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Extreme Rules has come and gone. Last night, Extreme Rules took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in front of a rowdy, raucous crowd that was on the edge of their seats for most of the time. The pay-per-view was a fun show filled with thrilling moments and unexpected surprises.
Some matches were let-downs. The list includes Carmella Vs Asuka, the Bludgeon Brothers Vs Team Hell No, and Finn Balor Vs Baron Corbin. Asuka's aura has been tarnished, she is now just a shadow of the monster that she was in NXT. Carmella put on another boring affair and her tyrannical reign continues.
There were high expectations heading into the SmackDown Live tag team championship match, but the match failed to live up to expectations. The Bludgeons attacked Team Hell No backstage before the match to cover up for Kane's legitimate ankle injury. Bryan was forced to go at it alone, he took a great beating at the hands of the Bludgeons but he did make a heroic comeback. Kane entered the fray during the end of the match. Kane looked really bad and his work was terrible to watch due to injury. Bryan taking the pinfall was another low. Finn Balor Vs Baron Corbin wasn't that good either.
Shinsuke Nakamura winning the United States Championship was awesome.His pre-match assault on Jeff Hardy showcased his character work perfectly. Randy Orton's return just added more intrigue to the United States Championship scene. WWE killed two birds with one stone with Nakamura winning his first championship and Orton turning heel. I think we're headed for a triple threat match for the US Championship at Summerslam.
Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns put on a great match and Lashley winning clean over Reigns was a huge surprise. I was expecting Reigns to win and receive a handshake from Lashley but that didn't happen. Lashley looks set to be the next contender to the Universal Championship.
The B-Team's surprise win was shocking, to say the least, but I don't think that they'll be credible champions. Alexa Bliss Vs Nia Jax was good, but they should've been given more time. AJ Styles put on another great match but Rusev winning would've been a huge moment. Braun Strowman vs Kevin Owens was a hardcore match and Strowman throwing Owens off the top of the cage was an OMG! moment. Seth Rollins Vs Dolph Ziggler main-eventing the show solidified the Intercontinental Championship as Raw's top championship but undermined the prestige and importance of the WWE championship. Seth Rollins Vs Dolph Ziggler was the match of the night.
Overall, Extreme Rules was a good show but it could've been better if WWE had added stipulations to more of the card's matches. Bobby Lashley Vs Roman Reigns and AJ Styles Vs Rusev would've been twice as good if they had stipulations. Samoa Joe, The Miz and Elias were sorely missed as well.
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