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WWE Extreme Rules was a bit of a head-scratcher. Traditionally built as a show of gimmick matches, this evening's edition of the annual classic failed to compare to its predecessors. Tonight's show featured 4 gimmick matches on the main card and most of those were mild-mannered at best. After all, James Ellsworth in a shark cage is hardly reminiscent of ECW, a fact not lost on the eerily quite Pennsylvania crowd.
The show got off to a lacklustre start; but, picked up beginning with the Bobby Lashley vs Roman Reigns bout, which was a good match with a surprise ending. Kevin Owens vs Braun Strowman featured one of the most insane falls in wrestling history when Owens was thrown from the top of the steel structure to a table outside the ring.
Ronda Rousey showed up and made her presence known in the RAW Women's Championship Match. A.J. Styles successfully defended his WWE Championship against Rusev; but, the match that undoubtedly stole the show was the 30 plus minute Intercontinental Championship Iron Man Match between champion Dolph Ziggler and challenger Seth Rollins.
Join us as we break down the very best, worst, and downright ugliest moments of WWE's Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
The Good - The Intercontinental Championship Match
The Intercontinental Championship Iron Man Match between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins proved to be the classic wrestling fans hoped it would be. The WWE knew it would be too and placed the bout in the prominent main event position to close the show, hardly a small feat especially with Roman Reigns on the card.
This marked the very first time an Intercontinental Championship bout closed a WWE pay-per-view since SummerSlam 1992. Fans may remember the match took place at Wembley Stadium and featured "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith defeating one of the men who made the Iron Man Match famous, Bret "Hitman" Hart.
Ziggler and Rollins paid tribute to Bret Hart in a couple of ways. First, Rollins secured Bret Hart's finisher, the Sharpshooter, on Dolph Ziggler. Like Bret Hart's WrestleMania XII Iron Man Match against Shawn Michaels, the match also initially ended in a time limit draw. That's where the similarities end, however. Michaels vs Hart ended in 60 minutes with zero falls. By the time the clock stopped on tonight's 30 minutes, Rollins and Ziggler combined for a whopping eight falls.
After the match ended in a 4-4 tie, RAW GM Kurt Angle made his way down the entrance ramp and added a sudden death overtime period. Fans were likely expecting more; but, the quick finish was good in that it was aggressive and stood in contrast to the lengthy amount of time the two Superstars just spent wrestling one another.
The bout was exceptionally entertaining and featured multiple high spots and near falls. Both Superstars used their signature moves and finishers; but, ultimately Ziggler utilized what is perhaps his greatest weapon (Drew McIntyre) to secure the victory. The bout was easily the best of the night and arguably a Match of the Year candidate.
The Good - The Kevin Owens/Braun Strowman Finish
At first, the bout got off to a lacklustre start. Kevin Owens did everything in his power to avoid fighting standing toe to toe with Braun Strowman. Strowman, unimpressed by Owens' repeated attempts to avoid physicality, began verbally mocking Owens' "Fight Owens Fight" mantra. Eventually, Owens' machismo won over and he ultimately did get physical with Strowman. That isn't to say he didn't utilize anything he could get his hands on to his own tactical advantage.
Eventually, Owens handcuffed Strowman to the ring rope. The Monster Among Men stood helpless as Owens' continued his physical assault. On his way out of the cage, Owens mocked the behemoth and even blew him a kiss, as he waved goodbye. To add insult to injury, Owens found the time to pay homage to D-X with a crotch chop and finally a "Suck it." He should have known better.
Strowman has toppled ambulances with ease and thrown freighters onto their side, as if they were weightless. Eventually the powerhouse ripped the ring rope off the turnbuckle and with freakish speed chased after Kevin Owens. Owens raced to make his way over the top of the cage; but, Strowman grabbed onto him with his massive paws. Eventually the two met at the very top of the cage and in what will go down in wrestling history as one of the most terrifying high risk falls of all time, Strowman through Owens off the top of the cage.
Owens went through an announcer's table and technically "won" the match, as his feet hit the floor well before Strowman's who gazed upon his victim from the top of the cage. His victory; however, was bittersweet as he left the arena in a stretcher to the sounds of Strowman's mockery.
The Good - Roman Reigns vs Bobby Lashley
Roman Reigns vs Bobby Lashley was the first quality wrestling match of the entire evening. The two Superstars put on a good bout that started out with some mat wrestling and ended with some very aggressive brawling.
Considering these two were up against a hostile audience, they should arguably be given a ribbon for the way they performed. They made the match interesting and grabbed interest out of an audience that simply had none. Reigns brutalized Lashley early on, throwing him outside of the ring in unforgiving fashion. All 280 pounds of Bobby Lashley came crashing down onto his own shoulder as he hit the floor outside of the ring with a sickening thud.
Eventually Lashley would shake off Reigns' assault and execute one of the most beautiful vertical suplexes ever seen on a WWE pay-per-view. Lashley would then take his assault outside the ring and suplex a disoriented Reigns onto the announcer's table.
The match ended in shocking fashion. As Reigns was about to his his finishing Spear on an apparently incapacitated Lashley, he was instead hit by a Bobby Lashley Spear out of nowhere. Lashley capitalized for the pinfall victory.
The match had a big fight feel from the get go, which says a lot about the two men and the intestinal fortitude they each share. Given the current Universal Championship picture it was unclear what either were actually fighting for. Still, even under those dire circumstances Lashley and Reigns were able to perform wonderfully and put on a WrestleMania quality bout.
The Good - Kurt Angle's Ultimatum
Kurt Angle notified Extreme Rules viewers that negotiations between him, Brock Lesnar, and Paul Heyman once again hit a snag. According to Angle, Lesnar does not want to return to the WWE to defend his Universal Championship. That's when a frustrated Angle issued an ultimatum. If Lesnar doesn't show up for tomorrow night's RAW, he will be stripped of the Title. Finally.
