<img height=300>http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/extrem10.png
I didn't get to watch the Extreme Rules pre-show, given that I'm in a country that isn't American and therefore WWE doesn't care about me, but from what I heard about it, there's a very good chance it wound up being the second or third best match of the night. That's ... embarrassing, WWE. You make a joke match that unironically managed to outshine some of your main eventers? That's disgraceful and something that you should really take a look at. Anyway, El Torito beat Hornswoggle in the inaugural WeeLC match, which was just a no-DQ match with little people wrestlers. Because Vince McMahon finds it funny, I wager. I guess the new Leprechaun isn't coming out for a little while longer, otherwise Hornswoggle would have won.
<color=red>Triple Threat Elimination Match: Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro (with Paul Heyman)
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb644.jpg
The opening to the actual Extreme Rules was the triple threat elimination match between two rivals and a random guy who is in there because of no reason in particular, actually. Whatever. All three are good in the ring, and that's why they started us off. This was probably a wise decision. This had a good deal of close calls and big spots, although I can't for the life of me why any wrestlers were saving their opponents. One that sticks out in my mind was Swagger getting the Patriot Lock on RVD, but Cesaro hit a flying uppercut to break it. Why? The commentators suggested that it might be because Cesaro didn't want Swagger to win, but ... that isn't how elimination matches work. After Swagger was pinned, the commentators thought it was over until Lilian announced that Swagger was eliminated. It seemed like they genuinely forgot that it was an elimination match. Also, it was a no-DQ bout, as RVD eventually got a trash can involved, which factored into the finale. Cesaro won after RVD missed a big spot, because in all honesty, nobody was winning this match but Cesaro. He's the only one in the middle of a push.
Match Rating: ****
Note: Rob Van Dam did his "R.V.D." taunt three times in this match. Anyone else sick of that?
R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev (with Lana)
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb641.jpg
The highly touted handicap match that was supposed to further cement Rusev as a monster heel ... didn't do that at all. In fact, it wasn't even a handicap match. During Truth and Woods' entrances, Woods gets knocked out but Rusev before the bell. It winds up being a one-on-one match, the likes of which we've seen seemingly countless times over the last month. Rusev wins easily and this whole "feud" hopefully comes to its conclusion. What a drag. Seeing Rusev fight off two men at once would have been something worth seeing.
Match Rating: *
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E vs. Bad News Barrett
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb640.jpg
I still don't understand the appeal of Big E except as an enforcer. He worked perfectly with Ziggler for that reason. He's big and strong but his in-ring work is poor and limited, and his mic skills are also lacking. It's for this reason that his championship reign has been pretty awful. He couldn't even get a feud written for him prior to this PPV. Barrett is basically the opposite, and as such makes a perfect person to challenge and win the title.
There are two good spots in this match, both involving high-risk moves to outside the ring, but most of it is about as good as you'd see on Raw every week. In fact, some of the matches put on during the tournament to determine the number one contender were better. Barrett winds up winning the title after a Bullhammer, and will hopefully breathe new life into the Intercontinental Championship. I wondered at this point if WWE would want to British champions to leave Extreme Rules, perhaps putting Paige's reign into doubt.
Match Rating: ***
Note: Barrett's "Bad News" gimmick is silly, but it works because of how much he seems to love it. Sincerity trumps cynicism in this case. He's over.
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins) vs. Evolution (Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton)
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb642.jpg
Match. Of. The. Night. By. Far. I open with that because it really was great, even if WWE continues to be incredibly sloppy with how the in-ring rules apply when more than two people are wrestling. There's a brawl before the match, prior to the bell even being rung, before we kick it off with some great action. Evolution carries most of the match, beating up Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for long stretches, before The Shield begins to get the upper hand. Roman Reigns comes and dominates, and then both high-fliers hit huge spots. Orton, HHH, Ambrose, and Rollins all eventually wind up in the crowd, which results in Rollins hitting the spot of the night: a leap from a balcony onto the other three men down below. Reigns and Batista lie in the ring for minutes on end before Reigns eventually hits a spear for the win. This feud is sure to continue.
