Extreme Rules Rate Extreme Rules 2016

[Jacob Fox]

Hey everyone, rate Extreme Rules on a scale of 0-10 and feel free to leave your thoughts below.

Spoiler: Extreme Rules Results

Pre show

Big Cass and Dudleyz Promo

Big Cass came down the ramp while the Dudleyz were in the ring. He made jokes about their weight before jumping into the ring. The Dudleyz originally beat cass down, but Cass rebounded and left both Dudleyz laying in the ring.


Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler, no DQ

Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler by pinfall after a low blow and hitting the End of Days.

The Usos vs Anderson and Gallows

Anderson and Gallows won by pinfall after hitting the magic killer on an Uso.

Rusev vs Kalisto for the US Championship

Rusev defeated Kalisto by submission and became the new US Champion after Kalisto fell back first on the ring apron and then Rusev put on the Acolade, falling back on his back and basically bending Kalisto in half.

The New Day vs the Vaudvillains for the WwE Tag Team Championship

The New Day retained the titles by pinfall when Xavier Woods pinned Simon Gotch after Kofi interferred and hit Gotch with Trouble in Paradise.


IC Title Match Miz vs Cesaro vs Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn

The Miz retained the title when he pinned Cesaro after Cesaro was hit by Sami Zayn with a Helluva kick.

Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho in an Asylum Match

Dean Ambrose defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall after Jericho first fell into a bag of tacks and then was hit by dirty deeds on the tacks.

Charlotte vs Natayla in a Submission Match for the WWE Women's Championship

Charlotte defeated Natayla to retain the Women's Championship when Natayla tapped out to the Figure 8. Natayla had Charlotte in the Sharpshooter when Flair's music began playing. However, it was Dana Brooke who came to ringside dressed like Flair. She attacked Natayla, who was then placed in the figure 8 by charlotte.

AJ Styles vs Roman Reigns in an Extreme Rules match for the WWE Championship

Roman Reigns retained the WWE championship when he pinned AJ Styles when Reigns speared AJ as he was going for the phenomenal forearm. This match had interference from both the Usos and the Club, which culminated in AJ snapping and attacked the Usos and Reigns with a steel chair. After the match, Seth Rollins came back to the ring and hit a pedigree on Roman Reigns. Rollins then stood tall with the WWE Championship in his hand as the show went off the air.

 

[Jacob Fox]

7/10. I think this was a solid ppv. It had its slow parts and some disappointing finishes, but the matches were solid for the most part and i just really enjoyed it.

Spoiler: My Thoughts

I liked:

Big Cass and Dudleyz promo. This was funny and I like Cass getting all of this attention.

Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler **1/2 Not a great match but I really liked how Corbin won. I am a HUGE fan of the low blow and feel it should be utilized whenever possible.

The Club vs the Usos **1/2 This was a solid tag match although it wasn't that great. It was good that the Club finally got the win as they are easily the superior team.

The New Day vs the Vaudvillains *** I know i am not a huge New Day fine, but Big E was on fire during this match... definitely one of the best matches I have seen him in... he elevated this match from being bad

IC Title Match **** Easily the match of the night... this was a great match with a lot of fast paced moves and a lot of back and forths. I was honestly on the edge of my chair a few times thinking Cesaro would win the match. By the time the match ended, i wasn't even upset Miz retained because it was a very good match.

I liked the tacks part of the asylum match.

Reigns vs AJ ***1/2 I enjoyed this match.. it was brutal in places and it was paced wonderfully. I knew AJ wasn't going to win but I was really thinking he might towards the end. Again, not pissed off about the ending because the match was solid.

The Return of Seth Rollins... great to see Rollins back... hope they're not stupid enough to make him a heel because the crowd won't allow it. Somehow I am having the feeling that they will try to make him a heel to get the crowd behind Reigns finally, but they will fail.

I didn't Like:

Rusev vs Kalisto ** Boring match and just did nothing for me.

The Asylum Match ** How you can take Ambrose and Jericho and put them in a cage and have such a boring match is beyond me.

