WWE Extreme Rules is over and I am very late in sending out this long due article. I apologize for the delay and dwelve right into the matter without moaning about it much further (I have been doing it for the past one week.)
To be frank, Extreme Rules was not that Extreme! But in a PG rated show we could expect nothing more. Even the moment when Ambrose planted Jericho on the thumbtacks was mediocre in my mind when I compare it to the old extreme stuffs WWE used to do. There was no show-stealers, there was no jaw dropping moments, (except for the Ambrose-Jericho bit which too was a result of surprise on WWE actually going through it.) and most of all there was nothing Extreme!
As a fan, it is sad to see the brand delivering short on expectations time and time again. The storylines were well wrought out going into the PPV, but the way it was executed was really bland and stale. Without further discussion let me get straight to the analysis.
Big Cass segment
WWE has been booking Big Cass very strong in the recent weeks. Considering how Vince is high on Big Cass, that is to be expected. And WWE making the veteran tag team of Dudleys take the fall is also understandable as the Dudleys doesn’t need a win behind them to make them look strong.
But the flip side with booking Big Cass this strong is that it undermines Enzo’s usefulness. Enzo's untimely injury has been a hindrance to WWE. Their momentum and the plans are at halt. By trying to book Big Cass this strong, WWE is looking to get that momentum flowing. But one might wonder what use is Enzo to Big Cass if he can fend off The Dudley Boyz, the baddest tag team on the planet, single handedly.
Once again WWE’s ambitious booking of Big Cass has ruined things. If the Dudleys can’t even take on Big Cass alone, how can we expect them to pick up a win when Enzo is at his side? In an effort to book Big Cass as powerful as possible they have just undermined the importance of the whole feud.
Didn’t it occur to you creative geniuses to let some other team apart from the Dudleys to take the fall?
Verdict: 2/5
Baron Corbin defeats Dolph Ziggler with a low blow
Where would I start with this?
It was a foregone conclusion that Ziggler was going to lose this match. Every booking made prior to the PPV pointed towards it. But, a low blow! Seriously!
Dolph can sell anything. He is one of the best sellers in the business today. This was a No-DQ match that aired on pre-show to boot it. That alone hints at how seriously WWE is taking this feud.
With such a stipulation as No-DQ, everyone would expect the fight to have something interesting. The best interesting thing WWE Creative could come up with is to let Baron Corbin, one of the most despicable heels in the roster, to deliver a low blow. Bravo! That solves it, ain’t it? What happened to those chairs and others stuffs lying under the ring?
This match not only betrayed the concept of a Extreme Rules match, but also undermined the credibility of Baron Corbin. WWE had a great platform to establish Corbin as a great heel, but they just wasted it by booking the match so thoughtlessly.
Verdict: 2/5
Gallows and Anderson defeat The Usos in a Tornado Tag Match
The match in itself was good with various high spots and the usage of a ring bell. The good thing about the booking of this match was that Gallows and Anderson went over clean against an established team like The Usos, The booking of this match neither hurt The Usos or Gallows and Anderson.
That being said, I felt that WWE could have booked Gallows and Anderson a little strong here. Considering their reputation from NJPW, the match was relatively less extreme. But, the usage of Tornado Tag rules, which has not been seen for a long time was sensible thinking. And the placement of the match in the card was also great when we consider both teams were set to interfere in the main event.
Verdict: 3/5
Rusev becomes the United States Champion
Kalisto’s reign as a US champion has seen some relatively unimpressive booking. Though Kalisto has been defending his championship against seasoned veterans and guys bigger than him, none of it created much impact and the championship was beginning to lack its appeal.
Making Rusev the champion on the other hand works wonders. The championship now has some attention and we all know that Rusev, with Lana beside him, can be the perfect monster heel WWE currently needs. This also opens up a lot of possibilities for the booking department to play around with. Lana can generate the heat Rusev will need to carry on his run, and the challenger will benefit from that heat.
The way Rusev completely destroyed Kalisto in the process of capturing the title really piled up some heat on him. Rusev has been careful to let that heat remain by using his heel self to a great extent lately. With a star like Rusev, WWE can bring in new talents and try to enhance the championship value. Titus will be the next probable guy to feud with Rusev.
If you also notice the match took place during the show instead of taking place in the pre-show like in previous PPVs. That is what a good heel like Rusev can bring to the table. Though Ryback tried hard, he couldn’t generate that much legitimate heat like Rusev.
Verdict: 4/5
New Day retain their championship
To be honest, this decision was a head-scratcher to me. Honestly The New Day doesn’t need the titles. The trio has been the most entertaining part of WWE of late and they can do that without the titles.
