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Watry’s WWE Great Balls Of Fire 2017 Review

July 12, 2017 | Posted by Justin Watry
Brock Lesnar Samoa Joe Great Balls of Fire Image Credit: WWE

“I have been reading your stuff on 411mania and nodq.com for the longest time now and I have never felt inclined to email in. The general consensus of you not being most popular is harsh at times but also can be well-founded too. But I still read your stuff because I do enjoy your articles and find your perspective interesting most of the time.

“I have been reading your stuff on 411mania and nodq.com for the longest time now and I have never felt inclined to email in. The general consensus of you not being most popular is harsh at times but also can be well-founded too. But I still read your stuff because I do enjoy your articles and find your perspective interesting most of the time.

That said, your article about your friend Megan and trip to Wrestlemnaia was the greatest thing you have ever wrote. Forget about the predictions you brag about getting right. This is your crowning piece. Maybe it is because I can relate as going to Wrestlemania is my ultimate dream and it will be happening next year. But I genuinely loved your article.

Thank you for the great stuff.”

Backstory

This will be my WWE Great Balls Of Fire 2017 review! Plus, posted below is the long awaited video from NRW!

WWE GBOF Thoughts

– Didn’t see the Kickoff show. I won’t bore you all with the details, but I moved at the end of June and have been without Wifi/internet service for the past ten days. I have barely been able to keep up with everything but managed okay. Luckily, I have a week’s worth of Big Brother to catch up on and finally get to watch GLOW. All a part of the hassle of moving, right? At least now I have a bunch of junk to watch before my weekend vacation to Wisconsin Dells! Anyways, let’s get to the show.

– Bray Wyatt over Seth Rollins in the opener. Okay, hot crowd to start in Dallas, Texas. I have been to the area before and when people ask me how it was, I always say one thing: “HOT!” Good to hear the live audience is jacked up. There is a certain buzz around the event right now. Probably has to do with the big main event but still, it is translating to the whole card. Number one worldwide trend on Twitter confirms that. Back to the bout, I didn’t really care for the feud. However, these two convinced me there might be something here. Maybe another battle with The Shield and a new Wyatt Family? Who knows? Entertaining way to begin the pay-per-view with a mild upset victory for Bray. No video game cover boy protection I guess…another lovely conspiracy theory from fans!

– Big Cass vs. Enzo is a match I didn’t know I wanted until the heel turn happened. I was instantly hooked and forgot I ever said “Do not break them up yet!” Good fire (ha!) from Enzo in his promo. The jokes and kidding around will only go so far. Nice new music and entrance for Cass. Gotta separate himself from the former moniker. Story line or not, I can’t help but feel this has been a very real emotional time for these two who have teamed for so long and fit like peanut butter and jelly. Has to sting for both, even if the duo had to suspect it was inevitable. Cass wins in dominating fashion. Predictable but 100% the right call. No clue where Enzo goes from here. WWE has their attention on the big man right now, not the comedic sidekick.

– Time for the RAW IronMan Tag Team Title match. Crowd appears to be losing steam in the beginning, as the heels score a cheap pin fall to go up early. Fine way to set the tone. They are supposed to be the under handed bad guys, so it works. More chants and teases for the BROKEN Universe. Yawn. Kinda gets tiring on Twitter, much less during the on air product. I never cared to see that gimmick in WWE anyways, so all the subtle hints really have no effect on me. A little side story: NRW actually had a 30 minute iron man match BEFORE WWE ever did it. We thought an hour was too long (some still think that), so we cut the time in half. Very exciting finish to that one! Speaking of exciting finishes! Classic stuff down the stretch from these two teams. Cesaro and Sheamus were crafty, Jeff Hardy was the ultimate baby face as usual, and Matt Hardy fought through a bloodbath to try and regain the tag team titles. What a way to end this feud. Definitely got the Texas crowd back!

– Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks ended in a brawl. As I said it would. No way we were getting a fair conclusion on Sunday. That was never an option. A rematch is fine, as is another rematch after that. Anything to delay/cancel the supposed Nia Jax plans. Truthfully, I do not have a ton of thoughts on the bout. Bliss destroyed Banks’ back but weaseled out via count out when she couldn’t get the victory. Nice to see Alexa bust out her disgusting “arm fake out” trick again.

– The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose was when I went to wash my hair. Considering I am bald, that should tell you all you need to know. Both men deserve better at this point. Miz could use a celebrity/sports opponent for Summerslam. I think that would be fun. Dean could use a tease with The Shield or the much discussed heel turn. Anything works at this point. Not clicking with me. Then there is Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel…yeah…still have Maryse though!

– Here we go. The Ambulance match! Been built up for nearly seven months. I have flip flopped on a winner a lot during the past few weeks. Originally, you had to assume Reigns would win as he had lost/been beat down so much. However, Braun has been on a roll and was the man to tease a showdown with Brock Lesnar the night after WrestleMania 33. All of it rested on Summerslam plans and really, WM ideas for 2018. Intense start to the battle. Strowman goes for a cover early…hmm, I wonder if Roman did that what the reaction would be on the internet. Gee, I wonder. A simple mistake but let’s be real, if the roles were reversed, The Big Dog would never hear the end of it. Double standards at its’ finest.

By Saturday, I had convinced myself that Braun Strowman was winning. Via cheap methods or whatever, it was what I had landed on. Well, we saw that on Sunday night. Braun got the victory, but he was far from a monster at the end of the evening. This keeps things flexible and allows for either man to enter the Universal Title picture at anytime. These two wrestling have such a unique chemistry that it’s a shame the feud is over, but after fighting for most of 2017, I am ready for something new. Funny cameos from Jamie Noble and Kurt Angle. I am intrigued by the followup before the WWE Summerslam 2017 main event is announced.

– Curt Hawkins vs. Heath Slater happened. Just a backdrop to the ambulance scene backstage which explains why Finn Balor was not involved. Nobody cares about Slater or Hawkins, so I didn’t mind this segment completely ignoring the match. Something different for the WWE Network audience watching at home, and those in the arena were likely in the bathroom anyways.

– Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe was just as advertised. Two bulls going at it and just throwing shots. Loved the atmosphere. Yes, Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Title was the correct decision. Samoa Joe did not lose here though. Make no mistake, he ‘won’ Sunday night in more ways than any belt could ever mean. It may have been filler initially. However, nobody can deny Joe (who took a rare pinfall loss in his two years with the company) is in a much better spot now than he was before the summer. Lesnar keeps the title and will probably face Braun or Reigns next. Makes sense to me, as would more from Joe.

SUMMARY: The show was hyped on Brock/Joe, and that delivered. The rest was either good, great, or decent. Minus the forgettable IC Championship bout of course. Two thumbs up show. While it may have been just a B-PPV in July, WWE deserves a round of applause for putting together this card and a dream main event over a decade in the making.

NRW: The Match

This is it folks. After years of talk and months of planning, the return finally happened. On Saturday, June 17th, a great group of guys and gals gathered for a grand return to the squared circle. There is a nice article detailing the backstory of these events here (https://noahwatry.tv/2017/07/09/the-lessons-of-backyard-wrestling-wwe-superstar-hopes-and-dreams-of-flying/) to set the stage. Please read that and then when ready, enjoy the 15 minute spectacle! Any and all feedback is welcome. We all put a ton of time, effort, and money into making this reunion possible, so it is with pleasure I present to you No Rulez Wrestling…

Cheap Plugs

I went to Orlando, Florida for my first ever WrestleMania earlier in the year. I participated in the return of NRW a few weeks ago. Next up for my epic 2017:

Follow: @JustinWatry

Email: [email protected]

Thanks.

article topics :

Great Balls Of Fire, WWE, Justin Watry