WWE Great Balls of Fire - WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar VS Samoa Joe

[FunKay the Inevitable]

At WWE Great Balls of Fire, brace yourself for a dream match for the ages, as Brock Lesnar goes head-to-head with Samoa Joe for the Universal Championship.

After Brock conquered Goldberg at WrestleMania 33, it was almost incomprehensible that anyone would be able to stand up to The Beast, let alone overtake him for his coveted title. Answering that call with vigor, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle established a historic Extreme Rules Fatal 5-Way No. 1 Contender’s Match at WWE Extreme Rules – a monumental contest that would assure that whoever emerged victorious would be worthy of challenging for the Universal Title. And when the dust cleared, that Superstar was Samoa Joe.

Samoa Joe has quickly established himself as a force of pure bedlam in the WWE Universe, and he's out to dominate anything and everything in his path. While The Samoan Submission Specialist has shown that he has the tools to do just that, is he relentless enough to dominate The Conqueror? Or will Brock Lesnar add Joe to his own path of carnage?

It's happening. Samoa Joe was victorious in the Fatal Five Way on Sunday and and he moves on to Great Balls of Fire to tangle with the Night-Mayor (get it?) of Suplex City - Brock Lesnar*. As Joe himself has said, "sometimes you just want to see King Kong and Godzilla get down in Tokyo." Well it won't be in the Japanese capital, but rather Dallas, Texas and it'll take place at a PPV fashioned after a sixty year old Jerry Lee Lewis song. What a time to be alive.

WWE are marketing this as a legitimate dream match and many share that sentiment online. Joe's sort of had a funny old time of it since coming to the main roster - debuting in a fantastic manner that unfortunately injured the guy he was supposed to be working with leading up to and into WrestleMania and as such he's just sort of floated around killing people until he could resume the Rollins feud, all without actually appearing on WrestleMania.

Now, allowed to stretch his legs and not be weighed down by the Rollins/HHH malarkey, Joe moves on to fight for the biggest prize on the RAW side of things and up against the biggest, baddest and meanest mo-fo' this side of Haku: Brock Lesnar*! This could be something special, as long as Lesnar is willing to let Joe get in more than two or three moves of offense. These two could legitimately put on a match of the year candidate with Joe having the means to stop Lesnar, not to mention the promos between Heyman and Joe. My word. I mean, take a look at this from RAW Talk last night:

[YOUTUBE]c2A5Xkzprr0[/YOUTUBE]​

My. Word.

When all's said and done this does look likely to be a fairly routine first defense for Lesnar, but it shouldn't be easy and it should be an absolute joy to watch these two hosses rip each other limb from limb. After all, it's like Jerry Lee said himself:

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain,
Too much love drives a man insane,
You broke my will, but what a thrill,
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!

*Please Read in Paul Heyman's Voice

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Not only would I like to see Joe get more than 2 moves in, I'd like to see Lesnar get more than 2 moves in as well. Lesnar can actually have some good matches, but the way he's being booked, he's literally only doing 2 moves. Let Joe put up a fight and get more of a real match with Lesnar for a change. I'm not even one of those guys who'd normally say something like that, but it's getting old with Lesnar.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I'm sad to write this but this looks like a total squash match to help lesnar get some of his heay back that he lost in the Goldberg feud.

So while this was a dream match that if booked right could have lead to something great, this will most likely be just another suplex city squash match by Brock.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm skeptical about this because I can easily see Joe being fed to Brock Lesnar. It'd be a damn shame and it seems like an idiotic move, but nobody can tell Vince that as he absolutely loves this tired, worn out alpha male bullshit formula for Brock Lesnar.

If this turns out to be a situation in which Joe is sacrificed upon the altar of the Beast, I can honestly say I will not watch another Lesnar match because it'll all be the exact same formula until he gets to Roman Reigns. I know that Joe, Rollins, Balor, etc. won't beat Lesnar, but the next 10 months may be the last opportunity WWE has at utilizing Brock Lesnar's star power to elevate some guys who'll be helping carry the company for the next 5 to 10 years.