Women's Championship. ** although I loved how the Flair's tricked Nattie, this was a dull match. The women deserve the chance to put on the kind of matches that only they can.

 

[Zany Clowny]

I had a good time with this PPV. The three matches that stood out for me were the Asylum match, the fatal four way and the main event. I had low expectations for the asylum match, it surprised me, Ambrose with the elbow off the top was cool, as was Jericho taking the thumb tacks, the fire extinguisher spot, good stuff. Jericho knows how to work a PG cage match, it was a tad bit slow in places so I can see why somebody wouldn't like it, to me it worked well. Dean will probably win the MITB, doubt this feud will continue.

The indy porn match was a must watch. Great moments that built everybody up. Cesaro kicking out of two finishers made him look strong. Zayn, Owens and Cesaro all looked good here. One spot in particular I liked was the long king of swing and the kick to Owens at the start of the match. Miz got the victory, whoever he faces next I hope is in a one on one match. Miz deserves to lose it in a singles match.

The main event didn't exceed expectations but it was a good match. Seeing AJ take so much damage and keep getting up to me solidified his loss as a non burial. I don't know if I would have had the interference because it felt unnecessary to me. AJ getting thrown around, having his head hit the ring post, the back body drop that was sold beautifully, the air time was insane for a guy his age. The styles clash looked good, match wasn't botchy. The spear through the barricade, or I should say the attempted spear was a nice spot too. Rollins returning was unexpected to me for some reason. Happy he's back.

The rest was meh. Women's match sucked ass. Tag team match wasn't anything to call home about. Preshow match sucked. I'd rate this PPV a strong 7.

 

[DK JAMES]

Yea 7/10 for me too. Enjoyed watchin it for sure.

-Club vs Usos was really good imo, I really enjoyed it and thought it was a good way to start the show

-Rusev/Kalisto was super boring for a while but picked up towards the end and i was likin it. That Accolade looked literally deadly

-Tag Championship match was pretty good. Really thought New Day was gonna lose towards the end. Enjoyed the finish for sure

-Fatal 4 Way was simply outstanding and I knew it would be. All four of them are some of my favorites so i didn't care who won. Got 0 complaints whatsoever with this, one of my favorite matches since i started watching again around Wrestlemania

-Dean/Chris was very eh. The ending was cool and all but the match was way too long and slow. Still enjoyed the good parts of it though

-Natalya/Charlotte. FUCK Dana Brooke, this feud has been awful imo. Matches have been okay at best and the womens division can do so much better.

-Roman/AJ was a blast to watch for me. Had no hope that AJ was gonna win but after that styles clash on the chair I thought it was over for a minute haha. Really entertaining match tho, i liked it a lot better than the first.

-SETH ROLLINS THOUGH. I was hopin he woulda came out to his music and got a huge pop but he got a huge pop regardless with the pedigree on Roman so its all good. Really good seein him again, definiely tuning in to RAW tomorrow cause of this.

 

[Rogue]

I'm going a very, very strong 8. Even though we pretty much knew all the outcomes going in, it was still a good journey.

First hour and a half was definitely the best part, all the matches within it were just fun to watch. IC match was definitely MOTN, and Tong Po being U.S Champ again was a feel good moment.

Ambrose vs Jericho dragged on for most of the match, but the ending was good. Hope that marks the end of the feud, though. While that match wasn't great, Charlotte vs Natty was probably the weak link of the card. Main Event was fine, just felt like Payback without the restarts.

But afterwards, Seth Rollins! Got damn, hell yes. Made it all worth it. Only thing I wish they would've changed was instead of Rollins hitting the Pedigree; him teasing it, dropping Roman, and hitting the curb stomp.

Makes me think they might be keeping him heel, but if WWE thinks they're gonna cheer Roman over Rollins they are dead wrong.

 

[Black Iron PJ]

CROSSFIT JESUS HAS RETURNED TO SAVE US ALL

But joking aside, this was a pretty damn solid ppv, Fatal 4-Way was incredible, the Asylum match was just dumb fun, and I'm glad my boy RuRu got his U.S. title back. My only complaints are how they made the tag team and women's matches really short considering they were title matches. But other than that, good stuff all around.

