WWE Extreme Rules Review 07/15/2018

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my review for Extreme Rules 2018. This years Extreme Rules is going to be hosted by both Raw and Smackdown. There will be seven championship matches. I was 9-2 with my predictions only being incorrect about the two tag team matches. There are five matches out twelve that have stipulations. This is the first Extreme Rules PPV that did not feel so extreme. I didn’t have the highest expectations for this event and that usually gives the PPV a better chance of better than I expected but did it play out that way this time? Let’s see find out.

This show is coming to us from the PPG Pains Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

– Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Jonathan Coachman are the announcers for the Raw matches and Tom Phillips, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton are the announcers for the Smackdown Live matches.

Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega def. Sin Cara
These two have amazing chemistry together and bring that lucha style that seems to be missing on the main roster shows. The cruiserweights arent featured on Raw anymore, are they? Anyway, Sin Cara pulled out a lot of good moves but the right guy won in the end with Almas picking up the victory. This was similar to their Smackdown Live match. I’m glad they chose not to go their 50/50 route with this angle because Almas needs to continue to stack up victories before his first major feud. Vega played her role well and it’s great to have a solid manager in an era when there aren’t many managers. Plus the womens division is already more than full on Smackdown Live. This was good.

6-Man Tables Match
SanIty def. The New Day
I wish this match was on the main card and got bit a more time because these two teams worked great together. This match was fun. The right team went over with SanIty getting their first big win on PPV and on the main roster. The New Day doesn’t get hurt at all by losing as they are already established and know how to keep themselves over with their fans. Both teams had a credible amount of offence and they kept it at a great pace. I hope this rivalry continues because it’s a perfect 3-on-3 combo that I dont think we have seen enough of yet.

– Ronda Rousey was shown in the audience

RAW Tag Team Championship
The B-Team def. Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt (C)
in 08:00 by pin-fall
At first I was shocked this was on the main card and the tables match wasnt but with the outcome I understood why it was placed where it was. I wasn’t expecting Wyatt and Hardy to lose the titles so soon before we really got to feel them out as a team but the story of B-Team has been pretty fun. The match was decent and your average tag team match. It was smart to put it on first and early because the fans were into it and that enhanced the match. I’m glad the B-Team capitalized on this opportunity they got but I think they might be transitional champions. There are teams the likes of AOP and the Revival on the Raw roster which makes me feel like this B-Team reign isn’t going to be long. Regardless this was a great moment for them and they deserved it.

– Dallas and Axel celebrated with the titles on the stage. Charly Caruso interviewed them. Axel said this is great. Dallas said they proved that the B in B Team stands for “Best Team.” They celebrated some more.

– Kurt Angle was interviewed by Renee Young in the interview area. Angle said that he recently opened negotiations with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for the Universal Title. Angle said that Lesnar refuses to defend the title against anybody in WWE. Angle said that Lesnar can come to Raw tomorrow to agree on the next title match or Angle can strip Lesnar of the Universal Title. The fans popped for that announcement.

Finn Balor def. Baron Corbin
in 08:20 by pin-fall
This was a Raw match on PPV. It was fine for the time given. Corbin was on offence for most of the match but Balor made the comeback and the win was with an inside cradle. The win looked as if Balor got one over on Corbin even though that wasn’t the case. It was decent enough but it never got out of first gear. Balor needs to continue picking up victories because I hate seeing him being lost in the shuffle with these random feuds and he needs to keep up the momentum. Corbin is the constable and doesn’t need to pick up any major wins as thats his destiny right now. The other thing I dont understand is why Corbin continues to wear dress cloths for his matches that arent impromptu matches.

– The Bludgeon Brothers beat up Team Hell No in the backstage area. Harper whipped Daniel Bryan into a garage. Rowan grabbed a mallet and hit it into door that slammed on Kane’s left leg. Paige and referees showed up to check on the wrestlers.

Smackdown Women’s Championship
Carmella (C) def. Asuka
in 05:25 by pin-fall
I went into this wanting Carmella to retain the championship but I also didn’t want Asuka to get hurt in the process. I knew they were going to find a way to get Carmella to beat Asuka but not clean. Oh yeah, I should mention that James Ellsworth was locked in a shark cage above the ring for this match. They didn’t raise it that high and I knew right away they didnt for a reason. When everything played out the way it did and we had Ellsworth hanging upside down from the cage for Asuka to attack him, it all made sense. There are two ways to look at this match. Its either they killed the stipulation right off the bat or they got creative with it showing that Carmella had a strategy coming in. They had Asuka get way too distracted with Ellsworth that it allowed Carmella to sneak up on her and pick up the victory. This was shorter than I expected. I am glad that Carmella is still champion but it makes me really curious to see what they’re going to do with Asuka next. Its been nothing but down-hill for her since Wrestlemania.

