WWE's latest Network Special, Great Balls of Fire, takes place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Sunday. Ahead of the event, which is filled with matches featuring WWE Superstars from the Raw brand, here are the predictions on what will happen.
Brock Lesnar to retain the WWE Universal Championship against Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe has been superb in the build-up to this title fight, and has actually brought some uncertainty to proceedings in terms of match result.
Raw is suffering without having a regular champion on TV, and the belt needs to come off Lesnar, but Joe will not get the job done here.
Lesnar will carry the title into Summerslam in August, but the biggest compliment to Joe will be this likely go more than 15-20 minutes and he will get more offence against the champion than anyone in a match lasting more than five minutes (sorry Goldberg) with him has for a long time.
Roman Reigns to beat Braun Strowman in an Ambulance match
Reigns announced himself as No 1 contender on Raw last month, and if he is challenging Lesnar for the title at SummerSlam he needs to go in strong.
He has feuded with Strowman on and off since the start of 2017 and he has won and lost against him.
Given Strowman put Reigns in an ambulance during the June 26 episode of Raw, giving away that visual away, and simply because he is still the WWE’s No 1 guy, Reigns will get the better of Strowman to push him towards a date with Lesnar next month.
The Miz to retain the Intercontinental title against Dean Ambrose
Miz won the title off Ambrose last month and this feud really needs to end, given how stale it feels.
Given this time last year he was the WWE World Heavyweight champion, Ambrose’s stock has fallen a great deal and his character needs a major switch or his ‘lunatic’ personality explained better, because right now he just tells bad jokes.
Miz to retain with help from Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas and hopefully he and Ambrose can both go on to better things.
Alexa Bliss to retain the Raw Women’s title against Sasha Banks
Bliss is still great fun as champion, and the fact she tapped out clean to Banks in a tag match on Monday is the greatest indicator she is not dropping the title here.
Expect interference from Nia Jax, and possibly Bayley, which will end up giving Bliss the title retention, and hopefully setting Banks on her way to a showdown with Bayley at SummerSlam.
The Hardy Boyz to win the Raw Tag Team titles against Sheamus and Cesaro in a 30-Minute Iron Man match
These teams have been feuding since April and this has to be the blow-off to the feud.
With the Revival and the Club waiting, plus Sheamus reportedly set to take some time off and make a film, this all points to the Hardys regaining the title belts and remaining relevant as they hopefully move towards their ‘broken’ personas sooner rather than later.
Neville to retain the WWE Cruiserweight title against Akira Tozawa
Neville has been champion since January and there is no reason for that reign to end here.
He is the glue that is holding the division together, and while Tozawa will be good foil for him, it is not time for Neville to drop the belt yet.
Bray Wyatt to beat Seth Rollins in a singles match
Given the talent involved, this feels like a waste of both men and the build-up has been dull and uninteresting.
Rollins has not had a decent storyline since beating Triple H at WrestleMania, and Wyatt is still recovering from his botched WWE title angle with Randy Orton.
Wyatt to get a cheap win, with Rollins likely to return the favour next month in New York.
Big Cass to beat Enzo Amore in a singles match
The splitting up of Enzo and Cass was one of the best things things on WWE TV in the last month, and the narrative should continue here.
Cass to win dominantly, and then to continue the beatdown post-match, setting up a run-in from Big Show to build-up to their SummerSlam clash.
WWE Great Balls of Fire is on the WWE Network, which is available through OSN, with the action beginning at 3am UAE time.