 

[Prince Bálor]

3:

 

[Swift]

Reigns >

 

[Majour]

8/10

It was a really good PPV.

The fatal fourway was my MOTN.

The women's match wasn't great and I'm bored of the shenanigans.

 

[Stopspot]

Everything but the Asylum match was at least good. But boy did the Asylum match suck balls.

Also based crossfit Jesus is back.

 

[Aurtle The Turtle]

 

[Rampaiger]

I will give this a 7:
Club vs Usos: This was actually a very hood match, thoroughly enjoyed watching, thank Christ that the Club went over
Rusev vs Kalisto: So happy to see the belt off Kalisto, shame Rusev is only a transitional champion till the return of Jonny boy, this match was also good, remember thinking at this holy shit we might get a PPV
New Day vs Vaudevillans: A really short match (only 6 mins) but also very, thought it was over when the Whirling Dervish was hit, if the Vaudevillans were being booked stronger going in to this I could have easily see them winning tonight but eh long live The New Day
Miz vs Cesaro vs Zayn vs Owena: Absolute match of the night and probably match of the year candidate too. The IC title is the IWC title for sure, really great wrestling. There was a lot of near falls and whilst I wanted to see Cesaro win I am okay with Miz retaining
Ambrose vs Jericho: I really dont think it was that bad of a match contrary to all the hate its getting. Sure it wasn't the greatest match, and it was a slower but I liked the slower pace and I didn't find myself wishing for the end to come. Was I surprised to see the thumbtacks back, long live the attitude era baby
Charlotte vs Natty: Worst match on the card for me, they just been able to hit the heights of that Roadblock match, Dana joining Charlotte whilst to do it midmatch was annoying, overall its the right thing to do. She was with Emma, who is out for an extended period of time, you match her with a woman who can carry her relatively green and large arse, someone who can help her learn.
Reigns vs Styles: Ahh, now was Reigns ever going to lose? This was actually a great match, high intensity, brutal spots and all. Just Reigns and his lack of selling, 2 Styles Clashes (one of which on the steel chair) and 4 or 5 chair shots and he still kicks out. Crazy
Thank god Rollins is back, nearly jumped out of my bed when I saw him on, would have liked to hear the music when he came down, the pop would have been crazy. Overall a really solid PPV, something we dont say often

 

[Prince Bálor]

Good show. 7/10

- Corbin vs Ziggler was decent. **
They had a fine brawl and Corbin won with a low blow followed by the End of Days. Also, Mauro calling the match was a thing of beauty.

- Gallows & Anderson vs The Usos was solid. **½
First PPV win for The Club, who looked vicious, as they should. The finish was nice.

- Rusev vs Kalisto was good. ***
Goodbye, Kalisto's uneventful run. Hello, Rusev's transitional run. This would've been much better if it wasn't for the disinterested crowd. Heading into the PPV, this was the only title match I thought the champion may not end up retaining and that was the case, indeed. Kalisto will get his rematch and then Rusev moves on to Big Match John who will dethrone him once again.

- The New Day vs The Vaudevillains was rock solid. **¾
Both teams looked fine, especially Big E, the right team won and we move on.

- The Miz vs Cesaro vs Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens was great and MOTN. ****
Great, fun stuff. Everyone looked great here. The action was terrific, the spots were cool and I loved all the nearfalls. I loved this match. Easily the best thing on the show.

- Ambrose vs Y2J was garbage. Oh, boy. This was bad, long and boring. Probably the worst PPV match since the Stairs match 'tween Show and Rowan. Oh, well... At least the finish was nice.

- Charlotte vs Natalya was a garbage match with a garbage finish. Also, Nattie is comical at selling submissions.

- Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles was a pretty good ME. ***½
I enjoyed the match. It was energetic, had crazy spots (AJ Styles, you crazy son of a bitch!) and Styles/Reigns have a good chemistry, which warrants for a good and enjoyable match.
I marked out in the end because THE MAN, SETH FREAKIN' ROLLINS IS BACK, BAYBAY! 3:
I'm ecstatic now that he's back, but Vince is insane if he thinks Rollins will get booed.