 

[MWRedskins]

my hope (and thinking) is that this will be a good match and not a squash. my hope is it goes at least 20 minutes or more....they have Joe get in some moves, have Lesnar suplex Joe....even have Joe use his finishers, but have Lesnar kick out of the Muscle Buster and then have him get to the ropes to break the clutch...have Lesnar then somehow F5 Joe only for Joe to kick out....then Lesnar F5s him twice to finally beat Joe. make Lesnar and Joe out to be the beasts that both are in this match.

if WWE wants Lesnar to squash someone, have maybe a Bray Wyatt be that...but honestly, i want to see great matches with all 6 of the contenders for Lesnar. Goldberg is not fighting for the title anymore, so short matches arent needed. make these guys look strong in defeat.

 

[OYDK]

I remember reading something a while back that said the original plan for Lesnar/Strowman at GBoF was to have Lesnar pretty much dominate the entirety of the match in an effort to get back some of the heat he lost in the Goldberg feud. Joe winning, while freakin awesome, kind of leads me to believe that we're going to see something similar. Joe, other than Reigns, was pretty much the one guy in that match who could be considered on the same level as Strowman in terms of dominance, character protection, attitude, etc.

I'm holding out some hope, but it seems like Joe is going to be built up so he can be destroyed by Brock, which would completely suck in my opinion. WWE has had the opportunity for the past couple of years to give us some legitimate mega-matches involving Brock and pretty much all of them have been brutal. Orton, Ambrose, and Rollins have all been destroyed by Lesnar in really well-built feuds with dud matches.

I get that they found fire with Brock after he broke the Streak and needed him to look dominant for a while, but that was over three years ago and it's well past time to do something different with Lesnar. At this point, a competitive match with Brock has star-making ability. Joe only gets the rub here if he doesn't get annihilated. Otherwise, this match pretty much does nothing for him.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Joe is going to get killed. Joe will get in more offense than, say, Orton did, but not much more. If they're building toward Lesnar/Reigns, I doubt Brock suffers much punishment at the hands of any opponent between now and Mania.

Personally, I'm fine with it. Lesnar is fantastic. Joe has always been decent and getting killed by Lesnar doesn't hurt anyone. "Moves" are overrated. It's the story that matters to general fans.

 

[The Perfect Max]

This can't be a one-sided affair, can it? Arguably Samoa Joe is nowhere near as legitimate a main event star as we assumed he would be a few months ago when he debuted, but even then, this cannot be one of those "Brock Lesnar matches". The potential to have a really great match at the pay-per-view in which its name should never be mentioned is too great to pass on JUST to serve Brock Lesnar and his dominant character. To me, I find much more satisfaction and believe so much more in a "dominant" character if a guy survives long, drawn-out and brutal matches. Lesnar and Joe could have a really good match and for a lot of people, this truly is a match that we never thought we'd see. Even if Joe doesn't win, which is likely the case, it at least legitimises him as a guy that can hang with Lesnar, and makes Lesnar look good for toppling someone like Samoa Joe.

I'm remaining sceptical, but hopefully WWE does see the light and let this one go for a little longer than usual for Lesnar, and let them BOTH get in some unique offence that we know they are capable of doing.

 

[ShinChan]

Joe is going to get killed. Joe will get in more offense than, say, Orton did, but not much more. If they're building toward Lesnar/Reigns, I doubt Brock suffers much punishment at the hands of any opponent between now and Mania.

Personally, I'm fine with it. Lesnar is fantastic. Joe has always been decent and getting killed by Lesnar doesn't hurt anyone. "Moves" are overrated. It's the story that matters to general fans.

Wow. Lesnar is fantastic? And getting killed by Lesnar doesn't hurt anyone? Really? Really?

What happened to Ambrose after he was squashed? Randy Orton? The latter was built in a long feud on expense of Bray Wyatt. Ambrose is still suffering. But Brock Lesnar is fantastic? How? By squashing every potential main eventer other than Vince's love Roman Reigns? By trying to put that Brock Lesnar is someone who can't be beaten unless it's Roman Reigns? If you love Brock squashing his opponents, then make him squash Roman Reigns as well. Why not him? Do you like boring squash matches over competitive matches? If you like boring squash matches that kill the wrestlers' momentum then I'm all okay with your saying that Brock Lesnar is fantastic. SPOILER : He isn't.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Wow. Lesnar is fantastic? And getting killed by Lesnar doesn't hurt anyone? Really? Really?