Match Rating: *****
Note: This match was so good that anything that came after it was doomed to fail. The crowd was out of it, and so was I. It turns out that this would have been the best way to conclude the PPV, just in terms of the quality of match.
Note 2: Since Batista's return, he's put over Bryan at WrestleMania and Reigns at Extreme Rules. Now shut up.
<color=red>Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan)
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb639.jpg
What a disappointing match. I'll admit that steel cage matches just don't do anything for me anymore, but this was a disaster of a match. Cena dominated for its entirety, but the story went that, with Harper and Rowan at ringside, he couldn't escape. Both men get involved frequently. One of them gets thrown into the ring. But Cena dominates and dominates. Bray Wyatt has never looked so weak. It was boring, repetitive, and did nothing for anyone. And this is what followed a fantastic match.
The finish came with Cena having knocked out everyone, about to escape from the cage door, when the lights go out. When they come back on, a kid is standing there. His voice is artificially distorted and he sings a bit of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." Wyatt -- who seconds earlier was out cold -- sneaks up and his Sister Abigail for the win. Creepy finish, sure, but this is getting silly. This was a well-told story, but at this point it's getting ridiculous. The feud continues, but Wyatt looks weaker than ever and nowhere near a credible threat to Cena -- which is the exact opposite of what should have happened.
Match Rating: *
Divas Championship Match: Tamina Snuka vs. Paige
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It's with this match that I get my first wrong prediction of the main Extreme Rules show. I picked Tamina to win, with the contingency that she'd win with AJ's help. AJ didn't return tonight. Paige and Tamina fought for a few minutes before Paige won. Well, she won twice, because the referee actually counted to three once during the match, only for it to be ignored for some reason. The early seconds of the match were sloppy, but eventually the two Divas figured it out and put on a decent bout. Interestingly, Paige's best match since being called up to the main roster has still been against Aksana, and it took place on Smackdown. Let that sink in.
Match Rating: ***
<color=red>Extreme Rules Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
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I was with this match until about midway through when the two competitors went backstage. Kane winds up being knocked out and has to be taken back to the ring on forklift. It was too silly. He did punch out a car window, though, which looked like it genuinely hurt. After they get back in the ring, it was okay for a little while until random people with fire extinguishers showed up at ringside. They shouldn't be easily visible, right? You know, then, what Kane will be doing. He sets the two sides -- but not the middle -- of a table on fire, and is then sent through it. He's not even on fire, but a mere two seconds after the fall, a man with a fire extinguisher puts it all out, and continues spraying Kane for what seems like forever. Kane immediately got up (and wasn't on fire), got in the ring, an was still being sprayed. He was blinded when Bryan hit the flying knee for the victory. Poor finish, poor middle section, but the rest was pretty brutal. Decent end, but still nowhere near as good as the Evolution/Shield match from earlier. This feud will continue, too, it seems. And that's probably good, since the finish was so poor and there's really nothing to do with Kane after he and Bryan are done.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Overall? It had its ups and its downs. It opened strong, reached its peak right in the middle, and was hit and miss all night long, really, including during some of the matches. Even for part of the Shield/Evolution match, it wasn't spectacular -- although in that case, it made up for it. The PPV wasn't bad by any stretch, but it had one terrible match that soured it, and only one really good one.
The Good: The Shield/Evolution. Most of the main event. Big E losing his title. The WeeLC match (apparently).
The Bad: Cena/Wyatt. Still no WWE Network outside America. Finish to main event. Rusev squash match. Referees and commentators being unaware of how wrestling works. Cena/Wyatt (it was that bad).
Match of the Night: The Shield vs. Evolution.
