WWE: Extreme Rules 2013 - Review

As Sunday night ended, the landscape of the WWE changed. Titles were traded, men were beaten down and some were unable to leave on their own feet. But did the Extreme Rules PPV deliver? Were the creative up for the task to make this a memorable PPV? The PPV was about average – above average, as some of the booking was done the way it should have been, but there were a couple of matches whose ending didn’t make much sense. Without further ado, we’ll get this show rolling.

Pre – show:

The Miz defeated Cody Rhodes

As expected, Miz picked up a clean win over Cody, which is a shame. Cody deserves better than to be on the pre-show match. Miz just returned after filming for the Marine 3, and hence he will be pushed at least for a mid card title. It’s a shame that Cody had to tap out to the figure four, as WWE is looking to rebuild Miz. Anyway, the match went for about 5 minutes.

Rating: ½* (Out of 5 stars)

Main – show:

Chris Jericho defeated Fandango (With Summer Rae)

Chris Jericho showed his aggressive side in this match, as both the competitors went for near falls. The crowd was into the match, but they received relatively less time to put on a good match like they can. Chris Jericho delivered the Code breaker out of nowhere when Fandango tried to hit a splash from the top rope for the pin and the win. It leaves the door open for a third match, which would mean their rivalry will continue.

Rating: ** ½

Dean Ambrose defeated Kofi Kingston to become the new WWE United States Champion

This was one of the matches I was looking forward to. Both men are very good in the ring, and it showed in their match. They told a good story, as Ambrose wanted to win the match on his own, and so the other two members of The Shield didn’t interfere. Lots of good near falls, and Kofi hit the Trouble in Paradise, which knocked Ambrose to the floor. Kofi went for another TIP, but Ambrose saw it coming and reversed it into his finisher, driving Kofi head first to the mat for the pin and to win the WWE United States championship!

Rating: ** ¼

Sheamus defeated Mark Henry in a strap match

As I said before, they could have done a No DQ match, but a strap match hasn’t been done in the WWE for a long time, so it was okay. But it was always going to be a challenge. The crowd was into the match, but the pace was very slow as expected. Back and forth action throughout the match, and the bout went on for 7 minutes, as Sheamus picked up the victory after touching all the four corners after giving Henry a Brogue Kick.

Rating: **

Alberto Del Rio (With Ricardo) defeated Jack Swagger (With Zeb Colter) in an “I Quit” match

I had high expectations from this match, as both the performers involved are two of the better technical wrestlers in the company at the moment. They got about 13 minutes, and as I predicted, each man wanted to make the other submit by slapping their submissions on. The match saw a false finish when Jack Swagger trapped ADR in the Patriot Act, and Zeb Colter threw in the towel standing behind Ricardo, making it look like he threw it in. Another referee came out and showed that it was indeed Zeb Colter, through an instant replay, and the match continued. The end came when ADR trapped Jack Swagger in the cross armbreaker, and Swagger finally uttered the words “I Quit” to give ADR the victory. I expected a better match from them, as they had better matches than this on live TV.

Rating: ** ½

The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) defeated Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) in a Tornado tag team match for the WWE tag team championship

This was another match I was interested in, as The Shield could bag the tag team belts along with the United States Championship. The match followed tornado tag rules, which would mean that all the four participants can be in the ring at the same time. The match went for just under 10 minutes, as there was some good action and great near falls. The end saw Reigns and Rollins double team Bryan for the pin and to win the titles.

Rating: ***

Randy Orton defeated the Big Show in an Extreme Rules match

Randy Orton came out to a big pop from the hometown crowd, as he took on the Big Show. Good back and forth action between the two, as the crowd was hot for the entire match. Orton had good matches with Extreme Rules as the stipulation before, and this was another such match. A great brawl between the two, as Show kicked out of an RKO! Orton went for the punt kick, and connected it to a huge pop from the crowd for the pin and the win. That was the best match of the night so far.

Rating: *** ½

John Cena took on Ryback in a Last Man Standing match for the WWE title which ended in a No Contest

Cena and Ryback had about 20 minutes, and they went all over the arena as expected. Since it’s a Last Man Standing match, the flow of the match kept getting interrupted, as both the men tried to do the best they could with some spots. Ryback showed just how strong he is, as he toyed with Cena. Cena made a comeback, as both the performers went near the entrance area, where Ryback countered Cena’s attempt of an AA and drove him through the lighting at the top of the ramp. The ref ran back and found both the men knocked out. Ryback was helped to his feet as Cena was stretchered out. This is where the booking makes zero sense. Why make it a Last Man Standing match then? WWE logic, I suppose.

Rating: **

Brock Lesnar (With Paul Heyman) defeated Triple H in a Steel Cage match

Another instance of just how horrendous the WWE booking is. This match should have been dominated by Lesnar, as he was supposed to ‘legitimize’ WWE. Why call him a ‘Beast incarnate’ if you’re going to make him look weak? Lesnar dominated in the early going, but inadvertently hurt his knee, and it was all Triple H from there. Paul Heyman interfered, causing Lesnar to get the upper hand and pick up the victory. Triple H doesn’t need to look strong coming out of the match, but Brock does, and it just went the other way! Post match, Lesnar and Heyman made their way to the back as Triple H was helped to his feet by the medical personnel. Although the finish was correct, the way it happened makes no logical sense.

Rating: ***

Analysis

I give the PPV 3 out of 5 stars. For more than 70% of the show, the booking was proper, but it all went wrong from the Cena match. The match itself was pretty lousy, as they went for one big move after the other, and Cena completely no-sold his leg injury after the first few minutes, which once again completely undermines weeks of hype about the injury leading to the PPV. Brock sold like a million bucks, and the booking went wrong in the main event as well. A show which could have been much better turned just about average to above average at best. Well, that does it for the review. Let us now see the fall out of Extreme Rules on Monday Night RAW.