All in all, a good PPV.

 

[C.M. Shaddix]

7/10
-The Asylum match did fall short but the ending tho... Unexpected
-the fatal 4 way was great but the least talented guy won, I always wonder why heels get long ass title runs
-Women's title was a wtf moment
-Rusev is probably a transitional champ for Cena to bring back the US open challenge (I'm fine with that)
-the title match was awesome, not gonna lie Reigns did really good in that match, but it sucks how much offense Styles put in and still had to look like he was a bit wimpy to Roman, but Roman did dead ass impressive, so kudos to him.
-and finally... Welcome back Seth

 

[Wacokid27]

Overall grade: 7/10

Enjoyable show with some really good wrestling throughout (although there were some issues).

Pre-Show


Cass-Dudleyz Segment


For all the good of the Cass-Dudley Boyz feud (and I stand behind my position that Big Cass might very well be the most underrated promo in the company), this was a largely forgettable segment. I’m always leery of 2-on-1 feuds where the “1” beats the “2” without there being one hell of a story behind it and I’m not feeling that story. I think Cass (and the Dudleyz, for that matter) would have been better served by having the 2 beat down the 1 and letting Cass play babyface-in-peril as a way to build to a tag match later on (I mean, there’s got to be a blow-off tag match out of this, right?).


Baron Corbin defeats Dolph Ziggler in a No-DQ match


It’s about time. If the plan is for Baron Corbin to be the next big monster heel, he can’t be struggling against the Dolph Zigglers of the world. After saying that, I can hear the DZ fans start the pissing and the moaning (“You just don’t get it! DZ’s the BEST EVARRRRR!”), but the reality is that DZ’s star has lost every bit of its luster and he’s now a former world champion in the midcard whose job is to put over the younger talent. I don’t have a problem with him going over guys as a way to build them up, but Corbin’s future role in the company’s pretty clear and having losses to DZ on his resume aren’t going to help. At least, this time around, they had the right guy go over and now Corbin can move on to the U.S. Title race to take down Kalisto…..oh, shit.


Main Show


“The Club” vs. “The Family” or…Anderson and Gallows beat the Usos


This was a tremendously entertaining match that served its spot as the main show opener well. Both pairs work well together and the two pairs work well as opponents. The chemistry and psychology in this match were very good and WWE needs to decide if it’s going to have a fantastic tag team division with these guys as parts of the foundation or if they’re going to break these guys up and start them all up the path to singles stardom. Personally, I hope for the former and I’d love to see both of these teams go up the card together.


Rusev defeats Kalisto by submission to win the U.S. Title


Kalisto is rapidly becoming my favorite “next Rey Mysterio” (sorry Huni…er, Sin Cara). The guy can flat-out work and was able to showcase his skills in this match. I hope this is the beginning of the feud between these two rather than the blow-off (unless they’re going to return to pushing Kalisto as part of the tag team division…then, I’m okay with it). Meanwhile, Rusev seems to be returning to his “big dominating guy who crushes everything in his path” ways, which is good for him. The alternative to continuing this feud would be for Cena to challenge Rusev for the US Title and put him over clean to really make him look like a monster (without the follow-up victories like last time).


The New Day defeats the Vaudevillains (sp?) for the WWE “World” Tag Team Championship


First off, is it bad I can’t type “WWE World Tag Team Championship” without hearing it in Xavier Woods’ voice? The New Day is an interesting case. They’re extremely entertaining and over with the audience, which treats them like babyfaces, but they behave in-ring like heels (which fits, considering the use of the “Freebird Rule”). The Vaudevillains, however, are completely heels, so the audience was 100% behind TND. This was an entertaining match, but the feud feels like it wasn’t supposed to happen the way it has (I still think Enzo and Cass were supposed to beat them or this was supposed to be a triangle tag pre-Enzo-Concussion).


