present a physical and psychological threat to Lesnar, felt too rushed. However, the presentation of this feud has arguably been the best in WWE this year, elevating the magnitude of this dream match to even greater heights. The biggest compliment I can give this storyline is now I'm not 100% convinced Lesnar will retain, and I'm certainly more confident this match will be competitive and physical as opposed to a decisive squash. However, Joe's impressive work will not be rewarded just yet with the Universal Championship, but on the strength of this feud, he will be back for that title by 2018. For now, I predict Lesnar carries that belt into SummerSlam.

PARKHURST: Unfortunately, there isn't a chance Samoa Joe walks out with the Universal Championship. I love this match, and ever since Joe made his NXT debut I've been longing for this bout. On Chris Jericho's podcast, Talk is Jericho, Samoa Joe talked about Lesnar being his dream opponent and that laid a seed of just a beautiful feud in my head. To this point, it's everything I've wanted and then some. I think it has been built exactly how it should've been, and they've made Joe look like he's one of the first real threats to Lesnar since he and Reigns last locked up. Also, the next big pay-per-view for Raw is SummerSlam, and since 2012 that's basically been "The Land of Lesnar". Triple H, CM Punk, John Cena, Undertaker, and Randy Orton. Those are the opponents Lesnar has headlined SummerSlam with since 2012 in that order. There is no way that Lesnar isn't holding the company's newest big title going into what has been his show for nearly six years. As much as I'd love to see Samoa Joe as champ, which that will happen, it won't happen at Great Balls of Fire.


WIGGINS: Personally, I liked the approach of having Roman Reigns basically state that he was the next Number One Contender because this was his ring. After years of being directed woefully as an outright babyface, this new treading the line and asserting his dominance on both faces and heels suits him perfectly. Also, with Reigns already established as contender, it makes this match with Braun Strowman more difficult to predict. If that stipulation was added to their Ambulance Match, Reigns would have to win to maintain his status and progress to the widely predicted match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam for the Universal Championship. In my mind, no matter who wins between Lesnar and Samoa Joe, Reigns is the next logical challenger, which is a shame because Strowman has been the most consistent highlight on Raw this year. 2018 will be his year of destruction, but for now I see him being a giant stepping stone on Roman's rise to the SummerSlam main event.

PARKHURST: I think that this is already a number one contenders match although it may not be official. Reigns wins this match and wins this feud so that he can have another title shot. I also think that he won't be only number one contender. SummerSlam will be headlined by Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe. So, Roman will win, and then get his title shot but he won't be the only one. I like the new look Roman who is just, "I'm better than you." no matter if that "you" is a heel or face. I personally think he deserves the shot, but they need to add something else instead of another Roman vs. Lesnar feud. As far as the Ambulance Match goes, it's going to be good. Very good at that. Braun and Roman have been building for a huge match for months before Braun got injured, and the fact that this feud has barely lost a step since he's come back speaks a lot to what these two men have been able to do. They won't let this big moment slip through their hands, and Roman will walk out victorious in what might be the best match we see Sunday night.

DeFELICE: I definitely feel like Braun is going to win this matchup and want to be added to the Universal title match at SummerSlam. My prediction for the red brand main event at the biggest party of the summer is a fatal four-way between these two men, Samoa Joe and champion Brock Lesnar. I definitely found a peculiar when Roman simply announced himself as the main event of the August spectacular without any pushback from anybody. Surely, with such a stacked roster somebody has to be a little upset that this man simply put himself in the main event. Also, knowing that they want Brock vs Roman to headline next year's WrestleMania I don't see them being put in a one-on-one situation so early on. So whether they go into an all out four-way or a triple threat featuring either Joe or Braun or any other scenario featuring the stacked Raw roster I don't see Roman vs Lesnar happening in a singles match before April 2018.


PARKHURST: Ambulance Match? It's here. Iron Man Tag Team Match? It's here. A tag team and best friends split up and are pit against one another? It's here. A loaded main event that is built wonderfully? It's here. Then there's a Cruiserweight, Women's, and Intercontinental Championship matches with Bray and Seth hiding in there too. Wow. Now that's a big time card. There is a worry that this card may be too loaded because even a feud like Bray and Seth has gone almost under the radar. Bray and Seth should be a good match, but there is a chance that it could be the worst match on the card because of everything else that's going on. Three things I can tell you for sure: the Ambulance Match, Iron Man Tag Team Match, and the Universal Championship match are going to be good. These have been built and set up to be prime time matches.

To show how good this card is: we have Elias Samson, Finn Balor, Nia Jax, and many others that didn't even make the cut! How a guy like Finn Balor isn't on here, and this card is still loaded blows my mind. When it comes to what I'm most excited for has to be the main event. I've wanted to see Lesnar and Joe lock up for years now, and it's finally here. I think this is bound to be a match we remember, and I just hope it isn't for a bad reason.

DeFELICE: As I mentioned above, I'm a little worried about the stacked lineup that Joe and Brock have to follow. The first ever Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view has more than enough to make you say "goodness, gracious!" From one of the last true dream matches to an Ambulance Match all the way to the first ever Tag Team Iron Man Match on WWE television, this show is the most stacked show I've seen in a few years. There's so many things to look forward to and for me the three matches I mentioned are the three big hitters for me. I've already mentioned that I think Brock and Joe will tear the house down. Add to that the fact that Roman and Braun will go above and beyond to make sure that their brawl is what you remember from the show and then you add to that a Tag Team Iron Man Match featuring four true workhorses and you have a triple threat of matches that are sure to be remembered.

Underneath all of this, you have two men with large chips on their shoulder in Rollins and Wyatt who are surely going to leave their mark. Enzo and Cass on opposing sides of the ring looking to make their first marks as singles competitors at the expense of the other. Then you have two women in Alexa and Sasha who could easily have the best match of the night and you know that they're going to do their very best to try and do just that. Make no mistake about it, this show will be remembered and I couldn't be more excited for this show.

WIGGINS: I think after recent shows with only five or six matches, it's not a problem WWE has eight matches on the Great Balls of Fire card. Frankly, they've had to leave a number of feuds in the cold already, with no space on the pay-per-view for Finn Balor, Elias Samson, Goldust, R-Truth, Heath Slater & Rhyno, or Nia Jax. The 30-minute Iron Man Tag Team Match will take up a significant portion of the show, which makes it risky that at least one match will be a complete squash, with the smart money on either Big Cass vs. Enzo Amore or Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe. This card feels pretty stacked, maybe in a bid to compensate for the event's ridiculous name, and all the important feuds on Raw at the moment have been addressed.

What match am I most looking forward to? Well, it's definitely not Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt that's for damn sure. If there was ever a match worth losing from a pay-per-view, it's that. No, for me, it has to be Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe. The intensity and drama of the feud has made the match somewhat unpredictable, and I'm intrigued with how physical and impactful this match will be. It could prove to be the defining moment for Samoa Joe's future in WWE, whether he wins or lose, or it could be a one-sided squash on Lesnar's march toward SummerSlam. This could be one of the biggest shocks in recent memory, and I can't wait to see it take place.