What happened to Ambrose after he was squashed? Randy Orton? The latter was built in a long feud on expense of Bray Wyatt. Ambrose is still suffering. But Brock Lesnar is fantastic? How? By squashing every potential main eventer other than Vince's love Roman Reigns? By trying to put that Brock Lesnar is someone who can't be beaten unless it's Roman Reigns? If you love Brock squashing his opponents, then make him squash Roman Reigns as well. Why not him? Do you like boring squash matches over competitive matches? If you like boring squash matches that kill the wrestlers' momentum then I'm all okay with your saying that Brock Lesnar is fantastic. SPOILER : He isn't.

Ambrose is hurting because he just isn't that good. If you listen to any interview with Ambrose, he seems to not give a shit about anything, which is probably a large part of why he isn't half as good as he should be. As far as Orton, while being one of my all-time favorites, is not a top player anymore. Funny thing about that is, despite Lesnar, according to you, killing Orton, he still recently won the Rumble and held the world title. Lesnar didn't ruin either of those guys - they're simply not on his level.

Lesnar won't squash Reigns because he's a top guy, whether you believe so or not. Reigns is a threat to Lesnar.

Lesnar is fantastic because he doesn't have 50/50 matches where he and his opponent run around like chickens with their heads cut off making zero sense and not telling a story. Lesnar's a legitimate attraction.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

If Joe gets fed to Lesnar then it's not the end of the world. It looks like the whole main event scene will be throughout the year. Just think of the poor bastards who get it just before Mania. They'll have barely any time to recover.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

If Joe gets fed to Lesnar then it's not the end of the world. It looks like the whole main event scene will be throughout the year. Just think of the poor bastards who get it just before Mania. They'll have barely any time to recover.

The weird thing about this is, that's where i think Finn Balor will get his shot at the title which would be bad for him. If i go by the booking of the five way, i'm guessing that the 2 less important guy on the raw main event scene right now are Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor for some reason because they really protected Reigns and Rollins. So i'm guessing that the order for lesnar's opponent from now until mania is as follows

Great Balls of fire: Samoa joe
Summerslam: Braun Strowman
Survivor series: Seth Rollins
Royal Rumble: Finn Balor
Wrestlemania: roman Reigns

The fact is, unless something change, i don't see Lesnar doing another brand only ppv. He might do something at fastlane but outside of that i really doubt he does anything beside the big important shows.

 

[Papa Pillman]

The pro wrestling world as it currently stands has left very few true dream matches that intelligent fans have clamored for for ages, that are practical given the age and standing of the wrestlers potentially involved, yet have not been thus far realized. Brock versus Joe may the top one that exists that fits that bill. This is a match that Joe fans have whispered about for years. Joe is the ultimate guy to sell against Lesnar, a big and scary true badass who's been booked like it for years everywhere, and a guy with the combination of legitimacy, strength, attitude, technical proficiency, etc. to make you think he could really challenge Lesnar if push came to push.

Now, do I think Joe has a shot? Clearly he does not. But I do however see there being zero chance of Joe being a guy who is sent in to merely get squashed in a sub-ten minute non-competitive match.

 

[StaRRStruck]

Hate it. Absolutely hate it. If what I've been reading is true and their planning Lesnar/Strowman at SS and originally Braun was gonna have this contest, I have no choice but to believe SJ is getting squashed by Brock.

It's gotten to the point where Brock is the WORST special attraction part timer ever... Rock, Goldberg even HHH and Taker paid their dues even when the first three were awarded quick championship runs to main event 'Mania. While these four have atleast put one person over (Rock's is kinda iffy because it's fucking John Cena) but regardless even with the losses Brock has taken he ends up dominating and winning the final encounter in every feud.

Remember when Kevin Owens vs Brock seemed like a interesting matchup? All that got thrown out the window as soon as KO got fed to both Goldberg and The Beast. My excitement has fallen flat for any match this guy has been in and it's been that was since WM31 which was the pinnacle of Suplex City imo.

