Payback had an phenomenal ending with Roman surviving his first title defense against AJ Styles. But, Extreme Rules kicked off right there in Payback when the McMahons decided to pit them both together once again in a Extreme Rules match. From there on things went haywire and chaos reigned the ring whenever both The Club and The Bloodline were in the ring.
Not only that, IC title got hot at Payback too. With four incredible competitors like Owens, Zayn, Cesaro and The Miz, we can expect nothing short of mayhem at the Extreme Rules. The lame screwjob that happened hurt the momentum of the women’s revolution. The incomplete tag match too created some blemish on the first PPV of the new era.
WWE Extreme Rules is here and the show sure looks to be extreme. With a promising card that was in place, WWE could do little wrong with the PPV. How did it play out, check it out below.
Big Cass busts off The Dudley Boyz (Kick off-show)
The segment had one purpose and one purpose only – to make Big Cass look and strong. And it just accomplished that. Looks like Vince McMahon is very high on Big Cass.
The Dudleys were the first to come out. Dudleys cut a heel promo and Big Cass interrupts them to berate them and call them S-A-W-F-T. This sets up an impromptu stand off. The match was short and it put over Big Cass in a big way. Big Cass took out both Dudleys easily and cut his traditional S-A-W-F-T promo to stand tall.
Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler – No DQ match(Kick-off Show)
The Show Off took it to the Lone Wolf at the early stages of the match. The match went back and forth for a while with no one maintaining control for a long time. Dolph’s agility faced off against Corbin strength and it looked like a even matchup.
The Show Off had a strong outing with not letting the Lone Wolf to dominate him for most of the match. Ziggler had more number near pinfalls than the usually dominating Corbin. But, Corbin had the last laugh when he ducked under the Superkick and delivered a Low Blow to Ziggler. He followed it with The End of Days to end the match and emerge victorious.
The Usos vs Gallows and Anderson (Tornado Tag Match)
The animosity between the two teams broke out very early. In fact, they didn’t even wait till the bell rang. Owing to the lower place on the card and the repetetive televised matches, the match was very short. There was no tag team action in this match, it was just bodies flying everywhere.
Though the match was short, it was brutal to an extent. Gallows and Anderson owing to their heel gimmick were really perfect for the match. They swatted the former tag champions like some flies out of air and demolished them to earn a easy victory. The Usos for their part entertained the crowd with their high flying maneuvers.
Kalisto vs Rusev (United States Championship)
Kalisto’s speed and agility went to war with Rusev’s strength in this match. Kalisto was his usual high flying self, taking huge risks and entertaining the crowd with his Lucha offense. He kept Rusev reeling for most part of the match.
But Rusev’s strength won out in the end. He just swatted away Kalisto like a mosquito as he tried to deliver a springboard cockscrew elbow. From there on his domination continued and ended with delivering a sickening Military Press Slam to the champion from the top rope to the apron. Kalisto landed hard was unable to move. Medical trainers immediately went to check on him.
But Rusev would have none of that. He dragged Kalisto in despite referee’s protest and twisted his body back in The Accolade to make the champion tap out. It was refreshing to see the Rusev we all hated re-emerge. John Cena has a strong opponent now to go against when he returns.
New Day vs The Vaudevillains (WWE World Tag Team Championship)
The New Day entered the arena to heavy fan fare and went on to cut a scintillating promo. Woods tried to earn the sympathy of the women present there for the loss of his so-called time machine. Their antics were as hilarious as ever.
The Vaudevillains entered the arena to a relative silence in contrast. Woods and English started things off early. Woods was on fire at the early stages of the match, but Gotch and English took control of the match relatively quick. Soon, they isolated Woods into their corner and worked on him.
Big E got the proverbial hot tag and cleaned the house and as usual things began to go out of control. The crowd popped when Woods kicked out of the Whirling Dervish (Seriously, that’s not a finisher at all) and the numbers game soon caught up with The Vaudevillains. Gotch received a Trouble in Paradise from Kofi as the referee was distracted and Woods followed it up with a running knee to get the victory.
