Extreme Rules Aftermath

[klunderbunker]

Extreme Rules 2010
Date: April 25, 2010
Location: 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, Arena
Attendance: 12,278
Commentators: Michael Cole, Matt Striker, Jerry Lawler

Ok so here we are. Again this is hopefully going to be a live review so if it comes off as odd don’t be surprised. This show was plagued by a lack of Raw build up show due to the volcano in Iceland. Even still though, this is a minor PPV as it’s just a rehash of the Mania feuds. This is the show where everything is a gimmick match which is always at least cool in theory. The main event is Batista/Cena in a last man standing match. Let’s get to it.

Opening video more or less says that Extreme rules. Cute. Incredibly stupid, but cute. Rey/Punk gets a higher billing than Edge/Jericho. That’s rather odd. Standard video package that sums up everything. WWE is very user friendly. It’s easy to step into any show and get what’s going on. That’s a HUGE perk for attracting new fans.

Street Fight: HHH vs. Sheamus

WOW. This is the opener? I’m stunned actually. This has been a decent build up to a feud…and there’s no HHH. ICELAND ATTACKS AGAIN! We go to the back and Sheamus has jumped HHH. I like it. It gives things a feeling of you don’t know what’s coming which is a very nice touch to say the least. The pale one has a steel pipe and gets in a solid shot on HHH’s head. I guess this has officially started but I’m not sure. The referee calls for the medic and we go to the arena.

And Big Show and Miz are here. Ok then. These two aren’t scheduled but I’d bet on a tag title match. They’re not scheduled but they just happen to have their wrestling gear on. The jacket on Miz works in some weird way. Miz has risen so far so fast that it’s amazing. I think Bret is going to be here soon.

Oh apparently they’re moving that to tomorrow. They say they have a lack of competition and they’re praying for opponents. I smell Kane for some reason. Here’s Teddy Long. He makes ShowMiz vs. a team of his choosing. This is just for a title shot, not the titles. Got it. And the opponents are….not announced yet. I’m liking this live way of reviewing actually. Ah .

Tag Team Gauntlet

R-Truth and Morrison are opening us up here. This is the first of three teams. I know this is a rematch of Mania but come on now. Actually this works so I can’t complain that much. Cole says the fans are behind the face team. NO REALLY? It’s a bit better than the previous one at Mania, but not by much. Morrison fucks up and gets disqualified by not letting Show out of the ropes when he has a triangle choke on. Ok then.

Team number two is MVP/Mark Henry. This is rather short but it works fine I guess. Without going into details, MVP gets punched and pinned.

Cue Hart Dynasty, Hart Attack, pin. Literally, that’s it.

Rating: N/A. Too much of a mess to really grade it as a regular match. Something like this was needed to flesh out the card though. It came off fine though.

Grisham tries to give us an update on HHH but Sheamus says he’ll have to forfeit or get a worse beating.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Remember if Punk loses his head is shaved. Punk NEEDS this. Rey is wearing a Skelator mask. Ok then. Punk hits that sweet powerslam of his. In a nice spot, Punk just throws Punk under the ropes so he crashes into the floor. Nicely done. Gallows has a bit of an Austin look going for him.

Decent match far and longer than their Mania one I think. Come on WWE don’t kill Punk off yet. He busts out a bow and arrow of all things. Nice. Striker tries to turn Cole and Lawler to Straightedge. I like it. Punk busts out a freaking Gory Special of all things. See? Even back then they had special moves. No Mercy stole from them! Punk is more or less dominating, which scares me to no end. Serena stops the 619 and she and Gallows get ejected.

Rey hits an Asai Moonsault to get right back into it. Crowd is red hot by the way. Rey gets a seated senton but Punk hits a dropkick to make the save. This is a storied rivalry already. No Striker. Just no. Punk hits his springboard clothesline and I can’t stand Rey anymore. Seriously, get over the whole overcoming the odds idea.

It’s just stupid anymore. GTS is countered into a rana for 2 and then punk kicks Rey’s head off. Solid match to put it mildly. Rey gets the fucking 619 and someone slides a chair into the ring. It’s a bald guy that slides under the ring. No clue who that was. He also drops Rey with something on the floor and Rey is out. GTS ends it. YES!

Rating: A-. VERY good match that had me wondering who would win up until the very end. Also, this is the way the match needed to end. Rey needed to lose here and Punk now has a credible win in this gimmick. That was a great match though. Love it and yes my Punk bias likely has a lot to do with it but still.