All in all, I wish Joe is able to atleast give a fight to Brock as no one on the current roster has really done it since Roman a few years back and even he got his ass whooped pretty bad. My gut is telling me squash I will watch it regardless but just too be a tad bit hopeful I pray that if Lesnar is keeping the title till Mania that he puts on some actual matches before getting there.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Sorry to disappoint you mate, but what you're dreaming, it's not happening. If you're dreaming a hard hitting, bell-to-bell, 2003 Lesnar vs Samoa Joe match, forget about it. Not even 2013 Lesnar is showing up. This is simple: Suplex, suplex, F5, victory.

That's my notion walking into this match. I hope they suprise me. But I doubt it.

 

[sikkbones]

A good show against lesnar and some decent offense might actually get joe over as a credible main event instead of an upper mid card guy.

I'm still expecting bork to guzzle him.

 

[Bernkastel]

Watching Lesnar dominate 90% of a match is boring. Like the Rollins and Ambrose matches. His matches with Taker, Reigns, Cena, and recently Orton and Goldberg are fine examples of matches that I do want to see out of Lesnar. Even a few house show matches were pretty good too. Joe should get in some offense, do his usual shtick, and have a good showing. But then Lesnar should kick things into overdrive, nail 5-6 suplexes and then the F5, and call it a night. Lesnar needs some impressive wins to solidify his reign as champion. And wrestlers like Joe that have reputations of being tough fighters make perfect opponents. Let Lesnar prove himself to be the baddest of the bad going forward.

 

[JoeMallard]

Yay, more fodder for Lesnar in his lead up to facing The Big Dog in the third consecutive main event of Wrestlemania that I will not be watching.

 

[Greg4WWE]

After tonight, looks like they are making Brock the face in the feud.

 

[ShinChan]

Ambrose is hurting because he just isn't that good. If you listen to any interview with Ambrose, he seems to not give a shit about anything, which is probably a large part of why he isn't half as good as he should be. As far as Orton, while being one of my all-time favorites, is not a top player anymore. Funny thing about that is, despite Lesnar, according to you, killing Orton, he still recently won the Rumble and held the world title. Lesnar didn't ruin either of those guys - they're simply not on his level.

Lesnar won't squash Reigns because he's a top guy, whether you believe so or not. Reigns is a threat to Lesnar.

Lesnar is fantastic because he doesn't have 50/50 matches where he and his opponent run around like chickens with their heads cut off making zero sense and not telling a story. Lesnar's a legitimate attraction.

Ambrose isn't good? Wow. And he doesn't care enough? I'll help you. Brock Lesnar is the one who doesn't care enough. More than 2 months since his last appearance while Ambrose is wrestling every week. So who doesn't care enough? He has been wrestling without any break without getting injured or violating wellness policies. He has varied his wrestling the most out The Shield. Has gotten "sideline" booking and still is over enough. Top 5 in merchandise sales. BUT HE ISN'T GOOD.

About Orton, it's not funny when I already mentioned that Randy Orton was built back on expense of another talented wrestler Bray Wyatt for almost 6 months.

They both aren't on Brock's level because they were squashed by him.

Reigns is a top guy. Or Vince's guy? Just ignore that Ambrose outsold Reigns in B-level areas while Reigns was headlining A-level areas.

You mean that Lesnar is fantastic because he squashes his opponents and kills their momentum. He's fantastic because he DOESN’T CARE enough to appear since for more than 2 months. Lesnar is fantastic because he has boring squash matches. Lesnar is fantastic because there are atleast 12 wrestlers better than him in the world currently. Lesnar is fantastic indeed.

 

[thebarber]

With Brock having Summerslam then off again until November, they cant afford to bury Samoa Joe. I would go as far and book Joe to win with a Heyman turn. Joe takes the title, Strawman and Joe beat him down, injure him kayfabe and he returns at Summerslam to get retribution against Strowman. Meanwhile Joe can have a triple threat against Reigns and Rollins, keeps them busy. Lesnar can always get the belt back at Survivor Series or win the Rumble to set up Lesnar vs Reigns for Wrestlemania 34

 

[That N Word]

Ambrose isn't good? Wow. And he doesn't care enough? I'll help you. Brock Lesnar is the one who doesn't care enough. More than 2 months since his last appearance while Ambrose is wrestling every week. So who doesn't care enough? He has been wrestling without any break without getting injured or violating wellness policies. He has varied his wrestling the most out The Shield. Has gotten "sideline" booking and still is over enough. Top 5 in merchandise sales. BUT HE ISN'T GOOD.

