A post-WrestleMania staple for half a decade, WWE’s Extreme Rules is nowadays used to mop-up any remaining feuds from the preceding extravaganza. The latest instalment of ‘Extreme’ may have happened just over a week ago, but the ramifications of this year’s event have been significant when compared to previous offerings. What did the WWE get right? What could they have done better?
Good
+ Last Man Standing
To say that Roman Reigns has been coldy received by the majority of the WWE Universe is a massive understatement. For a number of (unfortunately valid) reasons the latest product of the famous Anoa'i wrestling family has struggled to get over with the hardcore fans, but an excellent victorious performance against the Big Show might represent a turning point in his young career. It was easily one of the least anticipated matches on the card, but Reigns and Show put on an intense match with some nasty looking spots. The ending may have been a little familiar, and therefore a slight disappointment, but on the whole it was so much better than what we were expecting.
+ New Day’s Unexpected Push
Thrown onto the card at the last minute in the wake of Daniel Bryan’s unfortunate injury, the New Day took advantage of their oppertunity as they defeated the team of Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to become the new tag team champions. It remains to be seen if the WWE pulls the trigger on a full-blown heel turn for the trio but for now they are excellent as the unnaturally happy, overly-positive group. All three have proven their abilities inside the ring and their unexpected title victory is surely a sign that some interesting developments are afoot in the long stagnant division.
+ Sheamus
Sheamus is a natural heel. Finally realising this fact, the WWE took the opportunity to re-package the veteran prior to his return from injury following WrestleMania. As is typical with the company these days, they didn't quite get it all right when they booked him against Dolph Ziggler in a horrendous ‘Kiss Me Arse’ match, but thankfully it played out differently than most feared it would. Returning to his bully character briefly seen in 2010, Sheamus tortured Ziggler with his arsenal of strikes and slams. Ziggler may have won the match, but this whole segment was designed to get Sheamus back over as the bad guy, and in that endeavor it was a massive success.
+ Attitude Era Throwback Street Fight
In the PG-era we've learned to keep our expectations fairly low when it comes to violence and outrageous shenanigans. Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper’s opening ‘Chicago’ Street Fight might not have been the most brutal match in recent memory, but it was a solid opening bout, and a nice throwback to some of the crazier hardcore matches witnessed during the golden years in the late nineties.
Bad
- Russian Chain match
I challenge anyone to recall a particularly memorable strap match. Utilised under its latest, more heel-friendly guise to continue the now lengthy Cena/Rusev feud, the gimmick stipulation once again fell woefully short at proving a noteworthy alternative to the norm. Booked painfully similar to their disappointing match at 'Mania, Cena and Rusev's latest battle did succeed in further reestablishing the allure of the United States title, but apart from that, little else was added to their once-promising rivalry.
- Predictable and Convoluted Main Event
Professional wrestling has been labelled by some as 'stupid' in the past. I've never disagreed with them to be honest, and the event's steel cage showdown between reigning WWE World Heavyweight champ Seth Rollins and Randy Orton is a testament as to why. Booked inside the cage as a way to ensure The Authority couldn't tamper with the result, the match almost featured more Authority action than it did between it's participants! Perhaps in the real world Orton would have just banned the faction from ringside...but that's not very 'Extreme' is it? The real gripe however lies with the involvement of Kane, the company's longtime face/heel/face/ heel monster who along with the Big Show, seems to be involved in all the main angles lately despite being well on the wrong side of forty. Again for some reason the WWE felt it necessary to install Kane's ongoing storyline with Rollins into the heart of the match, succeeding only in further cluttering and devaluing what was already a fairly average main event.
- Another Hastily Assembled Card
The WWE has long suffered from a number of hastily assembled pay-per-views so this isn't anything new, and in fact will likely remain an issue now thanks to the WWE Network. More than three quarters of the card wasn't announced until the final days before the event, stifling any potential to build anticipation for these matches. Add in a number of last minute participant changes and a noticeable reshuffling of the card and what you're left with is an event that feels very rushed. The WWE really needs to learn how to develop more than one or two feuds at a time. All they need to do is look backwards for inspiration.
- No Daniel Bryan
The removal of the highly regarded Daniel Bryan was a bitter pill for the WWE Universe to swallow, but the decision to announce his non-participation didn't actually happen until an hour before the event. Almost surely in a desperate attempt to guarantee a few more thousand PPV buys. Bryan was, in reality, removed from the event days before, a fact that will only further disgruntle fans who paid their hard-earned to see him in action. Bryan hasn't been very well for quite a while now. The WWE will be wise to try and avoid a repeat of the well documented issues with CM Punk, by allowing Bryan to take as much time away from the ring as possible. Let him do a Shawn Michaels; he'll come back much better as a result of an extended lay-off.
Overall: Surprisingly entertaining in some spots, but still deeply frustrating in most, Extreme Rules represents another throwaway show from a company that seemingly hates it's own product. The Reigns/Show match far surpassed expectations, as did the Street Fight and the tag team match, but these highlights don't fully make up for the fact that fans are paying a lot of money to see something that would have been given away for free only a decade ago.
Full Results and Ratings:
Chicago Street Fight
Dean Ambrose def Luke Harper
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Kiss Me Arse match
Dolph Ziggler def Sheamus
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Tag Team Championship
New Day def Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (c) to win the titles
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Russian Chain match for the United States Championship
John Cena (c) def Rusev to retain the title
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Divas Championship
Nikki Bella (c) def Naomi
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Last Man Standing match
Roman Reigns def Big Show
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Steel Cage match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Orton's RKO is banned
Seth Rollins (c) def Randy Orton to retain the title
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Event Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
What did you think of WWE Extreme Rules? Leave your comments and analysis below!