Strap Match: JTG vs. Shad Gaspar

It’s the four corners version here which I’m in the minority that actually prefers it that way. I just could not care less about this match. I truly couldn’t. JTG needs to win to regain credibility apparently. That would imply he had it to begin with, which is a straight up lie. Shad is dominating for the most part here. Yeah riveting.

Wow the crowd is SILENT for this. Who would have seen that coming? Shad just destroys JTG here and beats on him with the strap sans mercy. Shad gets his first three…and JTG does the same three. Not THIS finish again. Yep. JTG hits his finisher and dives for the 4th corner. Fuck me running at least it’s over.

Rating: D-. And I like these kinds of matches. The crowd simply could not care less and it came off very clearly here. I mean NO ONE cared. Just boring as all hell here with two guys that have no heat on them at all. At least it’s over though.

HHH can’t fight tonight. Yeah I’ll buy that.

Orton vs. Swagger is next? Really? We hit the recap. You know the drill by now.

Smackdown World Title: Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger

Remember it’s Extreme Rules which I guess means no rules? Crowd loves them some Orton. Swagger controls early on as you would expect. I’m hoping they don’t make the switch tonight. Orton chasing the title for a few months would be nice. Also Swagger needs the credibility that the title gives him.

I love how more or less the announcers say Orton has nothing but the RKO. That’s not that nice. Swagger is dominating but Orton gets a belt shot to break that up. Ok then. Orton hits that same powerslam that Punk hit earlier. Swagger counters the elevated DDT too. Nicely done. It’s garbage can time.

SICK shots with it from Orton. Those were nice. Orton is going off now and it’s awesome. Orton does a stomp to Swagger’s head while he’s on the steps. Ow. The knee drop misses though and Swagger hits the floor. Naturally he gets caught in the elevated DDT though and it’s Orton setting for the RKO now. Hint: when he slaps the mat and shouts, it means RKO is coming.

Instead though he sets up a chair but the RKO onto it is countered. Well kind of it was. The look came off terribly but I get the concept. Gutwrench powerbomb hits and Swagger gets the pin. HUGE win there. That was all Swagger as he countered the RKO and got the pin. All Swagger there. Post match Orton gets the RKO to keep the tweener thing going.

Rating: B-. Not great but the booking was exactly right. This was a decent little match as Swagger is getting better and better in the ring. I liked it for what it was. No classic but not bad at all.

And here’s Sheamus. Ok then. And despite not being able to feel his hand, here comes HHH. Ok, if he wins here, I give up.

Street Fight: Sheamus vs. HHH

HHH of course controls to start things off which is bearable I guess. He hits the spinebuster but can’t get the Pedigree because of the arm being how hurt it is. Now this is more like it. He’s just ramming HHH into the barricade over and over again. I forgot this is a street fight. That’s not a good sign at all.

Striker and King are arguing like no other here and it’s coming off as great. Striker says he and Lawler have both wrestled hurt. That’s rather stupid. Striker wrestled for what, a year or so? Just seems ridiculous to compare the two of them. And of course HHH has the energy to use a DDT with his left arm.

HHH grabs a pipe and smacks HHH in the head with it. Naturally he kicks out. Sure why not? Apparently after a massive Irish man blasts you in the head with a steel pipe you can kick out via instinct. Sure why not? Celtic Cross is blocked. Apparently that’s called Pale Justice now. HHH gets a kendo stick and all of a sudden his arm is fine. That makes my head hurt. This has at least picked up a bit. Pump kick hits though. A second kick hits and it’s all Sheamus.

Naturally he lets HHH get up and the third and fourth kicks land to FINALLY end him. And remember kiddies: do not attempt making yourself look that strong without a licensed wife with connections. To be fair, the ending makes this a lot more bearable. Post match he fights off a cervical collar and tries to crawl off. He’s almost to the entrance when Sheamus hits ANOTHER kick to put him down again. Nice.

Rating: C-. The second half saved this match. The first half was borderline failure but the weapons helped it a lot. Sheamus winning is the right thing though, period. Yes HHH looked very strong, but to be fair he laid down at the end of the match and that’s what counts at the end of the day. Not terrible but more about the angle afterwards than the match.

Ad for Over the Limit. Oh dear.