Prediction Score: 6/7 on main card. 6/8 counting the Pre-Show.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
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I didn't get to watch the Extreme Rules pre-show, given that I'm in a country that isn't American and therefore WWE doesn't care about me, but from what I heard about it, there's a very good chance it wound up being the second or third best match of the night. That's ... embarrassing, WWE. You make a joke match that unironically managed to outshine some of your main eventers? That's disgraceful and something that you should really take a look at. Anyway, El Torito beat Hornswoggle in the inaugural WeeLC match, which was just a no-DQ match with little people wrestlers. Because Vince McMahon finds it funny, I wager. I guess the new Leprechaun isn't coming out for a little while longer, otherwise Hornswoggle would have won.
<color=red>Triple Threat Elimination Match: Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro (with Paul Heyman)
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb644.jpg
The opening to the actual Extreme Rules was the triple threat elimination match between two rivals and a random guy who is in there because of no reason in particular, actually. Whatever. All three are good in the ring, and that's why they started us off. This was probably a wise decision. This had a good deal of close calls and big spots, although I can't for the life of me why any wrestlers were saving their opponents. One that sticks out in my mind was Swagger getting the Patriot Lock on RVD, but Cesaro hit a flying uppercut to break it. Why? The commentators suggested that it might be because Cesaro didn't want Swagger to win, but ... that isn't how elimination matches work. After Swagger was pinned, the commentators thought it was over until Lilian announced that Swagger was eliminated. It seemed like they genuinely forgot that it was an elimination match. Also, it was a no-DQ bout, as RVD eventually got a trash can involved, which factored into the finale. Cesaro won after RVD missed a big spot, because in all honesty, nobody was winning this match but Cesaro. He's the only one in the middle of a push.
Match Rating: ****
Note: Rob Van Dam did his "R.V.D." taunt three times in this match. Anyone else sick of that?
R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev (with Lana)
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb641.jpg
The highly touted handicap match that was supposed to further cement Rusev as a monster heel ... didn't do that at all. In fact, it wasn't even a handicap match. During Truth and Woods' entrances, Woods gets knocked out but Rusev before the bell. It winds up being a one-on-one match, the likes of which we've seen seemingly countless times over the last month. Rusev wins easily and this whole "feud" hopefully comes to its conclusion. What a drag. Seeing Rusev fight off two men at once would have been something worth seeing.
Match Rating: *
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E vs. Bad News Barrett
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb640.jpg
I still don't understand the appeal of Big E except as an enforcer. He worked perfectly with Ziggler for that reason. He's big and strong but his in-ring work is poor and limited, and his mic skills are also lacking. It's for this reason that his championship reign has been pretty awful. He couldn't even get a feud written for him prior to this PPV. Barrett is basically the opposite, and as such makes a perfect person to challenge and win the title.
There are two good spots in this match, both involving high-risk moves to outside the ring, but most of it is about as good as you'd see on Raw every week. In fact, some of the matches put on during the tournament to determine the number one contender were better. Barrett winds up winning the title after a Bullhammer, and will hopefully breathe new life into the Intercontinental Championship. I wondered at this point if WWE would want to British champions to leave Extreme Rules, perhaps putting Paige's reign into doubt.
Match Rating: ***
Note: Barrett's "Bad News" gimmick is silly, but it works because of how much he seems to love it. Sincerity trumps cynicism in this case. He's over.
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins) vs. Evolution (Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton)
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb642.jpg
Match. Of. The. Night. By. Far. I open with that because it really was great, even if WWE continues to be incredibly sloppy with how the in-ring rules apply when more than two people are wrestling. There's a brawl before the match, prior to the bell even being rung, before we kick it off with some great action. Evolution carries most of the match, beating up Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for long stretches, before The Shield begins to get the upper hand. Roman Reigns comes and dominates, and then both high-fliers hit huge spots. Orton, HHH, Ambrose, and Rollins all eventually wind up in the crowd, which results in Rollins hitting the spot of the night: a leap from a balcony onto the other three men down below. Reigns and Batista lie in the ring for minutes on end before Reigns eventually hits a spear for the win. This feud is sure to continue.
