WWE Extreme Rules 2018: Grading and Ranking all the matches

#2 Dolph Ziggler(c) defeats Seth Rollins Intercontinental Championship

Great victory for the champ

This match was the main-event of the night and I'm confused whether this was a good decision or not. On one hand, the buildup to this match was better than the WWE Championship bout and it was slightly less predictable. On the other hand, the WWE Championship has always been treated lower than the Universal Championship and it being placed lower than the IC belt is a bit underwhelming. Anyway, the match was awesome.

The script followed for this match was unique as instead of one fall after the other, both wrestlers went on fall streaks. At one point in the match, Rollins was up 3-0 due to a roll-up, curbstomp and a DQ as McIntyre interfered. From then on, Ziggler bounced back and scored four back to back falls to take the lead. In the final few moments, Rollins scored a pin and drew the scores. Unfortunately, that is where the match ended.

Just as when Ziggler was about to leave, Raw GM Kurt Angle appeared and restarted the match. McIntyre interfered again, Ziggler took advantage of the opportunity and pinned Rollins to retain the IC belt.

There were some flaws though as the match was a bit weirdly paced. The wrestlers got tired quickly which resulted in very slow 10 minutes. Also, the Pittsburgh crowd kept mocking the clock which shifted the attention from the wrestlers. Other than that, this bout was great.

Grade: B+