About Orton, it's not funny when I already mentioned that Randy Orton was built back on expense of another talented wrestler Bray Wyatt for almost 6 months.

They both aren't on Brock's level because they were squashed by him.

Reigns is a top guy. Or Vince's guy? Just ignore that Ambrose outsold Reigns in B-level areas while Reigns was headlining A-level areas.

You mean that Lesnar is fantastic because he squashes his opponents and kills their momentum. He's fantastic because he DOESN’T CARE enough to appear since for more than 2 months. Lesnar is fantastic because he has boring squash matches. Lesnar is fantastic because there are atleast 12 wrestlers better than him in the world currently. Lesnar is fantastic indeed.

Here's the thing it isn't that Ambrose isn't good or doesn't care enough it's more that he is scared to try anything which is his issue. Ambrose has the potiental to be something special but is too afraid to take risk which is his problem. When Vince made his comment about "grabbing the brass ring," alot of talent was confused but I'm pretty sure he meant take a risk and make your moment in the same way guys like Austin, Punk, or even Alexa Bliss back at Backlash 2016 did. You gotta make your moment and not be afraid to stand out.

As for your second point, that was literally 1 weekend's worth of Live Events and fans still blows it out of proportion. Reigns was outselling Ambrose before and after those two days of events and was even outselling Cena at Live Events at a point in time let's not forget that. Reigns isn't a top star? How you figure? because fans boo him as a babyface? Well by that logic, John Cena isn't a legend in the game? Right. Reigns is currently the biggest full-time name they have right now and this is a roster with legends like AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and Samoa Joe on it. Roman Reigns is a star not just because the guy draws an audience, sells merch, and get's the loudest reactions, or even because he's a former WWE Champion. Roman Reigns is a star because he's probably the only name (maybe with the exception of Seth Rollins) that has become a name known mainstream even with non-wrestling fans. I can walk up to plenty of people who either doesn't watch wrestling or hasn't watched in years and ask "Have you ever heard of a guy named Roman Reigns?" and they'll normally reply "Duhh be Superman Punching n**a's" or "I haven't f**k with wrestling in years...but who hasn't by now" or "He's the wrestler that does the Superman Punch." Let's not forget he is the main name that mainstream sports shows/channels brings up when discussing WWE or Pro Wrestling. That's a star!!! Love him or hate him.

As for this thread, I personally am looking forward to it!! I'm actually hoping that Samoa Joe is close to putting Brock away with the Coquina Clutch and Braun Strowman's music explodes causing Joe to release the hold and get up to see what the hell it was all about and Brock either captalizes with the F5 to win in a case where Joe had him beat OR Braun storms the match attacking one or both leading to some sort of non-finish protecting both wrestlers after Joe takes Brock to his limits.

 

[ShinChan]

Here's the thing it isn't that Ambrose isn't good or doesn't care enough it's more that he is scared to try anything which is his issue. Ambrose has the potiental to be something special but is too afraid to take risk which is his problem. When Vince made his comment about "grabbing the brass ring," alot of talent was confused but I'm pretty sure he meant take a risk and make your moment in the same way guys like Austin, Punk, or even Alexa Bliss back at Backlash 2016 did. You gotta make your moment and not be afraid to stand out.

