WWE Extreme Rules Coverage: Times, They Are a Changin’

You can’t blame anyone for thinking that Extreme Rules is a throwaway pay per view- simply a night for Wrestlemania return bouts. That’s the way it’s always been. But this year, with Wade Barrett’s Intercontinental Title win, Bray Wyatt’s win over John Cena and The Shield’s dismantling of Evolution, that was anything but the case.

That’s not to say the night was a perfect one. Why the Alexander Rusev bout was included and no Tag Team encounter- was puzzling.

The Usos are “over” and could have gotten the fans more involved the Rusev’s lukewarm match with two lower mid-carders. Many of the matches as well, were terribly long. The Daniel Bryan/Kane main event was fun and both guys worked hard, but it was easily five minutes too long. The same thing goes for the disaster of a kick-off match and the Wyatt/Cena bout.

Aside from those minor squabbles however, Extreme Rules was a watchable PPV that surprised more than it disappointed.

Matches: Kickoff Match: El Torito w/Los Matadores vs. Hornswoggle w/Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew MacIntyre: Aside from the politically incorrect presentation (little people served as the announce team, referee and ring announcer) and the mediocre action, Horswoggle surprised with a few Powerbombs, but El Torito was his usual high-flying self. Hornswoggle used a “little” chair to help keep the advantage and even Elbow-Dropped Torito through the “little” announce table. 3MB got a little greedy however and tried to help their buddy, but they eventually went through tables as well. After the Matadores and 3MB neutralized themselves, Torito hit the Slightshot Thesz Press through the mini-table for the win.

Three-Man Elimination: Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Antonio Cesaro w/Paul Heyman: A damn good way to start the show. Swagger got eliminated after he got hit with the Superplex from Cesaro and a Five-Star Frog Splash from RVD. Cesaro followed up the offense with a nice multiple Side Salto Suplex and later with a beautiful German Suplex. RVD had plenty of fight left however, nailing his trademark inside-outside Spinning Leg Kick and the Rolling Thunder. Things evened out some after Cesaro used a trash can on RVD and after Van Dam missed the Five-Star, Cesaro got the win with the Neutralizer on the damaged trash can.

Alexander Rusev w/Lana vs. Xavier Woods and R-Truth: This was all about continuing to assert Rusev’s strength and at the very least, it accomplished that, even if it did so in not so entertaining fashion. It was a quick match that saw Rusev destroy Woods early and finish off Truth with the Urinage variation and the Accolade. After the bell, Rusev hit a Fallaway Slam on Woods on the outside.

Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston vs. Wade Barrett: “Bad News” has been super over the last month and the fans support of him was obvious from the beginning. Langston was vigilant and hit his share of Belly-to-Belly Suplexes and Shoulder Blocks, but the fans were on Barrett’s side throughout. Barrett nearly won with The Winds of Change and later The Wasteland, but Langston stayed alive. Langston nearly won with a corner Urinage and followed it up with his trademark Splash, but Barrett countered the Big Ending into the Bullhammer Elbow for the win.

Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton vs. United States Champion Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns: Easily the match of the night before the Main Event. The Shield held the ring early, but quick tags and superior ring strategy from Evolution gave them an advantage. For several minutes, Rollins was beat on by Orton and despite a nice Belly-to-Back Suplex and an Enzigieri, Rollins was unable to get out of the ring. Once Rollins finally tagged in Ambrose, The Shield got back in the match, as Reigns worked over Batista on the outside and Ambrose had little problems with Orton. Triple H changed the game when he took out Reigns with a counter to his Spear that sent Reigns into the ring steps.

With Reigns out on the outside and Rollins still exhausted, Ambrose took a plethora of punishment from all three members of Evolution. Much like Rollins before, Ambrose absorbed at least a half dozen signature moves from Triple H, Orton and Batista. Ambrose had some fight left however as he countered the Pedigree into a DDT and tagged in Reigns. After Reigns beat down on all three members of Evolution, Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins nailed Batista with the Triple Powerbomb (Thanks to a Rollins Knee that broke up a Batista Bomb), but Triple H was able to break up the pin. Triple H then hit Reigns with the Pedigree, but Ambrose broke up that pin. With Reigns and Batista the legal men, Orton hit the RKO, but Rollins broke up another pin attempt.

The match then got even crazier as Ambrose took out both Orton and Triple H on the outside, while Batista and Reigns just laid in the ring. As Orton and Triple H beat on Ambrose in the stands, Rollins flew from a flight above his friends and foes to take everyone out. After a Batista Spinebuster, Batista went for his finisher again, but Reigns countered into the Superman Punch and then the Spear for the win.

John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt w/Luke Harper and Erick Rowan: This was a fun match- away from a predictable and lackluster finish. Cena tried to slow the match down every chance he got, but with unique interference from Rowan and the ground ’n’ pound style of Wyatt, Cena was in trouble. After Wyatt tried to escape through the open door, Cena began to mount a comeback and from that point on, it was a battle to the top/exit of the cage. With pinball victories still possible, Cena nearly won with a massive Powerbomb, but he couldn’t escape, thanks to Rowan and Harper. With Wyatt out again, Rowan again forced Cena back into the cage, this time, using even more unorthodox methods. Later on, Cena tried to escape again and managed drag Harper into the ring. Fighting off Harper and Wyatt, Cena was tough. With a second rope Attitude Adjustment, Cena had the match won, but Harper broke up the pin.

After another exit attempt, Cena took out Rowan on top of the cage and nailed Harper with the Top Rope Rocker Dropper. All ready to leave the ring, the lights went off and a little kid sang “He’s Got the Whole World, in His Hands,” with a distorted voice. When the lights came back on, Wyatt nailed Cena with Sister Abigail’s Kiss and then walked out of the ring for the win.

WWE Divas Champion Paige vs. Tamina Snuka: Paige was in control early until Snuka Superkick sent Paige to the outside. Once out of the ring, Snuka countered a Hurricanrana and slammed Paige into the barricade. However Paige bounced back quickly, Powerbombing Snuka and hitting more offense. Snuka wasn’t done yet though, as she hit Paige with a Blackhole Slam for a near-fall. But after Snuka went back to the Superkick again, Paige countered into a (less than devastating looking) Scorpion Crosslock for the submission win.

WWE World heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Kane: While this won’t be looked at as one of Bryan’s best matches, it’s proof that Kane is still an elite performer. It was a fist fight from the start that quickly morphed into a hardcore match, with kendo sticks and steel chairs getting more attention than strikes, submissions and suplexes. After about 15 minutes of hardcore action on the outside, the match jumped backstage as Kane continued to dominate. In the parking lot, Bryan fought back with a shovel, but Kane hit the Backbody Drop on Bryan on the hood of a car. After Kane punched through a window, Bryan nailed the Big Red Machine with a crowbar With Kane out, Bryan put him on a forklift and brought him back to the ring. Climbing to the top of the lift, Bryan, with the crowd in the palm of his hand, hit the Head Butt, but couldn’t finish Kane off. Always gritty, Kane battled back and nearly won with a Chokeslam. When Kane went for the Tombstone on a steel chair, Bryan countered into DDT. Using a kendo stick to help with the Yes Lock, Bryan nearly won via submission, but Kane was smart enough to escape to the outside. After Bryan went for a suicide dive, Kane Chokeslammed Bryan through the announce table. With Bryan down, Kane trying to put him through flaming table, Bryan countered and set Kane on fire. As he was put out by WWE officials, Kane walked right into Running Knee by Bryan for the win.