WWE Great Balls of Fire 2017: Predicting Match Card, Most Likely Swerves at PPV

WWE Great Balls of Fire may not have endeared itself to fans on the merits of its name, but the Raw pay-per-view is beginning to develop into quite the interesting showcase. 

The show will be headlined by two blockbuster matches on July 9, featuring Brock Lesnar's return to pay-per-view against Samoa Joe for the Universal Championship. Braun Strowman also makes his own return against Roman Reigns in an Ambulance match. 

Cheesy nickname aside, Great Balls of Fire is shaping up to be one of the more memorable pay-per-views of 2017. Judging by the intriguing buildup of a first-time encounter between Joe and Lesnar, the pay-per-view with the outdated name could even be one for the ages.

Both Joe and Lesnar carry an intimidation factor that will add the element of realism that Lesnar typically brings to the ring on his own. 

Meanwhile, Strowman and Reigns have delivered multiple times in the past. The mixture of Reigns proclaiming himself No. 1 contender and Strowman being rumored to challenge Lesnar at SummerSlam, per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc), creates uncertainty as to how this match will end, which will help add suspense to their third encounter. 

But what about the rest of the card? How will WWE fill out its penultimate event before SummerSlam as Raw's ratings rally? 

Potential Match Card

Just two weeks out from Great Balls of Fire, WWE has advertised only two matches: 

• WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Samoa Joe 
• Ambulance match: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns 

WWE will have a busy Raw on its hands Monday night as it looks to load up the card between now and July 9. The dramatic split between Big Cass and Enzo Amore figures to be the next-biggest match on the card in what could be a very quick, one-sided squash. Perhaps Enzo recruits Big Show to take on Big Cass, or maybe Show saves Cass' former partner from further damage in a moment that sets up Show to take on Big Cass at SummerSlam. 

Meanwhile, The Miz and his newfound entourage figure to keep the Intercontinental Championship in his possession as he gears up for yet another match against Dean Ambrose, The Shield's answer to Marty Jannetty. It'll be interesting to see if Maryse joins Miz at ringside moving forward, but with the debut of fellow "it" couple Mike and Maria Kanellis on SmackDown, Miz's and Maryse's days as an item could be numbered on Raw. 

Cesaro and Sheamus still owe The Hardy Boyz a Tag Team Championship rematch, so expect the Hardys to attempt to avenge their only loss since coming to the main roster. 

In the women's division, Sasha Banks has emerged as a prime contender for Alexa Bliss' Women's Championship, but as has been the case lately, the entire division seems to be vying for the championship simultaneously. I smell a group match. 

All the way down in the cruiserweight division, Titus O'Neil and the Titus Brand has single-handedly breathed life into the lackluster unit through his pursuit of Akira Tozawa. Sure, the Titus Brand angle is moving slowly, but I do think it is beginning to show promise as an entity that can bring talent back from the dead. If both Apollo Crews and Tozawa turn heel and fully align themselves with the Titus Brand, each could finally be on to something on the main roster.  

Here's how I see the final card going down: 

• Pre-show: R-Truth vs. Goldust
• Pre-show: The Revival vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno 
• WWE Universal Championship: universal champion Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe 
• Ambulance match: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns 
• Big Cass vs. Enzo 
• WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (c) vs. Dean Ambrose in a lumberjack match 
• WWE Tag Team Championship: Sheamus and Cesaro (c) vs. The Hardy Boyz in a falls count anywhere match 
• WWE Raw Women's Championship 6-Pack Challenge: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Dana Brooke vs. Bayley 
• WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville (c) vs. Akira Tozawa  

Big Cass Squashes Enzo, Big Show Saves the Day

There's a reason WWE has inserted the Big Show into the ongoing mystery of who attacked Enzo Amore, and this reason figures to pay off down the road if and when Big Cass faces Big Show in a battle of the 7-footers.