Edge is getting ready.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Beth Phoenix vs. Michelle McCool

This is an Extreme Makeover match. Michelle looks great of course. The music helps a lot here for her I think. There’s a table of makeup etc at ringside. Beth gets a semi-pop. Can someone shut Beth up? Please? Michelle is possibly the best women’s athlete ever? Really? That’s just pitiful.

Basically we’re just making fun of Vickie and using random weapons like hairspray and ironing boards. Beth counters the hairspray again and it’s one on one now. Vickie has a broom. Make your own jokes. Glam Slam ends it like it should have.

Rating: D. And that’s mainly due to Beth’s awesome cleavage in this one. This was a comedy match to put it nicely and it didn’t come off well to put it nicely. The girls looked hot, but having them use things like makeup and ironing boards? Really?

Ad for the Mania DVD.

Jericho does his usual great promo about how it ends tonight. He looks buff to say the least.

No recap actually.

Cage Match: Edge vs. Chris Jericho

Ah ok we got a quick recap after Edge’s intro. Makes more sense. Jericho stalls a lot to play himself some heel. Ah there we go now they’re both in. And we see Jericho’s ass. Didn’t need that one there. Jericho gets rammed into the cage. Striker: The metal militia bares its fangs.

Edge goes for the spear but misses entirely. That’s never a good thing. I love that springboard dropkick that Jericho busts out from time to time. Striker talks about footwork and Lawler just couldn’t care less. In a cool spot, Jericho hits a leg whip from the top into the Walls. Nicely done. Edge does the climb the ropes spot to get out which is a nice counter.

Jericho has the door open and knocks Edge to the middle of the ring. Then of course like an idiot he gets out of the cage and goes back in. Yeah he’s an idiot. Edge hits a fast spear for two. Codebreaker gets two and we fight on top of the cage for a bit. Edge gets crotched and Jericho gets out AGAIN but this time Edge stops him from falling.

We fight on top even more and Jericho comes back into the cage. And so does Edge. In a NICE spot, Edge is standing on the top rope and Jericho gets a running start, hits the other rope and into a Codebreaker so both guys are down. Nice. That only gets two for a pretty weak pop. Jericho goes for the top of the cage but Edge saves again.

He slams the door on Jericho’s ankle. That would freaking hurt. Edge spins the ankle around in a weird move. This is more psychological than anything else. Ok not really but there’s some of it in there. More ankle work. Edge hits a CRAP spear for the pin. Why does the announcer’s voice always crack when he’s saying superstar?

Rating: B. Good match here but not great. If nothing else, this gives Edge the definitive win here. That’s the biggest thing I think. It wasn’t great, but it did its purpose. Solid stuff, but nothing great though. Also, stop the damn pinning in the cage. It’s just fucking idiotic. Two men enter, one man leaves. Not two men enter, one keeps the other down for three seconds.

We recap Cena vs. Batista. You know it by now.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Batista

We get the big match intros. Depending on the source you read, this might be Big Dave’s last match. We get some feeling out stuff and then Batista is like fuck it I’m getting a chair. Naturally this doesn’t work. When did so many people start using the big boot? FU doesn’t hit and Cena is thrown into the post.

Batista goes for the knee because that strategy always works in these things right? He does that for a good while. Cena gets a reversal into the steps to get Cena back to about even. Batista busts out a damn figure four. Well you can’t fault him for a lack of psychology. Cena goes into his sequence but Batista hits the floor.

FU onto the chair hits but it gets 8. Wow that’s odd to type. Spinebuster gets 8 for Big Dave. Cena goes thgrough a table and of course that’s not enough. Batista is looking for plundah, perhaps a bicycle, when a kid yells that he hates the Animal. The Animal feels the same way. Cena puts him through the announce table. You can kind of say this is a paint by numbers thing. It’s not but you could say it is. STFU goes on and Big Dave taps, but you can’t win that way.

He’s out but gets up at 9. Nice little throwback (I crack myself up) to Raw two weeks ago. With nothing else left, Cena crotches him on the post and busts out Duct Tape to tie his legs together. Since he isn’t standing, that’s good enough to retain. Or win the title according to the main page.

Rating: B. Solid match but nothing classic. Cena beats Batista again to end the feud and possibly end Batista. This was fine for what it was, which is something I think people need to keep in mind. They weren’t going for a classic showdown here. That was at Mania. This was the violence aspect of it and more about a definitive ending. You have to keep that in mind on matches like these as it’s a huge difference in style and goals.