Match Rating: *****
Note: This match was so good that anything that came after it was doomed to fail. The crowd was out of it, and so was I. It turns out that this would have been the best way to conclude the PPV, just in terms of the quality of match.
Note 2: Since Batista's return, he's put over Bryan at WrestleMania and Reigns at Extreme Rules. Now shut up.
<color=red>Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan)
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb639.jpg
What a disappointing match. I'll admit that steel cage matches just don't do anything for me anymore, but this was a disaster of a match. Cena dominated for its entirety, but the story went that, with Harper and Rowan at ringside, he couldn't escape. Both men get involved frequently. One of them gets thrown into the ring. But Cena dominates and dominates. Bray Wyatt has never looked so weak. It was boring, repetitive, and did nothing for anyone. And this is what followed a fantastic match.
The finish came with Cena having knocked out everyone, about to escape from the cage door, when the lights go out. When they come back on, a kid is standing there. His voice is artificially distorted and he sings a bit of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." Wyatt -- who seconds earlier was out cold -- sneaks up and his Sister Abigail for the win. Creepy finish, sure, but this is getting silly. This was a well-told story, but at this point it's getting ridiculous. The feud continues, but Wyatt looks weaker than ever and nowhere near a credible threat to Cena -- which is the exact opposite of what should have happened.
Match Rating: *
Divas Championship Match: Tamina Snuka vs. Paige
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb643.jpg
It's with this match that I get my first wrong prediction of the main Extreme Rules show. I picked Tamina to win, with the contingency that she'd win with AJ's help. AJ didn't return tonight. Paige and Tamina fought for a few minutes before Paige won. Well, she won twice, because the referee actually counted to three once during the match, only for it to be ignored for some reason. The early seconds of the match were sloppy, but eventually the two Divas figured it out and put on a decent bout. Interestingly, Paige's best match since being called up to the main roster has still been against Aksana, and it took place on Smackdown. Let that sink in.
Match Rating: ***
<color=red>Extreme Rules Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/clipb645.jpg
I was with this match until about midway through when the two competitors went backstage. Kane winds up being knocked out and has to be taken back to the ring on forklift. It was too silly. He did punch out a car window, though, which looked like it genuinely hurt. After they get back in the ring, it was okay for a little while until random people with fire extinguishers showed up at ringside. They shouldn't be easily visible, right? You know, then, what Kane will be doing. He sets the two sides -- but not the middle -- of a table on fire, and is then sent through it. He's not even on fire, but a mere two seconds after the fall, a man with a fire extinguisher puts it all out, and continues spraying Kane for what seems like forever. Kane immediately got up (and wasn't on fire), got in the ring, an was still being sprayed. He was blinded when Bryan hit the flying knee for the victory. Poor finish, poor middle section, but the rest was pretty brutal. Decent end, but still nowhere near as good as the Evolution/Shield match from earlier. This feud will continue, too, it seems. And that's probably good, since the finish was so poor and there's really nothing to do with Kane after he and Bryan are done.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Overall? It had its ups and its downs. It opened strong, reached its peak right in the middle, and was hit and miss all night long, really, including during some of the matches. Even for part of the Shield/Evolution match, it wasn't spectacular -- although in that case, it made up for it. The PPV wasn't bad by any stretch, but it had one terrible match that soured it, and only one really good one.
The Good: The Shield/Evolution. Most of the main event. Big E losing his title. The WeeLC match (apparently).
The Bad: Cena/Wyatt. Still no WWE Network outside America. Finish to main event. Rusev squash match. Referees and commentators being unaware of how wrestling works. Cena/Wyatt (it was that bad).
Match of the Night: The Shield vs. Evolution.
Prediction Score: 6/7 on main card. 6/8 counting the Pre-Show.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you wish to be notified whenever I post something new, please join this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
For an archive of all my previous WWE reviews, please go <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.846764-Marters-WWE-Reviews-Archive>here.
Talk to me on the Twitter, <url=https://twitter.com/martertweet>@martertweet.
