Hall’s WWE Great Balls Of Fire Review

Great Balls of Fire
Date: July 9, 2017
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 16,559
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves

Here we have one of the staples of Vince McMahon’s WWE: capitalizing on something that was a big deal literally decades before. The song was released about sixty years before this show and has pretty much nothing to do with the event, which shouldn’t be a surprise. There are some big things on the show, including the Bar vs. the Hardys in a thirty minute Iron Man match and Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar in what could be a heck of a fight. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Akira Tozawa

Neville is defending and Titus O’Neil is here with Tozawa. They circle each other to start until Neville hits a running shoulder. That earns Neville a kick to the chest and a backsplash but Tozawa charges into a kick to the head. They go outside and Neville sends him crashing into the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Neville hitting a running boot for two and he stomping away. That just brings Tozawa up with a shot to the face but it’s too early for the top rope backsplash. Tozawa sends him outside for the big suicide dive and a near fall back inside. An Octopus sends Neville crashing over to the ropes but it’s still too early for the backsplash.

Instead Neville dropkicks him against the ropes but misses his middle rope phoenix splash. Tozawa’s Shining Wizard sets up the top rope backsplash (which actually works this time) so Neville bails to the floor. Back in and Neville crotches him on top and even kicks the rope to make it worse. A spinning kick to the ribs finishes Tozawa at 11:38.

Rating: B-. Nice opener here as this was back in the day when Tozawa was still getting to show what he could do outside of comedy. At the same time, Neville was getting to show just how good he was and it was getting better almost every single time. These two worked well together and that would continue, as Tozawa would actually win the title in a little over a month.

The opening video is themed like a 1950s drive-in, complete with ads for refreshments and movie trailers.

Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins

They started arguing before Extreme Rules and Wyatt declared himself a god, with Rollins promising to slay him. Also, something about Rollins pretending to be someone else for being on the cover of the new WWE game, but Wyatt never made a ton of sense in the first place. Rollins knocks him into the corner to start and Wyatt gives him quite the smile in return.

The threat of a running boot sends Wyatt outside, where he’s able to cut off the suicide dive with a right hand. They slug it out on the steps until Wyatt sends him face first into the steps for a painful landing. The big charge sends Rollins into the barricade and Wyatt takes him up top for a rather crashy superplex.

A DDT onto the apron gets two but Wyatt misses the backsplash. Rollins dropkicks him out to the floor and the suicide dive connects. Back in and a Blockbuster gives Rollins two but Wyatt hits his big clothesline. The Falcon Arrow gives Rollins two but Wyatt pulls him down hard off the ropes. The release Rock Bottom plants Rollins for two so he starts slugging away. That is quickly cut off though as Wyatt pokes him in the eye, meaning Sister Abigail can finish Rollins at 12:03.

Rating: C+. The match was getting going and then they just cut it off pretty quickly. I’m not sure what to think of the ending, as I like Wyatt not using his weird stuff, but a simple poke to the eye felt a bit underwhelming. At the same time, Wyatt is far too well known for losing so picking up a win like this is nice to see. Just go a bit more big match feel and it’s a nice improvement.

The Hardys are ready to face the Bar in a thirty minute iron man match. Matt watched half an hour of superhero cartoons with his kids to get ready to face the supervillains for half an hour. Jeff is used to being in the first kinds of tag matches and this is another, where they will break bars.

We recap Enzo Amore vs. Big Cass. They were partners, but then Cass turned on him, likely completely sick of Amore running his annoying mouth. Cass wants to show that Amore was the weak link and Amore wants revenge.

Enzo Amore vs. Big Cass

Before the match, Amore compares his life to Frank Sinatra’s My Life, talking about how things have been up and down. He’ll always keep getting up and he’ll prove that he can beat Cass because these people have made his real life better than his dreams. As usual, good promo from Amore, but it could only get him so far. Amore charges right at him to start and of course it doesn’t work, with Cass shoving Amore down.

Cass hammers away in the corner and a crossface chickenwing has Amore in more trouble. Some yelling makes it worse for Amore, with Cass throwing him into the corner for more right hands. A gorilla press toss sends Amore crashing to the floor, which has the fans booing. Yeah I’d boo too if an Amore match had to go on even longer. Amore beats the count at nine so Cass boots him in the face for the pin at 5:21.

Rating: C-. The match was an absolute squash and my goodness it was fun to watch Amore get destroyed. I had forgotten how incredibly annoying he could be and it would only get worse when he would turn heel shortly after this. Cass absolutely destroyed him here and unfortunately it didn’t get him very far, because he certainly had the tools to do something. Maybe not everything, but something.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. The Bar

The Hardys are challenging in a thirty minute Iron Man match. Cesaro offers an early distraction and the Brogue Kick pins Matt at 19 seconds.