– After the match, Carmella left with the title. Asuka got her hands on Ellsworth with punches and a spin kick. Asuka hit a German Suplex on Ellsworth. Asuka with a roundhouse kick on Ellsworth. Asuka slapped the Asuka Lock on Ellsworth and Ellsworth tapped out.

United States Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Jeff Hardy (C)
in 00:06 by pin-fall
This also wasn’t a match. Shinsuke hit Jeff Hardy with a low-blow before the bell rang. The ref did not see it because he was handing off the US Title belt to the ring announcer.Hardy got back to his feet, told the ref to start the match and Nakamura hit a Kinshasa knee strike for the pinfall win. Shinsuke Nakamura needed this win and a big one at that after months of feuding and coming on the short end with AJ Styles. Supposedly, Jeff Hardy needed some time off due to a lingering knee injury. If this was their creative way to have the titles change hands instead of having Hardy vacate it, I dig it. I wish this was done on Smackdown though, rather than a PPV.

– After the match, Randy Orton appeared during Nakamura’s celebration. Nakamura seemed frustrated by this and let Orton have the ring. Nakamura left the ring and stood on the announcers table. Orton stood in the ring for a staredown with Nakamura. The fans were chanting “RKO.” Hardy struggled back to his feet, Orton tripped him up and stomped on Hardy in the groin. Nakamura was stunned by it. Orton left with what appeared to have been a heel turn.

Steel Cage Match
Kevin Owens def. Braun Strowman
in 08:05 by escaping the cage
I knew this would have some sort of epic finish where Braun looked like a monster but Owens still walked out the winner. There was a part of me that worried that Owens was just going to get destroyed in this match by Strowman but he actually got a fair amount of offence in. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a former Universal Champion but you just never know these days. I thought Owens using handcuffs was genius and something the Kevin Owens character would do. I also appreciate Owens for taking that bump at the end of the match. There are people complaining about there being a stunt pillow under the table that Kevin Owens landed on but I dont think it makes a difference. There is a chance he could have missed that table, still landed incorrectly or onto something that could have hurt him. Plus, I wouldn’t want him doing it through a table without the padding under it because Foley is still feeling the pain from KOTR 1998 today. It speaks volumes that Owens will do things such as this to elevate whatever rivalry he’s apart of and it still makes Braun look like a monster. This was fun.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Bludgeon Brothers (C) def. Team Hell No
in 08:20 by pin-fall
Daniel Bryan started this match out alone due to Kane being attacked earlier in the night by the Bludgeon Brothers. Daniel Bryan did a great job holding his own against the two monstrous men. They had Kane come out limping mid-way through the match. Kane showed some dominance too when he came out even though he was on one leg. I immediately figured once Kane came out that Team Hell No would find a way to victory but that wasn’t the case. This match was alright but it could have been better. I feel like it was a bit overbooked with the Kane injury and him coming out later and stuff. However, that might have been there way to give Team Hell No a reason to why they weren’t victorious rather than losing clean. The Bludgeon Brothers remain undefeated and tag team champions. Whoever does eventually beat the Bludgeon Brothers will get a helluva rub. Looking forward to see what happens to Team Hell No from here forward.

– Roman Reigns was shown walking backstage. The B Team walked back there celebrating their Raw Tag Team Title wins. They told Roman that he can beat Bobby like they did and they can all celebrate together. Reigns didn’t shake their hand. Reigns kept on walking.

Bobby Lashley def. Roman Reigns
ended in 14:50 by pin-fall
This match ended up being a lot better than I expected. I had absolutely no interest in the build up and felt this match really didn’t have a purpose other than being competitive. I did however feel like Lashley needed this win and a Lashley/Lesnar match feels more fresh than another Reigns/Lesnar match. This was a great power vs. power match. It started off slow but the end half had a lot of cool moments and big spots. The right guy won with Bobby Lashley because he needed a big win since returning and a moment that defined why he returned, this did that. I enjoyed how they worked the finish with making it look like Reigns had it won only for Lashley to come with a spear out of nowhere. Its always believable that Reigns will pick up the win, so when he doesn’t its like “woah, they got me.”

