WWE Great Balls of Fire Results – July 9 2017

Welcome to the first-ever Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view!

Tonight’s inaugural PPV will host a dream match between Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship! This is a match people thought they would never see but here we are, and the build has been better than a lot of recent Lesnar matches. If WWE ever saw this as a throwaway match to keep Brock busy, that all changed when Samoa Joe grabbed the microphone. Over the past 4-5 weeks, Samoa Joe has turned many heads with his incredible intensity and mic skills, which anyone will recognise if they watched his early TNA and ROH work. Joe is one of the best in the world and he more than deserves this match, and WWE has no doubt recognised his incredible work. It’s hard to know what to expect from the actual match tonight but it has the potential to be an all-time classic.

The other main-event worthy match for tonight is the Ambulance Match between Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns. Braun returned from injury several months early and resumed his tyranny on Raw and Roman Reigns in particular. The two went right back to beating the crap out of each other and tonight we have a number one contender’s match between them in which the stipulation is, ironically, to send your opponent to the hospital. This is kind of a dumb match because it’s supposedly barbaric but you’re sending your opponent to get medical attention; it’s like a Last Man Standing match but with more care and concern for the other guys well-being. Anyway, I expect this to be a fun spot-fest that Braun should win.

Also on tonight’s card, The Hardy Boyz challenge Sheamus & Cesaro in a 30-minute Iron Man match, which should serve as the end to this long-running feud. These two teams have never failed to deliver inside the ring but fans never seem overly excited with the feud. Personally I expect this match to be fantastic and really get the crowd going. Elsewhere, Alexa Bliss defends her title against Sasha Banks in a surprising turn. It seemed obvious that Nia Jax was on her way to facing Alexa for the belt – the story-line was writing itself – but for some reason WWE decided to go with Sasha Banks instead. It might not have the story behind it but these two could have a really good match; Bliss isn’t on Banks’ level of in-ring ability but she’s no slouch either. Regardless, I would expect a screwy finish that allows Alexa to retain the feud to continue!

Seth Rollins battles Bray Wyatt, Neville puts his Cruiserweight Championship on the line against Akira Tozawa, Enzo Amore faces his former brother Colin Cassidy, and Dean Ambrose looks to take back the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz and his entourage. That’s a stacked card that has the potential to be the red-brand’s best of the year so far. Don’t forget to check out the Ringside News and Ringside Talk apps, where you can chat about tonight’s PPV on a dedicated social platform with all the other marks like me! Enjoy the show!

WWE Monday Night Raw Results – July 3 2017

Welcome to the final edition of Monday Night Raw before Sunday’s Great Balls of Fire PPV!

Tonight’s show is anchored by the return of Brock Lesnar, who will defend his Universal Championship for the first time since WrestleMania on Sunday. Lesnar has had to sit back and watch as Samoa Joe took centre stage for this feud and even attacked his advocate Paul Heyman. So Lesnar decided to pay Joe a visit and was promptly choked down by the Samoan Bulldozer! One week from the huge showdown, Lesnar will definitely want to regain some momentum, meanwhile Samoa Joe is on the roll of a lifetime and fans are hungry for more!

Speaking of being hungry and never satisfied, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns will also have a gargantuan showdown at Great Balls of Fire – which ironically might be the best card for a terribly named PPV ever. The two big canines will fight for ownership of the back yard in an Ambulance Match and I would be shocked if we didn’t see said ambulance come into play one more time this week, seeing as Braun threw Roman into it last week and sent him packing. Fans will hope to see more of the same this week.

Last week’s main event saw Sasha Banks defeat the seemingly unstoppable Nia Jax, who had already bested Emma, Mickie James, Dana Brooke, and Bayley, in a Gauntlet Match to become number one contender. Banks’ win was pretty surprising but sets-up an exciting showdown at Great Balls of Fire. The Champion Alexa Bliss came to the ring after the match and shoved her title in Banks’ face but was promptly met with a dropkick to her own dentures! Expect more fireworks tonight ahead of the 4th of July!

Elsewhere on tonight’s show, Enzo Amore was ceremoniously dumped by Big Cass for the second week in a row and it seems inevitable that these two will have a showdown on Sunday night. The match hasn’t yet been announced but surely tonight is the night. And then there’s Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt who’ve done more talking in the past three weeks than Undertaker did in over 30 years, so hopefully we get something more substantial tonight.

All that and more to look forward to on tonight’s show. Don’t forget to check out the Ringside News app, as well as our new Ringside Talk app, which allows you to converse with all your fellow marks! Let us know your thoughts and feelings and enjoy the show!

Possible Spoiler for Tonight’s Episode of RAW

As previously noted, Roman Reigns will be kicking off tonight’s episode of RAW to make his SummerSlam announcement. It’s being speculated that Roman will announce that he wants to face the winner of the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view match of Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar.

With Braun Strowman now being cleared to return to action, Bryan Alvarez speculated on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Live that Strowman will return on tonight’s show to continue his feud with Roman Reigns. It’s expected that this will lead to another match with between the two, with the winner getting a shot at the Universal Title at SummerSlam.

Rumored Matches for This Year’s SummerSlam Event

The following matches are being rumored for this year’s SummerSlam event, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman
John Cena vs. Jinder Mahal
Triple H vs. Kurt Angle

With WWE holding for back-to-back shows in the row at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, they are expecting to make this show as big as possible. Those events include NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III on August 19th, SummerSlam on the 20th, RAW on the 21st and SmackDown Live on the 22nd.

Conflicting Reports on Braun Strowman’s WWE Status

While PWInsider reported earlier today that Braun Strowman was cleared to return to action and is just waiting for WWE creative to pencil him in, Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet says otherwise.

Satin mentioned on Twitter that he came across this story and confirmed with his sources that the information PWInsider reported was not accurate.

“Just read an incorrect report on Braun. While he IS close to coming back, my sources say Strowman has NOT been cleared for return yet.” Satin added, “The report today said cleared to return and waiting for creative plans though, which isn’t accurate.”