By starting the play with a brawl, Shakespeare not only establishes the feud between the houses of Montague and Capulet, but sets the stage for the entire restof the play, as far as fate goes.
Remember that fate is the central idea of Romeo and Juliet. The Prince states:
"If you ever disturb our streets again,
Your lives shallpay the forfeit of the peace."
Later on in the play, Mercutio and Tybalt get into a brawl which results in Tyblt killing Mercutio, one of Romeo's best friends. Romeo avenges his friend's life by killing Tybalt. Technically Tybalt should have been killed for his crime, as the Prince had declared, but Romeo took care of that. Still, murder is murder, and Romeo must be punished. Therefore he is banished which, if you recall correctly, ultimately leads to his and Juliet's untimely demise when Friar John is unableto deliver the message about Juliet's taking the sleeping potion to Romeo. Romeo therefore believes Juliet to be dead and kills himself, and upon waking up Juliet sees her lover's deadbody and stabs herself in the chest.
In short, if the brawl between Samson, Gregory and the Montague's servants, Tybalt would not have had to be killed, Romeo would not have been banishedand he and Juliet would not have taken their own lives. Remember that Shakespeare describes them as 'a pair of star-cross'd lovers.'
Fate is the biggest theme of Romeo and Juliet, and the openeing brawl defined the lovers' fates more than perhaps any other act in the play.
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