WWE Extreme Rules 2021: 5 mistakes that were made 

The "most extreme WWE pay-per-view of the year" was anything but and this year's Extreme Rules will now be remembered as the show with the strangest of finishes to the Universal Championship match.

The show itself contained some impressive matches as The Usos and The Street Profits put on a barnburner. The show even boasted some impressive women's matches from some of the best female wrestlers in the company, but at the same time, there were several parts of the show that let down the overall storylines.

The following list looks at some of the biggest booking mistakes that WWE made last night at Extreme Rules.

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#5. Why wasn't Brock Lesnar part of Extreme Rules this year?

Brock Lesnar challenges Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel next month, but the Tribal Chief had to get past Finn Balor before he could look ahead to his match in The Middle East.

Lesnar's match with Reigns wasn't made a Universal Championship match since Balor could have won the Championship last night, which is why it was expected that Lesnar would interfere in the match. Reigns asked Paul Heyman several times about whether Lesnar would be in attendance at Extreme Rules and he declared that he wouldn't be.

It would have been interesting to see The Beast make some kind of cameo appearance in order to make it seem as though Heyman was playing both sides. It's believed that this was an earlier idea, which is why Lesnar seemingly told his former advocate that he would be at SummerSlam, but Heyman didn't pass the message onto Roman Reigns.

Instead, Reigns was able to pin Finn Balor clean and end what has been a dominant run for The Demon as Lesnar wasn't anywhere to be seen. The finish to the Universal Championship match at Extreme Rules could have been so much better if there was a way for Lesnar to interfere and set up a future showdown with Balor as well, but WWE obviously decided to go with a very different plan.

#4. Alexa Bliss should have won the Women's Championship at Extreme Rules

Alexa Bliss challenged Charlotte Flair for the RAW Women's Championship last night at Extreme Rules, but the Twisted Goddess came up short. Flair was able to brush aside her latest challenger and to add insult to injury, she then ripped Lilly apart and left Bliss in tears inside the ring.

This was the first time Bliss was able to challenge for a Women's Championship in almost two years and after the work that she has done throughout the pandemic, a Championship would have been the perfect reward.

Bliss was once one of the most dominant female wrestlers in the company and in her prime she would have defeated Charlotte Flair. But last night at Extreme Rules, Flair was the one who came out on top to show that Bliss isn't on her level with this new persona.

The only silver lining is the fact that Bliss will definitely be looking for a rematch in the near future, since Flair destroyed her best friend.

#3. Liv Morgan deserved to make her main show debut at Extreme Rules

Liv Morgan faced off against Carmella as part of last night's kickoff show ahead of Extreme Rules in what was a solid match between the two women.

Ahead of the show, there was a lot of talk about this being Liv's first singles pay-per-view match, since her match against Natalya at WrestleMania was relegated to the kickoff show.

Sadly, last night didn't allow Morgan to make her debut on the main card since the former Riott Squad member's match was once again relegated to the kick-off show.

Morgan has been underutilized throughout her time in WWE. The fact that she is still yet to have a singles match on the main card of a pay-per-view four years after she debuted on the main roster shows just how much she has been overlooked by the company.

#2. What is going on with Bobby Lashley, why was he pinned at Extreme Rules?

Bobby Lashley was pinned by Big E last night at Extreme Rules to cost his team the match. The former WWE Champion teamed up against Omos and AJ Styles against The New Day and surprisingly it was Lashley who took the pin for his team.

After just how much Lashley has been built up as The All Mighty over the past year, it's hard to comprehend the fact that he has now been pinned in almost every match he has had since losing the WWE Championship.

Big E cashing in his contract and pinning Lashley made sense because he was caught off guard, but last night at Extreme Rules, AJ Styles could have taken the pin to give The New Day the win instead.

Despite being pinned by Big E, Lashley was then able to challenge for the WWE Championship in a match that takes place tonight on RAW, but once again makes little sense.

#1. What was that finish to the Universal Championship match at Extreme Rules?

Roman Reigns fought The Demon at Extreme Rules and despite the whole build being about how The Demon had never been pinned in WWE, Reigns was able to do just that.

The match ended after The Demon was able to return to life after a shocking assault at the hands of The Bloodline. After putting Reigns through a table, he climbed to the top rope, ready to deliver the Coup De Grace, before he was betrayed by the ring.

The rope collapsed and it sent Balor to the ground, where he was seen clutching his leg. This landing allowed Reigns to deliver a spear and pick up the win.

There were so many options that the company had when it came to the ending of the match at Extreme Rules, including Brock Lesnar and The Usos but instead, the company chose to turn the top rope heel.