Overall Rating: B. I thought this was solid. Not great, but solid. Again, you have to keep in mind what you’re looking at here. Just by the name alone, Extreme Rules, you know this isn’t a standard PPV. It was a gimmick show and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. There isn’t a truly bad match all show, with the strap match and I guess the Divas match being the low points.

However you have a surprise ending and hot women. What more do you need? As for the best part of this show, the youth movement continues. Swagger gets a HUGE win over Orton and did it on his own. He countered the RKO, he hit the Bomb, he got the pin. That’s all you need. Also, Punk got the win that the needed in a great match. All of a sudden, he has credibility and momentum all over again. That’s all you need again.

Oh and Sheamus beats the crap out of HHH. Overall, this show did a great job of closing a lot of doors and getting the rest of the ones opened that need to be opened. This was a successful show. I’ll go with that. Oh and one more thing: there was a feeling of you didn't know what was coming due to the opening of the show. That's a very important thing there and it worked very well.

Punk/Mysterio and the main event are worth seeing. Everything else is decent enough for a watch later on. This isn’t a great show, but in a few years it would be a great way to kill an afternoon when it’s raining. Good show.

 

[WWE Manster03]

Overall, I agree. The PPV was solid. Considering they had to make a family friendly show with an "extreme" edge to it, I think they did very well. Also, in case people weren't paying attention, look at the people who are now pushed up the card based on booking tonight
Hart Dynasty
Sheamus(been at the top, but beating Cena/HHH makes him legit)
CM Punk(has been upper mid card/main event already, but this solidifies it for sure, and with Batista leaving they will need a new top heel on Raw since you know that is where he is going tomorrow.)
Swagger(going over Jericho on free tv looks good, but solid ring work for the last few weeks and a clean win over the top face in the company will make you. Welcome to the big time Jack, you just made your career)

Also, on a side note that was Joey Mercury that interfered in CM Punk's match. With that being said, I am calling 100% LOCK that JO-MO gets drafted to Raw tomorrow to be a face to go against SES. That will move him right up the card as well. Good Job WWE. Keep up the good work.

 

[Poɘt]

I only caught three matches: Sheamus/HHH, Jericho/Edge, and the diva match. I found all three really boring. Mainly because while the matches were hardcore, I didn't feel like I was watching hardcore matches. It felt more like the typical rest holds and strike filled WWE match featuring the appearance of a weapon. But nothing creative was done with the weapons or cage.

What bothered me most about the three matches I saw was the lack of actual wrestling moves. Almost the entire time you saw rest holds or strikes. It's possible to tell a story with a suplex, backbreaker, or working a body part using different moves. It's a real turn off to see matches like that and a bit confusing how many will rate those matches so highly.

Obviously I can't rate the PPV as a whole, but the three matches I saw don't make me want to catch a replay to see what I missed.

 

[MoneyMack]

I came here to try to figure out who helped CM Punk win his match.

Joey Mercury huh? Thanks WWE Manster03

Should be interesting going forward

 

[Zeven_Zion]

You actually considered this Pay Per View good? Wh...

First of all, this is "Extreme Rules", which means there are no rules, which means it's not about wrestling it's about being extreme. And what's the most extreme match of the night?

The Divas Match.

That's right, you read me. Beth Phoenix stole the show, and this is totally not a joke.

All of the matches were PAINFULLY predictable, there was nothing extreme or interesting about them. Not even PPV Quality. Nothing. I've seen better matches on RAW.

CM Punk vs Rey - I thought Rey was a Highflyer, and thank you WWE for not giving us what we all wanted, a bald CM Punk. I sense that this was more of a Storyline furthering type of match but how awesome would it be if Punk was actually bald now? It would take the feud to a whole new level. But no. Let's have some jackass screw Rey. Yeah, that's what we want, another guy to stand behind CM Punk while he's cutting promos. Yaay.

JTG vs Shad - 21 Century..strap match...two nobodies. Hell yeah baby that's what I'm NOT talkin' 'bout. Seriously? We had to see this? Why? For what reason? THe match wasn't good, it was a piss break. Why? Why? I ask WHY?

Randy Orton vs Shwagger - OKay, I like Orton and I like Swagger. The match wasn't as good as I thought but that's not my issue. My issue is this... Jack Swagger has not won a DAMN thing since he became World Heavyweight Champion. This is a guy who jobbed to Santino before he won it, then cashed in, took the belt, kept losing losing losing, now he gets his ASS kicked all match long and OH! Beats Randy fucking Orton ... cleanly. Have him cheat, have him do something. He's a heel not mother Theresa? It makes no sense and it makes Orton look bad. What the hell?