It's obvious WWE has had its eye on Big Cass as a future star for quite some time. Reports were so prevalent, Big Cass himself responded to them this time last year during an interview with ABC affiliate WZZM 13 (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc). 

Though he has been in the business for over 20 years, victories over the Big Show still carry a lot of value. If WWE moves forward with a potentially one-sided matchup between Enzo and Cass, Big Show saving the day will continue to set the wheels in motion for an elusive one-on-one match between Big Cass and the legendary giant. 

Big Cass needs to hit the ground running in order to maintain momentum as a top heel, and a win over Big Show on a stage like SummerSlam will do just that. A fierce beatdown over Enzo beforehand will reassert his position as a newly minted villain. 

Roman Reigns Loses Ambulance Match, Status as No. 1 Contender

Current plans call for Roman Reigns to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34, per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc). These same plans call for Braun Strowman to face Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, also per Meltzer (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc). 

Barring a change of plans, this sets up Reigns to lose to Strowman and, in turn, relinquish his self-proclaimed status as No. 1 contender for the Universal Championship. 

The Ambulance match stipulation adds to the likelihood of Reigns losing, as it gives him a more "protected" loss than being pinned in the middle of the ring as was the case during his previous encounter with Strowman. 

Should Reigns lose, it will put him in the rare predicament of being in no man's land for WWE's biggest pay-per-view of the summer. If he's not facing Strowman or Lesnar at SummerSlam, then who? With John Cena returning to the main roster as a free agent, could it finally be time for WWE to pull the trigger on its biggest dream match? 

The one thing standing in the way of a Cena-Reigns showcase is current WWE champion on SmackDown Live Jinder Mahal. The July 4 return of All-American John Cena has a "USA vs. evil foreigner" feud written all over it. If so, it'll be interesting to see how Reigns figures into one of WWE's biggest pay-per-views of the year. 

Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe Have Even Match Before Lesnar Pulls Away

I've gone back and forth with whether or not Samoa Joe will have an even match with Brock Lesnar. Given the fact that both have an appeal as real-life tough guys, it would be a mistake if WWE made this another Lesnar squash match. 

After spending much of last year getting squashed by Goldberg, and with a potential matchup against fellow monster Braun Strowman, it might behoove WWE to build Lesnar back up as a dominant monster. A one-sided squash of Samoa Joe will do just that. 

But between the pull-apart brawl and UFC-style interviews, this match seems to be headed for a more evenly contested showdown, which would do wonders for Samoa Joe's stock win or lose. 

Joe has been victorious over the likes of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins due to outside interference, but he really needs a truly dominant win on TV for me to be fully convinced that he has a chance against Lesnar. Fans will go crazy for an even brawl between the two super heavyweight combatants, and given the way WWE has built up the Coquina Clutch, it'll get an even bigger reaction should Joe slap it on Lesnar. 

The most likely scenario sees both going blow for blow early in the match before Lesnar takes control and defeats Samoa Joe with possible outside interference from Paul Heyman. 

Kurt Angle Storyline Moves Forward, Advertised for Raw Reveal

WWE has made a habit out of using pay-per-view to promote its television. The most recent example came last month when a controversial finish to the women's Money in the Bank ladder match led to a big announcement on SmackDown Live that here would be a rematch.

As Kurt Angle's mysterious smartphone scandal soldiers on, expect a major plot twist in the storyline at Great Balls of Fire to lead to an announcement of what this mystery entails...the following night on Raw. 

This will allow Raw to continue to recoup its audience while giving WWE significant time to build to a rumored matchup between Kurt Angle and Triple H, per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc). 

Given the fact that Angle's mystery has implicated his job, it's likely this will bring back authority figure Stephanie McMahon, who figures to publicly lambaste the Olympic gold medalist the same way she did previous general managers Mick Foley and Vickie Guerrero. 

The difference between Foley and Guerrero is that Angle, provided he is cleared by WWE doctors, can still wrestle, and a matchup between Angle and Triple H seems like a perfect fit for the direction of this storyline.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.