As America celebrates its birthday with Independence Day on July 4, the WWE will be in Tokyo, Japan for the WWE Network special Beast in the East.
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The show is obviously headlined around Brock Lesnar, who is set to battle Kofi Kingston, while other highlights include an NXT Championship bout pitting Kevin Owens against Finn Balor and a tag team match that will see John Cena and Dolph Ziggler battle Kane and King Barrett.
The fireworks start at 5:30 a.m. ET time, giving a star-spangled start to the United States' birthday live from Japan.
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Here are our predictions for the Beast in the East event in the projected match order.
Tag Team Match: The Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara & Kalisto) vs. The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods)
This would be a fun match to get the crowd into things as a fast-paced tag team bout is always a nice way to kick-off a card. The Lucha Dragons could win to make the crowd happy, especially with The New Day's recent struggles.
It seems, however, as though The New Day could use momentum heading into their Tag Team Championship rematch with The Prime Time Players at Battleground on July 19.
The Pick: The New Day
Singles Match: Cesaro vs. Diego
This is a bit of a strange encounter as Diego will go it alone without his Los Matadores partner Fernando. It seems logical that Cesaro should win this match as he is the bigger name. This may serve to be a dark match and may not make the actual card.
The Pick: Cesaro
Singles Match: Chris Jericho vs. Neville
This match could easily steal the show as Y2J brings his veteran presence into a match against one of the best additions to the WWE's main roster, The Man That Gravity Forgot.
Neville has been very exciting in the ring thus far while Y2J can seemingly put on a great show up against anyone, especially a Superstar the caliber of The New Sensation. With Jericho on a part-time deal that lasts just through the summer, it seems a win would do more for Neville.
The Pick: Neville
NXT Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Finn Balor
Owens has been one of the best additions to the main roster and his feud with John Cena may very well prove to be the best rivalry of 2015 come the end of the year. Balor is exciting to watch in the ring and these two will definitely continue to set the bar and the NXT roster will undoubtedly continue to shine here.
There is a possibility that Owens could lose the belt since he is now mostly on the main roster and so that this WWE Network special is noteworthy, but if Owens is taking on the No. 1 face in the company in just over two weeks, he shouldn't be losing any matches.
The Pick: Kevin Owens
WWE Divas Championship Triple Threat Match: Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige vs. Naomi
Independence Day for America marks the 223rd day of Bella's reign atop the Divas division, the second longest in WWE history, and she still has a long way to go in catching AJ Lee's mark (295 days).
Naomi's heel turn hasn't generated much momentum for her recently as Paige continues to be the most formidable foe for Bella. While a title change could happen to make this event significant, as mentioned in the NXT Championship match, it's unlikely to happen here.
The WWE has kept the belt on Bella since November and it may take outside interference from Brie Bella or Alicia Fox, but it doesn't seem like she'll drop the belt before surpassing Lee's record.
The Pick: Nikki Bella
The Beast in the East: Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston
This has always seemed like an odd pairing, but it should still be fun to watch The Beast throw Kingston all around the ring and to see The New Day member bump around like a mad man.
Once the WWE changed the event to cater to Lesnar, it seemed like the WWE may give him a bigger match, but it stayed with Lesnar-Kofi, which will get no complaints from me.
It'll likely be mostly a squash match to continue Lesnar's bulldozing rampage toward his WWE World Heavyweight Championship clash with Seth Rollins, but it should be fun to watch nonetheless. If The Architect is on the trip, he'll probably make some sort of appearance.
The Pick: Brock Lesnar
Tag Team Match: John Cena & Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane & King Barrett
Though this event is built around The Beast, there have been rumors that his tag team contest will go on last.
This is sort of another odd match, but with this basically being a broadcast of a house show, it is expected and it should still be a fun match.
Owens and Rusev are wild-cards who could very well get involved to foil the babyfaces while it will also be interesting to see if The Authority makes its presence felt as well.
In the end, it makes sense that the babyface team would stand tall to end the show on a positive note, so it's hard to see Cena and Ziggler coming out on the losing end.
The Pick: John Cena & Dolph Ziggler
Before fireworks light up the sky and barbecues take place all through the United States of America, the WWE and The Beast invade Tokyo with WWE Beast in the East live from Japan in the early morning hours here in the U.S.
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