What is supposed to be WWE's premier title is seldom defended. Lesnar, as the face of the title and the company, is almost never present. The WWE deserves a fighting champion that is actually present, not an attraction that shows up several times out of the year only when its convenient. The closing match between Rollins and Ziggler sends a clear message to Brock Lesnar, as well as wrestling fans the world over.
Right now, the Intercontinental Championship is the top championship on the top show. If the WWE can make that acknowledgement, here's hoping they can also acknowledge that the two men fighting in that match tonight at Extreme Rules (Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins) deserve serious consideration as WWE's next Universal Champion.
Whatever happens next, it's good that the WWE appears to be taking the first steps in moving away from Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion. In doing so, they will be moving toward a full-time champion. Given the amount of work the WWE Superstars put into their craft, they deserve to be represented by a champion who shares a comparable work ethic.
The Bad - Shinsuke Nakamura vs Jeff Hardy
This match lasted all of about 5 seconds and confounded the LIVE Pittsburgh, PA audience who were silent throughout. First, in what is becoming one of the most painfully predictable events in all of wrestling, Shinsuke Nakamura hit yet another low blow before the match even got underway.
This incapacitated Jeff Hardy, who then succumbed to a running knee to the face. Shinsuke Nakamura pinned Hardy and just like that the whole thing was over. Undoubtedly, Hardy took longer applying his face paint than he did wrestling this match.
It was one of Hardy's worst professional bouts and would have been understandable if he needed to be protected due to injury; however, before the show ended the WWE announced that Hardy intends to invoke his rematch clause on this Tuesday's SmackDown LIVE show. For Hardy fans and detractors, the bout brought back terrible memories of his drunken Impact debacle against Sting, a memory that would be better forgotten.
To add insult to injury, upon the match's conclusion Randy Orton made his way to the ring, as if that's supposed to mean something. It's almost as if the WWE believes anyone still cares, despite almost no character development for Orton over the last 18 months. Fans are just expected to react to an Orton return as if it's still 2005; but, judging by the Pittsburgh fans' lack of enthusiasm, that's simply not happening in 2018. Orton made his way to the ring and once again turned heel by giving Hardy yet another low blow. Yawn.
The Bad - Team Hell No
Undoubtedly there were fans who tuned into Extreme Rules for the novelty involved with Team Hell No's reunion; but, those fans were robbed this evening. Team Hell No were attacked earlier in the evening by The Bludgeon Brothers, who rendered Kane unable to compete for the vast majority of the bout. Instead, fans received a Handicap Match between Daniel Bryan, who fought valiantly against Luke Harper and Eric Rowan; but, ultimately came up short in attaining victory.
Predictably Kane did eventually make his way to the ring; but, only briefly. Despite The Demon's assistance, The Bludgeon Brothers were able to isolate a battered Daniel Bryan for the pinfall victory. Team Hell No deserved better, and so did the fans at home watching, especially after all the advertisements that featured Team Hell No. Fans were robbed of a proper Team Hell No reunion match & there is no word on whether one will ever actually happen anytime soon.
The Bad - The Pittsburgh Crowd
We expected the crowd to interject themselves in the Roman Reigns vs Bobby Lashley match and they did. Chanting everything from, "Rusev Day" to "We Want Beach Balls," the Pittsburgh, PA crowd didn't miss an opportunity to rain on Reigns' parade.
The crowd chants; however, went beyond the Reigns match. In a fantastic Iron Man Match between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins, the crowd couldn't resist counting down with the clock and then making the buzzer sound when time expired.
It's almost as if they were mesmerized by the very presence of time, as if they've never had to set an alarm to get up for anything important a day in their lives. While fans audibly counting down with a clock may seem insignificant on the surface, you may want to ask yourself how many opportunities they have to count down from five in a 30 minute Iron Man Match. The answer is 29 and a classic match between two of wrestling best performers was interrupted 29 times because some people needed attention.
The crowd proved that the hijacking of shows goes beyond Roman Reigns and has more to do with the quality of wrestling fans than anything else. Seth Rollins is one of the most beloved Superstars in all of wrestling and he and Ziggler put on a classic match. The two performers deserved the spotlight and respect.
Both would main event any independent promotion in the world; but, still couldn't keep smarks from pissing on their Picasso. It goes without saying that no matter how brilliantly wrestlers perform, they simply can not outrun grown children who come to wrestling shows only to make themselves the center of attention.
The Ugly - The Opening of the Show
Extreme Rules took a massive departure from "extreme" branded pay-per-views of the past. In fact, there wasn't much extreme involved for the first 1 hour 15 minutes of the main show. That's how long it took to get to the Braun Strowman vs Kevin Owens cage match. Sure there was the James Ellsworth in a Shark Cage Match; but, that's hardly reminiscent of ECW and the WWE should know better, especially in ECW's home state of Pennsylvania.
The opening match was decent and it was good to see Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas win main roster gold; but, hardly the type of match one would expect from a show that calls itself extreme. Baron Corbin vs Finn Balor even ended with a small package (A SMALL PACKAGE) at a pay-per-view branded as Extreme Rules.
In fact, most of the card had nothing extreme about it. There were matches with stipulations like the Iron Man Match; but, there is nothing extreme about such a stipulation. It's only a stipulation & no one in history has ever thought of an Iron Man Match as extreme wrestling.
If WWE can't offer fans an actual extreme pay-per-view in the publicly traded PG era, then perhaps its time to do away with the Extreme Rules title altogether. To keep it as it currently stands is a disservice to fans that are old and wise enough to remember what extreme actually looks like.