Beth vs McCool - Match of the night and it's not even funny. It's sad. This was the only match that had a hint of an extreme rules match in it. I got to see two cool reversals and moves by Beth. It is official. Beth Phoenix is the best wrestler in the WWE. He deserves it.

Jericho vs Edge - While trying to scratch my brain through my nose, I watched a match that was supposed to be a QUALITY contest. Instead...instead I saw a regular wrestling match and it a cage just so happened to just stand there. Chillin' and what not. WWE wasn't even trying with this one. Or maybe they did. Infact, yes they did. They tried and they failed.


Cena vs Batista - Never got to see it because I turned the PPV off.

P.S: Yes I do hate WWE. Yes I do like TNA. Yes I do think TNA is doing better. No I don't bash WWE because I hate them, I bash them because I wasted my money on a shitty PPV. I feel insulted as a fan, I feel stupid for thinking WWE would dish out something nice, and I feel that a WWE mark is coming my way so there's a hike..and I shall take it.

 

[SexandWrestling]

ShowMiz gauntlet match

Show-Miz' gauntlet match was a great way to start the show. Everybody knew what was going to happen especially with Bret having to admit that ShowMiz is the greatest tag team of all-time during the draft tomorrow, but still popped huge when Hart Dynasty hit the modern version of the Hart Attack for the win.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

I had a feeling that Punk would win due to Joey Mercury and I love how this whole match turned out. It was solid and with the whole crowd wanting Punk to get his head shaved, it moved him up to even greater heel status. Adding Mercury to the SES is a great addition to the group as well.

JTG vs. Shad Gaspard

This was good for what it was. There aren't too many ways to have a strap match run out and having JTG outsmart his bigger but stupider ex-friend was the best route...That is until JTG most likely gets released in the next month or so.

Jack Swagger vs. Randy Orton

As I was thinking about the ppv yesterday, I completely forgot what Orton was doing and it took me until the ppv started to realize he had a title shot at Swagger. I knew they would wrestle a great match and I wasn't disappointed. Orton seemed more like the heel towards the end of this match however. It seemed Swagger was outwrestling Randy for most of the match and getting the clean win shocked the hell out of me. I would love to see him as a face in the Bob Backlund/Kurt Angle mold. He keeps getting better and better every time I see him in the ring.

HHH vs. Sheamus

I ordered the ppv about ten minutes late so I didn't see Sheamus beat down HHH but seeing Grisham or whoever in the back in front of HHH's dressing room saying it looks like HHH won't compete and then he comes bursting out just seemed really corny.

It was a solid match once the weapons came into play and it was good seeing Sheamus pick up the win despite the excuse of why HHH lost cleanly to him.

Michelle McCool vs. Beth Phoenix

Just fast-forwarded through most of this match. The only good thing about Team Lay-Cool is Layla's entrance as they're just a second-rate Beautiful People and she didn't even do her stripper pose on the ropes! I didn't feel it was the right time for Michelle to lose her title however. Somehow those bloggers who supported Mickie James didn't riot as they said they would...Biggest fuckin shocker EVER.

Edge vs. Chris Jericho

This was, by far, the best match of the night. Great wrestling all-around and was even better than their Wrestlemania showdown. This match had everything including that sick springboard codebreaker. This feud isn't over by a long shot and they can wrestle each other every single week and I would never get tired of it.

John Cena vs. Batista

Horrible fuckin match. They tore the roof off at WrestleMania but this match ruined that memory for me. Seeing Cena jump up at every 9 count was just sickening. I could just see him getting decapitated and still jumping up to his feet at 9 and being no worse for wear. Then somehow it got worse. Cena duct-tapes Batista feet together to get the cheap win. Plus Batista, if you're truly leaving, take Cena with you.

Despite that horrible main event, an excellent card with solid matches all around. For those that were expecting a bloodbath with no rules through every match, you clearly haven't been paying attention to WWE and their PG ratings. Just imagine how pissed you all would have been if somebody actually did bleed and they had to stop a match at Extreme Rules because blood was shown LOL

On a side note, did anybody else notice the KFC commercial during the telecast??? What the fuck is up with that? I'm not paying $44.95 to see commercials. Isn't that the point of ppv after all?