Fatal 4 Way for the Intercontinental Championship (Owens vs Zayn vs Cesaro vs The Miz)
We all knew that this match would be awesome, but it just exceeded our expectations. The only word that came out was WOW! With so many angles to play and four talented wrestlers to satiate the crowd, the match just eclipsed everything they had done so far. There was no holding back these guys as they blew the roof off.
Near falls, pin interference, multiple finisher and you name anything else, all were present in the match. As always with the Fatal 4 Way match everything reigned in chaos. Cesaro made Miz tap out only to find that Maryse had distracted the referee. Owens got into an argument with Maryse only to get planted by Skull Crushing Finale. Maryse was part of the match as much as the others were in it too.
After several near falls and pin interference and some shenanigans by Maryse, Zayn was poised to win the match as he delivered a Helluva kick to an unsuspecting Cesaro in the corner. Owens dragged him out and Zayn just snapped. He went on to attack Owens viciously and Miz used the opportunity to steal the title.
Chris Jericho vs Dean Ambrose (First Ever Asylum Match)
After a long time, long, long, long time, Jericho and Ambrose reminded the fans what WWE could provide if not for the PG restrictions. Don’t get me wrong, the match didn’t have much color except at the end. But, it just blew the minds off of everyone present in the arena.
Off all the items decorating the top of the cage, only one thing was left unused – the plant (Mitch Jr. escaped, huh?) Every other weapons were bright into play and incorporated in a very believable manner. But of them all, the bucket that hung next to the mop was the one that sent fans into a frenzy. When Ambrose revealed its contents, Chris Jericho's face went pale. The contents of the bucket was nothing but Thumbtacks. Yes. Thumbtacks were used.
Chris Jericho once again proved why he is considered as one of the best performers in WWE. From trying to escape the cage on multiple occasions to berating Ambrose when he was down, he did everything perfectly. Ambrose, on the other hand, was the perfect Crazy Lunatic we don’t want to get locked into that cage with. On the whole, this is easily the match of the night.
Ambrose picked up the win after getting hit by the barbed wire bat in the stomach twice by countering Jericho’s Codebreaker and planting him on the Thumbtacks that were spread. He followed it up with a Dirty Deeds for a good measure to get the pinfall.
Charlotte vs Natalya – Submission Match (WWE Women’s Championship)
Well, the biggest disappointment of the night goes to the Women’s Championship match and this makes it two PPVs in a row. It’s not about the quality of wrestling, in fact technically their match was well executed than any other match in the night. It is about the lamest booking ideas WWE creative come up with and still keeping Ric Flair in the limelight.
The match in itself was brilliantly executed. The two women delivered a technical classic which was marred by one of the most lamest bookings that ever happened to the championship. The match was the perfect opportunity to drive a wedge between Charlotte and her father. WWE not only missed that opportunity but also introduced Dana Brooke into the mix.
Dana Brooke, dressed as Ric Flair, distracted Natalya to allow Charlotte to take the advantage and apply Figure Eight. After the match, Ric Flair, Dana Brooke and Charlotte celebrated together to end the segment.
Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles – Extreme Rules Match (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
It is safe to say that this match didn’t disappoint. The crowd was very vocal after witnessing a string of amazing performances and it added a whole new dimension to the match. The match started slow with AJ technically outwrestling Reigns and getting the upper hand, and the crowd aptly chanted “You can’t Wrestle” at Roman.
Roman powered through those hate filled audience and won atleast half the crowd over to his side as he demolished AJ through announce tables and barricades. The match went to a point were both wrestlers were left drained and the crowd started a duelling chant to so their support for both!
Soon, things ended in chaos as Gallows, Anderson and The Usos made their way to the ring to help their respective leaders. The crowd went nuts when both of them kicked out of their respective attacks. But in the end, it was Styles who revved up the crowd. The crowd saw Styles snap for the first time and witnessed a barrage of chair shots to The Usos and Reigns.
Roman somehow survived the barrage and digged down deep to deliver a perfect spear to gain the victory.
But, none of these guys will be the talking point of the night. Seth Rollins stole the show in five minutes as he made a surprise return to deliver a Pedigree to an unsuspecting Roman Reigns. The crowd went nuts as he made his intentions clear by raising the championship above his head.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
