Top 10 WWE Extreme Rules moments

Outside of the ‘Big 5’ pay-per-views, Extreme Rules is traditionally one of WWE’s most entertaining shows of the year, with multiple stipulation matches and title changes taking place at the event over the last decade.

The 2018 show, which will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 15 July, will be the 10th since the PPV series began in 2009, but what has been your most memorable moment in Extreme Rules history?

John Cena and Brock Lesnar had a classic match eight years in the making at the 2012 event, but did any spots in their brutal encounter stand out as one of the best that the PPV has ever seen?

Three years earlier, CM Punk cashed in his Money In The Bank contract in 2009 to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after Jeff Hardy's match against Edge, so where does that rank in the PPV’s greatest moments?

Without any further ado, let’s count down our top 10 moments that have taken place on the one night of the year where WWE goes ‘extreme’.

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#10 The Shield wins all the gold

The Shield began to take over at Extreme Rules 2013

At the 2013 Extreme Rules pay-per-view, all three members of The Shield won titles for the first time since they were called up to WWE’s main roster.

Dean Ambrose was the first “Hound of Justice” to claim gold on the night, defeating Kofi Kingston to begin his 351-day reign with the United States Championship, while Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were victorious against Daniel Bryan and Kane in a tornado tag match to win the Tag Team Championships.

One month on from The Shield’s first WrestleMania match, where they picked up a statement victory over the super-team trio of Randy Orton, Sheamus and The Big Show, it was made clearer than ever following their Extreme Rules triumphs that WWE saw Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns as the undisputed future of the company.

#9 The WeeLC match

Hornswoggle vs. El Torito was an incredible match!

When WWE announced that Hornswoggle would go one-on-one with El Torito on the 2014 Extreme Rules kickoff show, it’s safe to assume that nobody would have expected their match to go down as one of the most entertaining in the PPV’s history.

But, with 3MB assisting Hornswoggle and Los Matadores helping out El Torito, this chaotic WeeLC match was full of incredible spots, earning all seven guys a “This is awesome!” chant from the New Jersey audience.

If you haven’t seen the match before, it’s well worth watching the video below!

#8 Samoa Joe wins Fatal 5-Way

Samoa Joe became the #1 contender for the Universal title

Samoa Joe’s call-up to WWE’s main roster in January 2017 didn’t exactly go according to plan, largely because he injured the man he was supposed to be feuding with, Seth Rollins, on his Monday Night Raw debut.

Over the next few months, “The Destroyer” found himself in and out of storylines with Rollins and Sami Zayn but it wasn’t clear exactly what direction he was heading in as a member of the main roster – until, of course, he won a Fatal 5-Way main event at Extreme Rules 2017.

The victory, which earned him another main event at the Great Balls of Fire PPV against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, was the biggest milestone moment in Joe’s WWE career so far.

#7 Roman Reigns’ spear on The Big Show

The spotlight was on Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules 2015

Roman Reigns received the most volatile fan reaction of his career – up until that point, at least – when he faced Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 31.

One month later, “The Big Dog” silenced many of his doubters by producing one of his best career performances in a Last Man Standing match against The Big Show at Extreme Rules 2015.

In the closing stages of the match, the Shield member jumped over the steel steps at ringside and sent Show crashing through an announce desk with an almighty spear.

#6 John Cena hits Brock Lesnar with a steel chain

John Cena defeated Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules 2012

One of the most intense matches of WWE's PG era took place between John Cena and the returning Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules 2012.

The most memorable moment of the blood-fest main event came when Lesnar launched himself over the steel steps, which were positioned in the centre of the ring, and towards Cena on the edge of the ring apron.

Unbeknown to “The Beast”, his opponent had a steel chain wrapped around his fist, which he used to strike an off-guard Lesnar in the head (07:00 in the video below).

#5 The Shield pick up a huge win over Evolution

One month later, Seth Rollins turned against The Shield

Before Seth Rollins started swinging steel and turning heel, he was on the same page with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns in their battle against the reunited Evolution at Extreme Rules 2014.

The match, won by The Shield after Reigns hit his trademark spear on Batista, was a milestone victory for the trio, who had shown signs of dissension in the months leading up to this rivalry.

You can check out the full match, which also featured a high-risk Rollins leap from a section of the audience, in the video below.

#4 Jeff Hardy and Edge fall through a ladder

The 2009 Extreme Rules main event featured lots of crazy spots

In the main event of the inaugural 2009 Extreme Rules pay-per-view, Jeff Hardy defeated Edge in a legendary ladder match to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

As you would expect from two men who have done battle in several ladder matches over the years, this one-on-one battle featured lots of insane moments, including Edge being thrown front-first onto a ladder that had been placed upside down next to the ropes.

Another memorable moment came when both men climbed a ladder outside the ring and sent each other crashing through a different ladder, which had been balancing between the ring apron and the barricade (02:00 on the video below).

#3 CM Punk cashes in on Jeff Hardy

CM Punk won an impromptu title match at Extreme Rules 2009

Following the main event between Jeff Hardy and Edge at Extreme Rules 2009, CM Punk successfully cashed in his Money In The Bank contract for the second year in a row to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

“The Best In The World” struck Jeff with two GTSs, getting a 2-count with the first and a 3-count with the second, to win a match which lasted just 62 seconds (03:00 on the video below).

The two men would go on to battle at the next three pay-per-views, with Jeff regaining the title at Night of Champions before losing it back to Punk in the main event of SummerSlam.

#2 Daniel Bryan’s diving headbutt from the top of a forklift

Daniel Bryan defeated Kane at Extreme Rules 2014

At Extreme Rules 2014, Daniel Bryan successfully defended his newly won WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Kane in the main event of the show.

The match featured lots of unique spots, including Kane falling through a flaming table at ringside, while Bryan even drove a forklift to the ring from the backstage area with his former Team Hell No tag partner balancing on top.

When “The Big Red Machine” was dropped back into the ring, D-Bry climbed to the top of the forklift and landed an incredible diving headbutt onto his opponent from the top of the vehicle.

#1 Thumbtacks return to WWE

Chris Jericho lost to Dean Ambrose in an Asylum match

In all honesty, the Asylum match between Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho at Extreme Rules 2016 felt, at the time, too long (26 minutes and 21 seconds in total) for a non-title mid-show match which had little-to-nothing riding on it.

However, looking back, it’s hard not to appreciate the multiple memorable moments that took place during the match, including our favourite moment in the history of the Extreme Rules pay-per-view: the thumbtack spot.

It looked at times as if either one of the two men could end up on the tacks, which had been scattered on the ring canvas by Ambrose. In the end, it was Y2J who would spend the rest of the night having tacks (69 of them, to be precise) removed from his body after being thrown onto them by his opponent (08:17 on the video below).