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

For me, all the winners were predictable. the only ones that wern't was the womens title and the strap match, although the tag match, which i didnt know would be there.

i knew sheamus would win, cuz hhh is gonna take time off, same with cena-batista match and swagger, i never thought they would take the title of him, edge would win following his loss at mania. they were all really predictable to me.

i dont want the next ppv to be as predictable..

 

[SexandWrestling]

For me, all the winners were predictable. the only ones that wern't was the womens title and the strap match, although the tag match, which i didnt know would be there.

i knew sheamus would win, cuz hhh is gonna take time off, same with cena-batista match and swagger, i never thought they would take the title of him, edge would win following his loss at mania. they were all really predictable to me.

i dont want the next ppv to be as predictable..

I agree the results were pretty predictable but I didn't order it for the unpredictability factor; I ordered it for solid wrestling and I think it definitely delivered on that front. I would gladly take predictability over the insanity in TNA.

 

[Serial Thrill Her]

Randy Orton vs Shwagger - OKay, I like Orton and I like Swagger. The match wasn't as good as I thought but that's not my issue. My issue is this... Jack Swagger has not won a DAMN thing since he became World Heavyweight Champion. This is a guy who jobbed to Santino before he won it, then cashed in, took the belt, kept losing losing losing, now he gets his ASS kicked all match long and OH! Beats Randy fucking Orton ... cleanly. Have him cheat, have him do something. He's a heel not mother Theresa? It makes no sense and it makes Orton look bad. What the hell?

I'll go ahead and say that I haven't watched the PPV since I live in Italy and I have to wait until tomorrow to watch it for free on AFN, but how does Orton getting pinned by the World Heavyweight Champion make him look bad?

Orton is arguably the hottest thing going in professional wrestling right now and already holds two pinfall victories over Swagger in the past month. Not to mention that since Swagger has won the title he has done the job to both the Undertaker and JoMo. The only significant victory he's had while champ came against Jericho in a triple threat match in which Edge had already done the dirty work.

IMHO, Swagger pinning Orton cleanly gives a little bit of credability to his reign so far, and from what I read, the match was pretty back and forth. Add to it that Orton got the last laugh by hitting the RKO on the floor after the match was over and then had a staredown with the WWE Champ as well.

Sounds to me like Orton came out looking just fine. But like I said, I don't get to watch it until tomorrow so maybe my opinion will change after that.

 

[#1Peep]

I really hated the PPV. The wrong people won. Michelle, Batista, Chris Jericho, Shad and ShowMiz should have all gone away with the win. Batista came off looking so weak, beaten by Super Cena and his Super tape (yay!) (sarcasim). The matches were slow, no blood or even a technical hold the entire night. Overall I would give it a 2 out of 10. Had me bored from first minute, I just had to watch it all to see if it improved and it didn't. Hope RAW is better, even though it is set to be a three hour cluster...

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I'll go ahead and say that I haven't watched the PPV since I live in Italy and I have to wait until tomorrow to watch it for free on AFN, but how does Orton getting pinned by the World Heavyweight Champion make him look bad?

Orton is arguably the hottest thing going in professional wrestling right now and already holds two pinfall victories over Swagger in the past month. Not to mention that since Swagger has won the title he has done the job to both the Undertaker and JoMo. The only significant victory he's had while champ came against Jericho in a triple threat match in which Edge had already done the dirty work.

IMHO, Swagger pinning Orton cleanly gives a little bit of credability to his reign so far, and from what I read, the match was pretty back and forth. Add to it that Orton got the last laugh by hitting the RKO on the floor after the match was over and then had a staredown with the WWE Champ as well.

Sounds to me like Orton came out looking just fine. But like I said, I don't get to watch it until tomorrow so maybe my opinion will change after that.

He did just fine during the match. Swagger basically got his ass whipped all match long but in the end Swagger won with a few moves. It's like all match long Randy couldn't do crap then Swagger pulls out his finisher and whamo.

To me, if you dominate someone almost all match long and it doesn't work, and then he does a move and kills you - that makes you look bad. Not to mention that he got pinned by a guy whose first win in SOME time came just now. Makes no sense. We're talking Randy freaking Orton here. When he was a heel was so vicious and ruthless. Now all of a sudden he starts losing to nobodies.

I guess the whole "he pinned him cleanly" thing is what I don't like.