On the other hand, The Vaudevillains needed the win. There is a speculation that it is due to the backstage heat they have generated by causing Enzo’s concussion that made this decision. It was an accident and it should be viewed as one.
The Vaudevillains are the heel faction that needed to pile up the heat. Imagine the amount of heat they would have gathered if they had beat a fan-favorite team like New Day. WWE could have started a feud between New Day and The Vaudevillains and played hot potato with the titles until the team of Gallows and Anderson were ready to take the title away.
But, now it looks like WWE is pushing Gallows and Anderson to that slot. The problem is that there seems to be no fire behind this new feud.
Verdict: 2.5/5
Miz retains his IC title
Honestly, there is nothing to complain about this match except to say that it was not extreme. Put four of WWE top workers in the ring and give them enough time to showcase themselves, you have a match of the event.
Miz retaining the title was the safe way to go about. We could argue about which Superstar deserved it more, but Miz losing the championship this soon would have hurt the title. Let Miz feud with few more Superstars before losing it to a returning Neville, Zayn or Cesaro. Owens is not an option as he is clearly moving closer to the main event level.
Cesaro, on the other hand, needs to spend a little more time on the midcard. The same goes for Zayn, as he is relatively new to the roster.
The match was really well-planned and the finish was exemplary. Miz has piled up more heat on him by stealing the title at the end and the rivalry between Zayn and Owens is still burning. Overall, this is a really good booking and WWE needs to do this kind of booking more.
Verdict: 4.5/5
Dean Ambrose wins the first-ever Asylum match
Taking into account that the match was designed after Ambrose, it was not much of a surprise that Ambrose won the match. The real surprise factor of the match was that almost every weapon placed in the Asylum was used including thumbtacks, except for Mitch Jr.
Ambrose thrives in these kind of matches and Jericho has clearly more experience in these kind of matches than anyone on the roster put together. Jericho’s willingness to accept a powerslam on thumbtacks made this match memorable. To be frank, this was the only extreme match of the night.
That being said, the match was not that extreme and the PG constraints toned it down understandably. But, still this is Extreme Rules for god’s sake and WWE should take off PG for this one PPV atleast.
Verdict: 3.5/5
Charlotte retains her championship
Let’s get this thing out first. Charlotte is not going to lose to anyone except Sasha Banks. WWE has created Charlotte as a great heel with Ric Flair’s help and they would never waste that heat.
That being said, it is sad to see Nattie fall short time and time again. And what is even more frustrating to see is that WWE Creative is back to their old thoughtless booking antics. Come on! After that pathetic imitation of Montreal Screwjob everyone expected WWE Creative to step up when it comes to women’s division. It is not as if they have too many feuds in women’s division to averagely book one match.
Vince is apparently high on Dana Brooke and the women’s division is paying the price for it. I personally think WWE Creative needs to get out of their book of cliche finishes and use their brains to atleast book the women’s division properly.
WWE has been talking about women’s revolution in wrestling and I have not seen that for a long time. That died the moment WrestleMania 32 ended. WWE has been back to their usual lackluster booking of women’s division. Every time we see only one star being booked properly and now it is Charlotte. This is the same old routine WWE has been following for years when it comes to women’s division.
Verdict: 2/5
Roman Reigns retains his championship, Seth Rollins returns
However WWE has booked the show, it ended it on a correct note. Reigns’ run with the title is barely two months old and WWE can’t afford to take it away from him this soon as it would hurt his credibility.
But, the WWE Creative were good enough to realize that the fans would not want Reigns to go over Styles in a clean manner. But that would be the only way this rivalry could come to an end and WWE could concentration building The Club. So WWE found a good middle ground here. The return of Seth Rollins.
The last minute inclusion just saved the total PPV. This provides a way to let Styles go down the card without hurting his momentum and also bring in a huge feud that was unfinished to work on. This way Styles, Rollins and Reigns were all benefited.
The match in itself was great to watch. Roman has been constantly improving his ring-game to compensate for the lack of his mic skills. Though many would argue that it was Styles to carried the match, I feel that we have to give credit where credit is due. Roman has been part of some of the most spectacular matches in recent times. He is really putting in effort to satisfy the crowd.
The interference of The Usos, Gallows and Anderson did play out as expected, which was a sore spot in the match. Styles snapping after Reigns kicked out of the Styles Clash on chair was brilliantly executed. The other thing I marveled was the chemistry Styles and Reigns have established in a short amount of time. The last spear was a testament to it. It was perfectly executed in mid-air, that is saying something.
Verdict: 4/5