Extreme Rules
Raw Women’s Championship
Alexa Bliss (C) w/ Mickie James def. Nia Jax w/ Natalya
in 07:30 by pin-fall
This match had very little to do with beef between Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss and more to do with Ronda Rousey and her beef with Alexa Bliss. This match did play to the extreme rules stipulation. There were kendo sticks, trash cans, steel chairs and a ton of interference. James was out there with Bliss and this led Nia to bring Natalya with her, Ronda Rousey was in front row and it was expected for her to get involved. When she did it was chaotic. I think most fans will remember this for Rousey’s involvement and her trying to get to Bliss and everyone else involved is an afterthought.When Bliss went back in the ring to finish off Jax it was as if none of that mattered because all people really cared about was Rousey getting her hands on Bliss. I liked how Mickie was booked because it was the most active she was outside the ring during a Bliss match. I know it’s because it was Extreme Rules, but I’m just saying they should have James cheat for Bliss more if she is going to be out there. Natalya felt like she wasn’t a factor but she is Rousey’s friend and her being attacked is initially what made Rousey jump the barricade. I knew going into this the main objective was to get to Bliss/Rousey for Summerslam for the championship but I wish we got more from Bliss and Jax before the Rousey involvement.

WWE Championship
AJ Styles (C) def. Rusev w/ Aiden English
in 15:35 by pin-fall
This match was awesome. They told a great story and was super competitive. They made it seem like either guy could pick up the win. I went in believing that there was absolutely no chance that Rusev was going to win but during this match, I thought I could have been wrong more than once. Styles knows how to have a good match with anyone hence why he is the WWE Champion. Rusev Day has been over as hell and this is Rusev’s first big opportunity for the WWE Championship. liked the story of the match with Rusev working over the ribs of Styles while Styles weakened the knee of Rusev. That played a part in the final few minutes because Rusev was unable to apply the Accolade correctly due to the knee left leg injury he was selling for most of the match. A key turning point in the match was that English exposed the turnbuckle, Rusev ended up hitting the steel that was exposed and Styles won shortly after. This was smart because it allowed Styles to retain his championship while still protecting Rusev as he lost under the circumstances of English’s mistakes. It was easily the best wrestling match on the show up to this point and told the best story. I hope this doesn’t lead to the end of Rusev day, but I wouldnt surprised.

30 Minute Iron-Man Match
Intercontinental Championship
Dolph Ziggler (C) w/ Drew McIntyre def. Seth Rollins
in 30:10 getting the sudden death point making the score 5-4
The Intercontinental Championship is the main even for a PPV for the first time in over two decades. This was the match that could steal the show but it could have been the victim of over-booking and disrespectful live audience. Don’t get me wrong, these two still put on a hell of a match but it just felt disappointing at the end. Maybe it was because I had high expectations for the match due to the amazing match they had on Raw a couple of weeks back. Ironman matches can be tricky though. They told a great story and there was a ton of drama. Seth Rollins was up 2-0 and you could tell he started ahead of himself with certainty. This was when Drew McIntyre got involved putting Rollins up 3-0 but doing enough damage to Rollins that Ziggler eventually caught up making it 3-3. Ziggler than took the lead by using a dirty pin to take the lead to 4-3 but then Rollins tied it up to 4-4. The time ran out and Ziggler believed he retained his championship because the match ended in a draw but Kurt Angle restarted the match in sudden death rules. McIntyre returned to cause a distraction allowing Ziggler to pick up a quick win over Rollins. The match was really good but like I said I felt a little disappointed at the end. I think it might have the stipulation or the fact that the fans tried hijacking the show by doing the Royal Rumble countdown and mocking the buzzer noise throughout the match. I think this means we’re heading towards a Rollins and McIntyre feud while someone else challenges for Ziggler’s Intercontinental champion.

Final Thoughts
This PPV just never clicked for me. It was an average show but a great effort. In an era where WWE has their overall strongest roster possibly of all time in terms of in ring talent, and we have duel branded PPVs, these shows shouldn’t be this average. The three best matches were the final two and Lashley/Reigns match. I didn’t disagree with the outcomes of any of the matches but the way the finishes were booked or the matches overall need some questioning.  This was a solid PPV for quality Sunday afternoon wrestling but it really was a pretty forgettable PPV. I feel what it will most likely be remembered for is Kevin Owens cage bump. Check it out if you got some free time.
Final Rating – 5.5/10

What were your final thoughts on Extreme Rules? What final grade would you give the event? Where would you rate it on a scale of ten? Do you agree with my review? Leave your comments, opinions and thoughts below in the comments section.