 

[Vega]

My Review:

Tag Team Gauntlet
I actually liked this one. It didn't make MoTruth or ShoMiz look weak, had some good spots and put the Hart Dynasty over.
14/20

CM Punk VS Rey Mysterio
If Rey should've won, they would've made this a "Hair VS Mask"-match and Punk had to win to remain credible, so it was very predictable. Good action nevertheless, back-and-forth-fighting and an interesting ending.
15/20

Shad Gaspard VS JTG
The same ending we already knew for strap matches. Shad squashes, JTG wins. After the loss, Shad didn't even attempt to look surprised. I guess it should've made the one look strong and the other clever, but it made the one look dumb and the other weak. Nobody really cared, wrong time for a push.
5/20

Jack Swagger VS Randy Orton
Swagger didn't look great, but at least he won. Orton was really dominant. I liked the trash can and announce table shots and some of the other extreme spots. The end was obvious, Swagger would've lost his credibility if he got squashed. Swagger's attire looks somehow goofy to me. I liked his Wrestlemania attire and want him to go back to that.
12/20

Triple H VS Sheamus
It made HHH look strong and Sheamus brutal, therefore served the purpose, but was kind of dull. Hunter got beaten up and fought more against his pain than against Sheamus. It wasn't an overall clear victory for Sheamus, he still looks like an annoying clown to me, I'm sorry.
10/20

Michelle McCool VS Beth Phoenix
That was a shame, like most Divas matches. Screaming goats and overall stupid, sexist match gimmick. Does WWE want the Divas to be wrestlers or hysterical housewives? Nevertheless, Beth pulled out some good moves and I'm glad she won.
6/20

Chris Jericho VS Edge
Man, Jericho didn't even want to win. He had the opportunity twice but just DIDN'T WANT. Do you really want to tell me somebody jumps up the cage and then has no power to just fall down to the other side? That made the whole match look dumb and pointless, even though there was good action in the cage, for example the Springboard Codebreaker. It didn't make Edge look strong at all and was horribly predictable, especially after Jericho didn't go through the open door. Good spots, but annoying plot.
10/20

John Cena VS Batista
That one was really good. Innovative ending after every man pushed the other to the edge. Of course it was not a great technical match and we all knew who would win, but they made it interesting to watch, had awesome segments and we had no typical Cena ending.
16/20

Overall:
I don't think this PPV was very good. Overall very predictable and not really providing anything for the future. There was partially good action for a "PG-Extreme Rules", but it wasn't very exciting.
12/20

 

[morrohbk]

Are you serious? I thought this Pay Per View was 10/10 like every other single WWE PPV. Michelle, Batista, Chris Jericho, Shad and Showmiz have to be some of the worst wrestlers in WWE, aswell as Swagger and Sheamus. Cena is by far the best wrestler in the world both technically and vocally, his mike skills are equisite and his moveset is one of the most colourful (as in has lots of moves) in the whole of WWE. To have Sheamus beat Triple was probably the biggest mistake WWE has made in a long time, not only because Triple H lost, now Sheamus will think hes top of the pops and try and run Raw <. Oh well cant wait for the 3 hour Raw, ITS GONNA BE AWSOME (unlike the miz)!.

P.S Extreme Rules: 10/10

 

[Serial Thrill Her]

Swagger basically got his ass whipped all match long but in the end Swagger won with a few moves. It's like all match long Randy couldn't do crap then Swagger pulls out his finisher and whamo. To me, if you dominate someone almost all match long and it doesn't work, and then he does a move and kills you - that makes you look bad. Not to mention that he got pinned by a guy whose first win in SOME time came just now. Makes no sense. We're talking Randy freaking Orton here. When he was a heel was so vicious and ruthless. Now all of a sudden he starts losing to nobodies.

Oh ok, makes more sense now.

I can see where you could call bull-shit on something like that. Like I said before, I don't get to watch the PPV until tomorrow, but it sounds a lot like the Orton/Cena 'I Quit Match', where Orton kicked the absolute shit out of Cena the entire match and then Cena won with his five moves at the end.

I still don't think that it necessarily makes Orton look bad, and I definetly wouldn't call Swagger a nobody seeing as how he's holding the strap. To me, it shows what a class act Orton is by giving Swagger a little bit of credibility as champ.

I guess the whole "he pinned him cleanly" thing is what I don't like.

I can definetly see where the clean pin here is kind of unecessary though. I thought the same thing about Undertaker going over clean on Swagger last Monday.

 

[WhyTravisFelt]

I didn't watch the PPV; based on the lackluster card, I couldn't possibly justify ordering it. That being said, I suppose I'll throw my two-cents in for what I've read.