As for your second point, that was literally 1 weekend's worth of Live Events and fans still blows it out of proportion. Reigns was outselling Ambrose before and after those two days of events and was even outselling Cena at Live Events at a point in time let's not forget that. Reigns isn't a top star? How you figure? because fans boo him as a babyface? Well by that logic, John Cena isn't a legend in the game? Right. Reigns is currently the biggest full-time name they have right now and this is a roster with legends like AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and Samoa Joe on it. Roman Reigns is a star not just because the guy draws an audience, sells merch, and get's the loudest reactions, or even because he's a former WWE Champion. Roman Reigns is a star because he's probably the only name (maybe with the exception of Seth Rollins) that has become a name known mainstream even with non-wrestling fans. I can walk up to plenty of people who either doesn't watch wrestling or hasn't watched in years and ask "Have you ever heard of a guy named Roman Reigns?" and they'll normally reply "Duhh be Superman Punching n**a's" or "I haven't f**k with wrestling in years...but who hasn't by now" or "He's the wrestler that does the Superman Punch." Let's not forget he is the main name that mainstream sports shows/channels brings up when discussing WWE or Pro Wrestling. That's a star!!! Love him or hate him.

As for this thread, I personally am looking forward to it!! I'm actually hoping that Samoa Joe is close to putting Brock away with the Coquina Clutch and Braun Strowman's music explodes causing Joe to release the hold and get up to see what the hell it was all about and Brock either captalizes with the F5 to win in a case where Joe had him beat OR Braun storms the match attacking one or both leading to some sort of non-finish protecting both wrestlers after Joe takes Brock to his limits.

Ambrose is too afraid? You're naming some stars who took risk and became successful. What about those who didn't? I would really like to know why you think that he's scared? He wouldn't have blamed Brock Lesnar if he was afraid. Not everyone who takes risks is going to be liked by the boss. Just some.

1 weekend's data? I would ask for evidence for it as well. But for your sake, let's assume that it was just one weekend. That's still a huge achievement.

And then you imply that I don't take Roman Reigns as the top guy. And then also tell where I said that he isn't a top guy because he's booed as a baby face. Or you like to put words into other's mouth to serve your purpose? John Cena is a legend. Who said otherwise? Atleast I didn't.

I don't think that Roman Reigns is a star. I don't feel it. He might be for you. I've yet to see the mainstream attraction of non-wrestling fans towards Roman Reigns. I've yet to see him brought up on major sports channels and what not. Let's assume that it's right. A person who has gotten 3 consecutive Wrestlemania main events would be unknown to main sports channels? Take another main event in a year.

Again I don't think that Roman Reigns is a star. Daniel Bryan was. CM Punk was. AJ Styles is. John Cena is. I can't name Roman Reigns in these legends. The so-called star hasn't impressed me yet on the mic. If stars can be without good mic skills, I'll prefer Cesaro over Roman Reigns to chose as a star.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

With Brock having Summerslam then off again until November, they cant afford to bury Samoa Joe.

A guy that just came to main roster yesterday and is only there for one night match with Brock and then both go to new feuds? Nah, of course they would give him 30 minute offense with just Brock winning with role up to look like a fluke win. #sarcasmintensifies

Joe is kinda perfect to that one night role. He would get a rub from a match with their special attraction and even if he loses its not like he is gona be hurt. And Brock can move on to Strowman at Summerslam which is at least their short term goal.

 

[enviousdominous]

I really hope that we're entering an age where the WWE doesn't play around with squash matches. I think it was way too risky for Brock to obliterate Cena, and I think that Goldberg squashing Brock and Kevin only served to make the crowd resent him. This match has five star potential, and Joe's mystique will fizzle out quick if they just have Joe take a few moves and lay down for a pin.

I'm usually wrong in every choice I make for the prediction contests, but I really hope I'm right in assuming that the WWE is going to let Brock and Joe go to war where whomever wins does so by the tips of their fingernails.

With Joe's look, it wouldn't surprise anyone to know that he's one of the toughest men in pro-wrestling. I think this match should serve to show just how tough he really is. The crowd is going to want to see the sweat fly off of these men as they lay in stiff shots and put on a clinic the likes of which we haven't seen since Vader's feud with Stan Hansen.

I don't expect Joe to get a world title this quickly, but I can honestly say that he had the most potential to realistically beat Brock out of anyone else in the fatal five-way. The hype for this match will overshadow the entire card for that event. Joe is at a point in his career where he could easily wear any promotion's world title, and Brock proved in his most recent match against Goldberg that he can out-match any supposed advantage of his opponent.