All images courtesy of WWE.com
To say that Roman Reigns has been coldy received by the majority of the WWE Universe is a massive understatement. For a number of (unfortunately valid) reasons the latest product of the famous Anoa'i wrestling family has struggled to get over with the hardcore fans, but an excellent victorious performance against the Big Show might represent a turning point in his young career. It was easily one of the least anticipated matches on the card, but Reigns and Show put on an intense match with some nasty looking spots. The ending may have been a little familiar, and therefore a slight disappointment, but on the whole it was so much better than what we were expecting.
+ New Day’s Unexpected Push
Thrown onto the card at the last minute in the wake of Daniel Bryan’s unfortunate injury, the New Day took advantage of their oppertunity as they defeated the team of Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to become the new tag team champions. It remains to be seen if the WWE pulls the trigger on a full-blown heel turn for the trio but for now they are excellent as the unnaturally happy, overly-positive group. All three have proven their abilities inside the ring and their unexpected title victory is surely a sign that some interesting developments are afoot in the long stagnant division.
+ Sheamus
Sheamus is a natural heel. Finally realising this fact, the WWE took the opportunity to re-package the veteran prior to his return from injury following WrestleMania. As is typical with the company these days, they didn't quite get it all right when they booked him against Dolph Ziggler in a horrendous ‘Kiss Me Arse’ match, but thankfully it played out differently than most feared it would. Returning to his bully character briefly seen in 2010, Sheamus tortured Ziggler with his arsenal of strikes and slams. Ziggler may have won the match, but this whole segment was designed to get Sheamus back over as the bad guy, and in that endeavor it was a massive success.
+ Attitude Era Throwback Street Fight
In the PG-era we've learned to keep our expectations fairly low when it comes to violence and outrageous shenanigans. Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper’s opening ‘Chicago’ Street Fight might not have been the most brutal match in recent memory, but it was a solid opening bout, and a nice throwback to some of the crazier hardcore matches witnessed during the golden years in the late nineties.
Bad
- Russian Chain match
I challenge anyone to recall a particularly memorable strap match. Utilised under its latest, more heel-friendly guise to continue the now lengthy Cena/Rusev feud, the gimmick stipulation once again fell woefully short at proving a noteworthy alternative to the norm. Booked painfully similar to their disappointing match at 'Mania, Cena and Rusev's latest battle did succeed in further reestablishing the allure of the United States title, but apart from that, little else was added to their once-promising rivalry.
- Predictable and Convoluted Main Event
Professional wrestling has been labelled by some as 'stupid' in the past. I've never disagreed with them to be honest, and the event's steel cage showdown between reigning WWE World Heavyweight champ Seth Rollins and Randy Orton is a testament as to why. Booked inside the cage as a way to ensure The Authority couldn't tamper with the result, the match almost featured more Authority action than it did between it's participants! Perhaps in the real world Orton would have just banned the faction from ringside...but that's not very 'Extreme' is it? The real gripe however lies with the involvement of Kane, the company's longtime face/heel/face/ heel monster who along with the Big Show, seems to be involved in all the main angles lately despite being well on the wrong side of forty. Again for some reason the WWE felt it necessary to install Kane's ongoing storyline with Rollins into the heart of the match, succeeding only in further cluttering and devaluing what was already a fairly average main event.
- Another Hastily Assembled Card
The WWE has long suffered from a number of hastily assembled pay-per-views so this isn't anything new, and in fact will likely remain an issue now thanks to the WWE Network. More than three quarters of the card wasn't announced until the final days before the event, stifling any potential to build anticipation for these matches. Add in a number of last minute participant changes and a noticeable reshuffling of the card and what you're left with is an event that feels very rushed. The WWE really needs to learn how to develop more than one or two feuds at a time. All they need to do is look backwards for inspiration.
- No Daniel Bryan
The removal of the highly regarded Daniel Bryan was a bitter pill for the WWE Universe to swallow, but the decision to announce his non-participation didn't actually happen until an hour before the event. Almost surely in a desperate attempt to guarantee a few more thousand PPV buys. Bryan was, in reality, removed from the event days before, a fact that will only further disgruntle fans who paid their hard-earned to see him in action. Bryan hasn't been very well for quite a while now. The WWE will be wise to try and avoid a repeat of the well documented issues with CM Punk, by allowing Bryan to take as much time away from the ring as possible. Let him do a Shawn Michaels; he'll come back much better as a result of an extended lay-off.
Overall: Surprisingly entertaining in some spots, but still deeply frustrating in most, Extreme Rules represents another throwaway show from a company that seemingly hates it's own product. The Reigns/Show match far surpassed expectations, as did the Street Fight and the tag team match, but these highlights don't fully make up for the fact that fans are paying a lot of money to see something that would have been given away for free only a decade ago.
Full Results and Ratings:
Chicago Street Fight
Dean Ambrose def Luke Harper
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Kiss Me Arse match
Dolph Ziggler def Sheamus
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Tag Team Championship
New Day def Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (c) to win the titles
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Russian Chain match for the United States Championship
John Cena (c) def Rusev to retain the title
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Divas Championship
Nikki Bella (c) def Naomi
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Last Man Standing match
Roman Reigns def Big Show
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Steel Cage match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Orton's RKO is banned
Seth Rollins (c) def Randy Orton to retain the title
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Event Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
What did you think of WWE Extreme Rules? Leave your comments and analysis below!
All images courtesy of WWE.com