Bar – 1
Hardys – 0

Jeff comes in and hammers away on Sheamus, which is cut off rather quickly. It’s off to Cesaro, who is dropkicked into an early chinlock. That doesn’t last long as Jeff is taken into the wrong corner, which doesn’t last long either. It’s back to Matt and a clothesline sends Sheamus to the floor for some big forearms. Back in and a DDT drops Sheamus for two but he’s able to power Jeff outside in a crash.

Everything breaks down and Matt gets beaten up on the floor, leaving Cesaro to put Jeff down for two. Sheamus’ middle rope knee gets two and he works on Jeff’s arm for a bit. A powerslam gets two and Cesaro comes back in for his own chinlock. That’s broken up rather quickly and Jeff gets in a backdrop but Cesaro cuts off the top. An assisted White Noise gives Sheamus the pin at 9:49.

Bar – 2
Hardys – 0

The champs are rather cocky and Sheamus hits a clothesline for two. A missed charge sends Sheamus shoulder first into the post though and it’s back to Matt to start the comeback. Cesaro gets the ten rams into the various buckles and the bulldog out of the corner gets two. Poetry In Motion sets up the Twist Of Fate to give Jeff the pin on Cesaro at 12:54.

Bar – 2
Hardys – 1

Sheamus comes back in and gets mule kicked into the corner, where the slingshot dropkick gets two. We hit the halfway mark as the Hardys get two off a double suplex. Jeff hits a big running flip dive to take out the champs on the floor but Cesaro manages to post Matt. That’s actually enough for a countout at 16:47.

Bar – 3
Hardys – 1

Back in and Sheamus knocks Matt into the corner before grabbing a chinlock to burn some clock. Some forearms to the chest let Sheamus shove Matt out to the floor and Cesaro uppercuts him against the barricade. We have ten minutes to go and a double suplex gets two on Matt. The chinlock goes on again but Matt is up with a Side Effect for two. Cesaro is back in to knock Jeff off the apron and grab a Sharpshooter. As usual it’s a good one but Jeff is right there for the save. Matt manages to reverse a whip into the corner and brings Jeff back in for his legs over legs rollup and a pin at 22:57.

Bar – 3
Hardys – 2

The Whisper In The Wind gives Jeff two and a sunset flip gets the same. A knee rocks Jeff so Matt tags himself back in for a tornado DDT and a near fall with 5:00 to go. The Twist Of Fate is broken up but Matt knocks Sheamus off the top. A moonsault gets a VERY close two as Cesaro makes a save (I wasn’t sure if he got it or not so that couldn’t have been timed better). Sheamus goes up top but Matt catches him with a super Twist Of Fate (I don’t remember him doing that one before) to tie it up at 28:05.

Bar – 3
Hardys – 3

Jeff comes in and, after a quick pause to make sure Sheamus is still with us, dives onto the Bar on the floor as we have two minutes to go. Back in and a top rope elbow/top rope splash combination gets two on Sheamus with Cesaro making another save. An uppercut from the floor gets two on Matt and we have less than a minute to go. The Swanton hits Sheamus but Cesaro comes in off a blind tag and steals the pin on Jeff at 29:30.

Bar – 4
Hardys – 3

Cesaro runs off and burns enough time that Jeff’s Twist Of Fate only gets one as time expires to retain the titles at 30:00.

Rating: B+. This got good by the end but as usual, there was only so much taking place in the first part of the match. That’s the case with most Iron Man matches, as the important action is at the end. The good thing is that the champs looked like the better team and while they escaped with the win, they won fairly and can move on. Rather awesome match here, though it would have been better with a hotter start.

Xavier Woods was at the Rocket League World Championships.

We recap Alexa Bliss defending the Raw Women’s Title against Sasha Banks. The idea is that Bliss is champion but in over her head against Banks, who is a proven star.

Raw Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Bliss is defending. The grappling doesn’t go anywhere to start so Banks sends her into the corner for the running knees. Banks goes for the arm and Bliss seems to have completely dislocated her elbow. As it turns out, it’s just a ruse as Bliss throws it back in place for a forearm (that’s a natural talent and Bliss used it to perfection here, though dang that could have been a great way for her to steal a pin in a big match….like this one).

The Bank Statement is blocked and Bliss bails outside, where she drops the following Banks to take over. Back in and the moonsault knees to the back gives Bliss two, followed by a rather painful looking bow and arrow. One heck of a backbreaker gives Bliss two but Banks kicks her into the corner for the breather.

