10 Surprising moments from Extreme Rules 2018

Going into the 2018 Extreme Rules pay-per-view expectations were extremely low, as WWE has been booking snooze fests for the past few months that never seemed to excite. But the creative team managed to keep fans engaged for the show's runtime, and they did that by using one tool in their unused arsenal, a plethora of shocking moments.

Some of these moments were truly surprising to see, while some were annoying to watch, and the bad really did not take away from the overall quality of the show, which was oddly good. From shocking wins to unexpected heel turns, Extreme Rules 2018 was what WWE needed to get fans invested in the product once again, as Summerslam is right around the corner.

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#1 The B Team become 'the team.'

A shocking win.

Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas are two individuals that went from future Wolrd Champion blue chips to dark match jobbers over their long tenure in the WWE. Therefore, their little Heath Slater-Ryhno cinderella story felt genuine throughout the past few months, as these men were loyal enough to stick around for a moment they never thought they would get, and at Extreme Rules, they rightfully got that moment.

After Matt Hardy was pushed into an unsuspecting Bray Wyatt and knocked him out of the ring, Dallas pounced and delivered his finisher for the win. Whether or not you think this is the right decision for the tag team division, as two former jobbers at the helm of anything doesn't end in character evolution, but it results in WWE getting bored and moving on. Here's to hoping Axel and Dallas can hold WWE's attention long enough.

#2 Nakamura wins the United States Title in quick fashion

Well, that was quick.

Shinsuke Nakamura is a genius, a heel genius that used one element from his arsenal to end his match with Jeff Hardy in a way no one could have predicted. After making their way down to the ring ready to start the match, Hardy and Nakamura were waiting for the bell to be rung to start the match, but Nakamura had other plans in mind. A low blow from Nakamura to Hardy while the referee's back turned stunned the former US Champion and the crowd, after that it was all simple, Nakamura hit a jaw-shattering Kinshasa and won his first main roster title.

This was one of those WTF moments as WWE did something they rarely do, which is thinking, innovating and executing a perfect booking strategy, as fans already saw Hardy vs. Nakamura on Smackdown Live, and this encounter would not feel as fresh as it was pegged to be. What was surprising is that Hardy lost in almost ten seconds or fewer and Nakamura got to flex his heelish antics and look like a total genius.

#3 Randy Orton returns

Heel Orton returns.

This was a moment no one could have called, as there were not many rumors of Orton returning so soon and that too at Extreme Rules. WWE completely surprised the crowd here as Orton strutted his way down to the squared circle, and new US Champion Shinsuke Nakamura decided to retreat as he thought what many knew, Orton was going to RKO him through the mat. But that did not happen, as Orton looked like a different man, a man that many were calling for WWE to bring back, a heel Orton.

And WWE seamlessly delivered as Orton emulated Nakamura's low blow by delivering another to an already broken Hardy. This was a bright spot you just don't see WWE doing these days as they managed to do three things here, make Nakamura look like a crafty heel, Orton as the heel fans hated to love, and Hardy as the sympathetic babyface that was continually knocked down. Excellent writing, proper execution and good possibilities for Smackdown's midcard.

#4 Brock Lesnar given an ultimatum

Come back or get out, a message by Kurt Angle.

Kurt Angle told the world at Extreme Rules that Brock Lesnar just plain refuses to step into a WWE ring and defend his Universal Title, as Lesnar's contractual issues and nonchalant attitude has reached its breaking point in WWE. Therefore, according to the Raw GM, if Lesnar does not show up on Monday Night Raw after Extreme Rules, his Universal Title reign is over, as he would be stripped of his championship.

Finally, WWE has addressed this ongoing matter, as Raw was starting to suffer without a World Champion at the helm, and now this announcement by Angle offers some insight on the Brock Lesnar issue.

However, it comes as a surprise that Lesnar would possibly be stripped of the Universal Title, as many predicted WWE would want to keep the title on Lesnar as he prepares to stepped into the Octagon to face UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, as it would bring more exposure to the WWE. Nevertheless, one can only tune into Raw to find out what WWE is actually trying to do, as they build an interesting narrative that could go several directions.

#5 Asuka losses again

Carmella keeps raking up victories while her title reign continues to sink.

While many pundits would say Carmella is a strong heel Women's Champion, the truth is that she is terrible Women's Champion, as her persona and booking belong in a pre Women's 'evolution' era, as her over-reliance on James Ellsworth's antics to get the job done is a tired, overdone trope that has become stale.

And while that may sound harsh, the Smackdown Live Women's title feels like the Divas Title at this point as the poor wrestling, WWE's poor booking and their poor handling of a world-class athlete in Asuka is just astounding.

While that may sound like a regular complaint of how this 'buries' Asuka, it really does, as losing to a superstar that has shaky credibility is never beneficial to anyone. Asuka was one of the very few women's wrestlers that transcended the women's division, as her overall badassery was on full force down in NXT, but here she's just another wrestler and that shocking. As a match between Asuka and Ronda Rousey a few months ago would have been believable enough to main event WrestleMania.