The Miz defeats Cesaro, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship


“Fight forever!” was the chant of the night and it’s no surprise that Sami Zayn’s gotten the chant against Nakamura and in this match. He’s rapidly becoming the best all-around worker in the company and he’s threatening to take that title away from Kevin Owens (if this is a surprise to anybody….). This match further made Cesaro look amazing (he kicked out of an SCF and generally looked like the baddest man in the match (it’s just a shame he had to be the one to eat the pinfall) and it furthered the angle between KO and Zayn, which, I’m guessing, will blow off at Summerslam. It also allowed Miz to keep the title, which I figure he’ll carry until MitB before dropping it to Cesaro.


Dean Ambrose defeats Chris Jericho in a Lethal Lock…..er, Asylum Match


These two are amazing in-ring performers who also have great larger-than-life personas. You have to respect the accomplishments of Jericho and his willingness at this point to take a bump onto thumbtacks and a DDT onto the same thumbtacks. I just wish they functioned better together in-ring. They gave us everything they had to make this entertaining and, in many ways, this match reminded us of all that was good in ECW/the hardcore division. I just don’t really enjoy Ambrose and Jericho in a match together.


Charlotte defeats Natalya for the WWE Women’s Championship in a Submission Match


Early on, Charlotte seemed to have a problem delivering a good match on PPV and it’s good to see that’s changed. These two had some interesting spots and the right woman went over (a Natalya title reign wouldn’t really help anybody at this point). I didn’t like Dana Brooke coming out as Ric Flair, but I’d just as soon they had Charlotte go over without help and make her look like a stronger champion (I know, “Dirtiest Player in the Game’s Daughter” and all, but Ric could deliver a clean win, too, and often did in big matches).


Roman Reigns defeats AJ Styles for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in an Extreme Rules Match


They should have had a fan vote about what type of match to have with the choices being an Extreme Rules Match, a Hardcore Match, or a No Disqualification Match, but I digress (sorry, flashback to the People Power Era). I still ask the question, “Who’s the face in this feud and who’s the heel?”. AJ and Roman have terrific chemistry and they play their roles well. I like the flashes of heelishness (I know, that’s not a word, but go with it) that AJ has showed over the last week (the cheers he gets for doing it notwithstanding). Those flashes show that AJ has grown since his TNA days into a more complete worker and that the best thing to happen for him career-wise was his sojourn in Japan. It also says a lot about AJ that he’s still willing to take the big bumps (I know people complain about this, along with Roman’s apparent unwillingness to take them, but it fit in this match, and I don’t get that gripe about Roman anyway). I would love to see AJ win MitB to tease cash-ins as long as Roman keeps the title because you just get the feeling that WWE knows they’ve got to put the title on AJ at some point, even if it’s only a short run (I also feel like AJ wouldn’t have signed without some form of guarantee of being WWE World Heavyweight Champion at least once…I mean, Trips has done it before, right, Dave?). For the match ending itself, it was completely predictable, which hurts it to some extent, but predictable is predictable for a reason and, as much as I wanted to see an AJ Styles title win last night, it was the right call to have Reigns keep the belt.


Seth Rollins Returns


I’m separating this from the rest of the main event because it needs its own review comments. I felt like people expected to see Finn Balor debut on the main roster at the end of the show, which would have been fun. But, with all respect to Finn (of whom I am a tremendous fan), this was worlds better. To see Seth come back and immediately go after his former brother for the title that Seth never lost was a ton of fun. It also gives Reigns a reason to take a bump or two. I wonder if WWE knew the kind of pop that Seth would get and what their plans are for him. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that we’ll see some sort of match between Seth and Roman at MitB (it would be hard to deny Rollins a shot at the title since he never lost it). The interesting thing will be to see how they line Ambrose up in the feud: will he side with Reigns or turn on Reigns and side with Rollins….or will he be a third side in the feud all on his own?


Going Forward


We saw some interesting feeds into the post-Extreme Rules world. It’ll be interesting to see who gets into the MitB match and whose feuds are kept separate from it. I think this should make tonight’s Raw interesting.

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