7 Ups And 5 Downs From WWE Great Balls Of Fire

2. Joe, Lesnar Have A Slugfest

We knew that Samoa Joe versus Brock Lesnar had the potential to be a knock-down, drag-out fight, but the two behemoths managed to cram in about as much brutality in a short span of time as they possibly could.

Joe wasted no time in jumping Brock from behind during the ring introductions, putting him through an announce table. Lesnar crawled back into the ring to start the match proper, but Joe continued the assault. Brock managed to whether the storm and fire off three German suplexes, only for Joe to hit a low blow and lock in the Coquina Clutch multiple times.

Finally, Brock hit a few more Germans, and with a last gasp of energy, hit an F-5 for the win, escaping with his title rather than defending it vigorously.

The match had to follow the ambulance match and its aftermath, so keeping the bout short and aggressive was probably the best possible decision. Good call, and it worked nicely. Joe looked strong in defeat, and Lesnar looked like a near-unbeatable champion who actually can be weakened, but still won’t break.