Banks makes the clothesline comeback and a belly to back suplex gets two. Another shot to the back drops Banks again but she gets the knees up to block Twisted Bliss. Now the Bank Statement can work, with Bliss having to crawl to the rope. They head outside with Banks reversing a whip into the barricade, where Bliss will happily take the countout to retain at 11:45.

Rating: C+. So the idea here was that Bliss did well enough but ultimately realized she was in over her head against the better Banks. The good thing though is Bliss can point out that she’s still champion because she’s smarter, which is what a heel should do. Bliss was getting better at this point and she was presented as smart, as a good heel can often be. Not a great match, but it did what it needed to do.

Post match the brawl stays on and they head to the announcers’ table on the platform. Bliss loads up a DDT but gets shoved off instead, allowing Banks to hit the diving knees and leave her laying.

We look at the Kickoff Show match.

Akira Tozawa tells Titus O’Neil to get him a rematch. O’Neil agrees but doesn’t look sure.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose

Miz, with Maryse and the Miztourage (Bo Dallas/Curtis Axel), is defending. We do get a quick recap, which saw Miz beating Ambrose for the title at Extreme Rules. Ambrose wanted a rematch and eventually got one, after causing Miz to destroy a special clock that Maryse had given him and beating up an innocent bear. Ambrose goes outside and jumps Axel before going back inside to send Miz into the corner.

Dallas gets beaten up as well and Ambrose hammers away, only for Axel’s distraction to cut him off. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Miz goes with a faceplant for two instead. The running crotch attack to the back in the ropes staggers Ambrose again, followed by the corner clothesline. Ambrose manages a quick swinging neckbreaker and the clothesline comeback is on. Miz is able to fight back as well and ties him in the Tree Of Woe for a running dropkick to the knee.

The Figure Four stays on the leg but Ambrose is out just as fast. Some YES Kicks have Ambrose in more trouble but Ambrose pops up and slaps him in the face. Maryse gets up for a distraction though, allowing the Miztourage to pull him down to the floor. Ambrose is fine enough to hit a big dive, only to bang up the knee again. Back in and Dirty Deeds connects, with Maryse putting the foot on the rope. The Miztourage distracts again though and a cheap shot sets up the Skull Crushing Finale to retain the title at 11:17.

Rating: B-. They were getting going here as Ambrose had to fight off the odds but couldn’t quite pull it off. He’ll need some extra help to finish Miz off, which could make for an interesting next round. As usual though, Miz does well when he has people on his side and the Miztourage worked well as his lackeys. Maryse made it work even better and they were a solid unit here.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns. Strowman was the monster and Reigns was of course the only one who could fight him, because Reigns is the most amazing thing ever. Reigns injured Strowman and put him out of action, but Strowman returned early and cost Reigns a #1 contenders match by popping out of an ambulance. This time, it’s an ambulance match.

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Ambulance match. Reigns tries to slug away to start and is easily run over. Some running splashes in the corner put Reigns down and they head outside early on. Reigns manages to send him into the post, which is enough to put Strowman down for a bit. The key there is a bit though as Strowman is right back up to send Reigns hard into the steps. Said steps are rammed into Reigns as this is violent early on.

Back in and Reigns strikes away but gets caught in an Eli Cottonwood style reverse chokeslam. The running powerslam is cut off, as is the spear, allowing Strowman to hit a powerslam (and go for a cover, which is a fair mistake here). Reigns slips off Strowman’s shoulders on the way to the ambulance and gets back inside for a Samoan drop. Strowman’s running charge hits the post and Reigns goes after the recently injured arm.

A chair crushes the elbow against the post but another chair shot just annoys Strowman. He tells Reigns to hit him and then takes the chair away, meaning it’s time to send Reigns into the barricade. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Reigns slips out, only to be sent flying into the side of the ambulance. It’s too early to send him into back though and Reigns scores with some Superman Punches. Reigns gets thrown across the stage though and the big crash leaves him laying.

Strowman comes after him, only to miss a charge and go through the set. As I think that the hole in the set is shaped like Utah, Reigns realizes that it’s a problem that Strowman is A, down that far from the ambulance and B, getting up. Reigns tries to pull him over towards the ambulance but gets shoved off the stage for a big crash. A piece of lighting equipment to the face rocks Strowman…but he dodges a spear, sending Reigns crashing into the ambulance (looking like the Cowardly Lion diving out the window in the Wizard Of Oz) for the win at 16:39.