#6 Roman losses clean

A great match that was capped off with a vicious spear.

'Many like to hate Roman Reigns because its cool to hate Roman Reigns,' how many times have you heard a WWE employee echoed those words? So for a long time, that statement riled up the fans even more, but after witnessing the man giving everything he's got to put on entertaining matches, improve on the mic and even embrace the hate, the Roman Reigns hate train is slowly losing steam in the opinion of many.

But at Extreme Rules, Reigns once again was booed like crazy, and Bobby Lashley became a valiant hero for one night only via default. And WWE made the right decision by capitalizing on that heat to make Lashley a star once again, as many are backing Lashley to put Brock Lesnar down finally, and WWE made that statement true by giving Lashley a clean victory over an overconfident Roman Reigns.

Reigns was in control of the entire match and obliterated Lashley on many occasions, but one unsuspecting spear out of nowhere from Lashley gave him bragging rights and left Reigns frustrated. This was the right call by WWE as they try and build up their main stars on Raw.

#7 Team Hell No's reunion cut short

Really wanted to hear these two fight over who's the "tag team champions."

It almost feels as if Daniel Bryan on a retirement tour as he has had dream matches with the likes of Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe already. Furthermore, throw in his reunion with Kane and there is solid evidence of that theory being true, as to why would WWE stuff so much narrative on a matter of months.

And for what its worth fans were all in on Bryan's moving narratives as witnessing the former WWE Champion have a run filled with exciting matches and possibilities is intriguing, and many thought that Team Hell No would continue their run as the hottest team in WWE. But WWE had other plans as The Bludgpoen Brothers had destroyed Kane and Bryan earlier in the show, thus leaving their scheduled championship match in doubt.

But Bryan is the ulmate underdog as he went on without Kane who later returned to help his Team Hell No partner, but with a cast on his damaged leg, there was no chance of any success for the duo, as Harper and Rowan retained their titles. This probably leaves Brayn going on a solo run again while Kane resumes his duties outside of the squared circle, but one would've though WWE would take full advantage of this white-hot duo.

#8 Kevins Owens becomes the crash test dummy

Owens is a selfless performer.

Kevin Owens had one option at Extreme Rules in his match against Braun Strowman, run or fight, and for the most part, the former prizefighter did both, as he took the fight to Braun early by trying to knock the monster down, but Strowman was not having it as he unleashed a fury on KO. However, Owens had other plans as he handcuffed Strowman to the ring ropes before doing a DX crotch chop and made his way over the massive steel cage, and for those who have followed Strowmans career, a simple handcuff isn't going to restrain the behemoth.

And that proved to be true, as Strowman broke the handcuff and proceeded to chase Owens up the cage at a freakishly fast speed, from there on out there was on one option, Owens was getting choke slammed through a table, and for the love of God it happened, Owens went crashing down painfully through the announcers table. This was possibly the most extreme moment of the night as Owens once again proved himself to be a selfless as a wrestler that is willing to entertain, as he put he body through hell to garner a loud reaction.

#9 It's not Rusev Day

AJ Styles is one of the best in the world, but it was high time a new WWE Champion was crowned.

When the B Team and Shinsuke Nakamura won championships at Extreme Rules, many were convinced that WWE would try and pull off one more upset in the pay-per-view and was Rusev leaving as the new WWE Champion. But as WWE fans tend to get too hopeful sometimes, being over wishful can ruin your perception of the show, as WWE doesn't give fans everything that they want, and Rusev becoming WWE Champion was one of those moments. However, Styles and Rusev put on a great match that overcame crowd fatigue, as their wrestling skills were on full display.

But after Aiden English had indirectly cost Rusev the match via an exposed turnbuckle, Styles picked up the win with a huge phenomenal forearm. Now while Styles one of the greatest of all time, his second WWE Title run hasn't been as entertaining as his first, thus making him a bit boring , and Rusev was the remedy to his character limbo as "the Bulgarian brute" stealing the WWE Title from him would've given his character more motivation than it already has. But WWE went the predictable route, and that is never interesting.

#10 The IC Title main events the pay-per-view

A decision that would be unlikely a few years ago.

Over the course of this year, many have become accustomed to witnessing the main event of any pay-per-view being Roman Reigns in action, as the WWE Title was sidestepped for "the big dog" on many occasions to the irate of many fans. But at Extreme Rules, the WWE Title match was not the main event match due to the IC Championship taking that honor. Now, this is a huge step for WWE, as when was the last time a mid-card title main evented any pay-per-view, but it was also a bad decision oddly enough.

As witnessing a match that has been seen a thousand times before, it not appealing enough to sit through whole thirty minutes, but with the wealth of competition involved, this Iron Man match was great for what it was. Rollins, Ziggler, and McIntyre tried everything they could to make this match feel awesome.