Rating: B. They had a good fight here, but egads that ending was ALL designed to protect Reigns. That’s all it always was at this point and it got annoying in a hurry. Strowman felt like a monster throughout the match and dominated Reigns, but in the end it was Reigns who cost himself. The Reigns mega push was overwhelming and it would only get worse as time went on.

Post match Reigns pops out of the ambulance and spears Strowman down. He throws Strowman inside and drives it to the back, where he backs it into an equipment truck (with the camera edits looking pretty terrible). Kurt Angle and Jamie Noble come in to try and get Strowman out, and if that’s your brain trust fixing the problem, just give up now. This is a prime example of where the Super Roman thing came from, because he lost the match fair and square but JUST HAD TO look like the conquering monster in the end.

Heath Slater vs. Curt Hawkins

This is an impromptu match and the two of them are basically getting ready as they come to the ring. They go with some basic grappling to start as I try to figure out why we need an impromptu match in the first place. Hawkins knocks Slater down from behind as some sirens are heard in the arena. We cut to the back (Graves: “Do we need to broadcast this?”) where a fire truck shows up to rescue Strowman with the jaws of life. As this is happening, Slater wins (completely off camera so we have no idea how he did it) at 2:26.

In the back, Angle prays as the jaws of life get the door open and there’s no explained reason why they don’t just pull the ambulance forward and get to the back door. The door is opened and a stretcher is brought over but a bloody Strowman gets up and staggers off, saying leave him alone. Angle looks terrified.

Commentary is all amazed and we recap the whole thing as this is completely dragged out for pretty much no reason.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe. The idea here is simple: Joe is not afraid of Lesnar and could be the only person who could out fight him, including choking him out with the Koquina Clutch. They have built this up as a major war and that’s exactly how it should have gone.

And no, they never showed the ending to Slater vs. Hawkins.

Raw World Title: Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, is defending. Heyman does his big intro and Joe jumps Lesnar in the middle to start fast. Joe knocks Lesnar outside and Rock Bottoms him through the announcers’ table, leaving Heyman panicking. Lesnar gets back inside and smiles, saying he’s ready to go.

The bell rings and Joe charges at him and hits an enziguri in the corner, followed by some knees to the ribs. Lesnar’s knees don’t do much good as he’s basically fighting on instinct. They take turns driving each other into the corner and the Koquina Clutch goes on, but Lesnar sends him into the buckle. It’s time for Suplex City so Joe grabs the rope, and the referee, for a low blow to cut Lesnar off.

Another Rock Bottom gives Joe two and the Clutch goes on again. Lesnar finally shakes him off but misses a charge into the post. That’s fine with Lesnar, who slips between the legs in an awesome spot and rolls some more German suplexes. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch again though and Lesnar drops to a knee. Somehow Lesnar manages to get underneath him for the F5 to retain (Heyman begging for this to be over is great) at 6:27.

Rating: B. I know it might not have made a ton of sense and I know it wasn’t the long term plan, but I still think Joe should have won the title here. He was in his late 30s and banged up, but there was a chance to give the fans a moment here and they didn’t go there. I get the idea of Lesnar retaining and all that, as he had to be the unstoppable champion for Reigns to slay. You know, the whole point of the entire company at this point, but that wouldn’t happen for over a year. I guess you can’t make Joe a thing, because he’s not the chosen one.

Either way, it was another hard fought match and Joe had me buying that he had a chance. This was the Lesnar formula to a tee and it still works, especially with someone who can work that style like Joe. They couldn’t go much longer than this otherwise, but dang did those Koquina Clutches have me believing when I was watching this live.

 

Results
Neville b. Akira Tozawa – Spinning kick to the ribs
Bray Wyatt b. Seth Rollins – Sister Abigail
Big Cass b. Enzo Amore – Big boot
The Bar b. Hardys 4-3
Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss via countout
The Miz b. Dean Ambrose – Skull Crushing Finale
Braun Strowman b. Roman Reigns – Strowman shut Reigns in the ambulance
Heath Slater b. Curt Hawkins – Inverted spinning nosehold with a hint of orange
Brock Lesnar b. Samoa Joe – F5

 

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7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

There were good, if not very good, pieces to this but the last few matches (at least the ones where we saw the ending) all felt like steps on the Reigns train. Getting him over was the whole focus of everything and it was dragging down the rest of the show. Other than that you had the good main event with Lesnar vs. Joe, plus a pretty awesome Tag Team Title match, but Reigns vs. Strowman was the big focal point. Outside of that, the show was mostly forgettable, much like a lot of this time period. As a one off I had a nice time looking back at it, but there’s a reason this era isn’t too fondly remembered.