The Miz-Morrison tag team gauntlet sounds like it was ******ed. I don't understand why they didn't do anything with the McIntyre-Hardy feud. I have an awful feeling we'll have one more Hardy concussion and it'll lead to an amnesiac storyline (tangent ended).

Punk-Mysterio seemed predictable, but decent. SES seems to be turning into the Flock and that's fine with me; but I wonder how it manages to not catch any flack for how obviously it parodies religious groups (particularly Born Again Christians), especially in a PG company. I hope it all leads somewhere big for Punk. I don't recall a Punk-Cena feud; maybe after tonight...

JTG vs. Shad- When they broke up Cryme Tyme it was the first and only time since I got DVR over two years ago that I stopped a wrestling program less than an hour in and just deleted it. I had already gone through the injustice of watching Jericho lose his title to a god damned nobody just a few minutes earlier and I just couldn't take it. That being said, I at least hope good things come Shad's way, he's one of very few wrestlers of his size I enjoy watching. I wish WWE cared more about tag teams and it absolutely sucks that the best tag team they've had in the past five years couldn't win the tag team gold even once before splitting up.

Swagger vs. Orton- I don't dislike Swagger...I don't particularly like him either. I strongly dislike WWE's new new booking style that has been rewarding a bunch of new rookies and the same old stand-bys while everybody else who has wrestled for the past five to ten years giving their all and waiting for their shots (Christian, Matt Hardy, basically anybody else in the MITB but McIntyre and Swagger) all basically get shit on and passed over. Swagger is not a bad wrestler by any stretch of the imagination, I just can not respect him right now. Hell, I'm just now starting to like Randy Orton, so Swagger has probably a couple of years before he gets anything out of me except for resentment. Would've liked to see Orton win, but knew he wouldn't; not with Batista losing later.

HHH vs. Sheamus. Read my last paragraph and make the same associations regarding Sheamus to Swagger. Do not make the same association with HHH to Orton. I will never like HHH, I've never enjoyed a single match I have ever seen him in, not even when he wrestles Jericho.

McCool vs. Phoenix- **shrugs** Zeven_Zion was saying this was sadly the best match on the card and as awful as most divas matches are, I still wouldn't be surprised if it's the truth. Divas are for looks mostly but at least these are two of the more competent ones. WWE got rid of Mickie James which makes absolutely no sense to me. She was easily the most over diva, by leaps and bounds, and arguably the hottest (my new HD box shows how thin Layla really is; heartbreaking) and she probably didn't cost a whole lot in comparison to most of the men on the roster (tangent over).

Edge vs. Jericho- would've been one of two matches I'd've been interested in watching, but we knew Edge had to go over. I'm only going to say this once and I can't possibly wrap my mind around any wrestling promoter's logic on this one, but pinfalls in a cage match are BULLSHIT! Seriously, What The FUCK are they in a cage for? To obstruct the audience's vision?

Cena vs. Batista- **shrugs** it was a Cena Batista match. Had about 157 of them at this point, all are about as fast-forward worthy as a diva match, but the plus sign is that since they are usually in the main event, you can always just turn it off.

 

[wadskillen]

zeven zion, go and watch the orton swagger match again would ye? It was back and forth for most the match with orton getting a little more of the offense which usually sets him up for a defeat. Absolutely nothing and i mean nothing like the orton cena i quit last september which you have that fella living in italy thnking it was like. Would agree that the overall booking of swaggers character has been strange but dont forget he looked very strong against the undertaker in an impromtu match on raw. hardly takes a weak wrestler losing to the undertaker at the best of times. As for you thinking that punk should have shaved to continue the feud, you think the ses would survive or have their great saviour if he had of been, and give rey yet another 'against all odds' win??? N surely someone helping punk to cheat his way to victory furthers the feud neway? your tna indeed! your opinion on swagger previous to mitb i agree with but did you say the arrival and immediate burial of rvd on tna a few weeks back? and nowthe champ?hmmm
As for the whole show, i really enjoyed it except for the fact it should never have been given the extreme rules gimmick as we got terrific wrestling matches whch only lost out because we were all expecting extreme. And super fucking cena, i dare you to sell a beating one time in your career, i know alot of your annoyances come down to the people booking you but no1 told you to just jump to your feet at 9 like you had just been 'play acting the whole time', way to destroy any believability in wrestling. and what really bugs me is that you have been on top for 5 years and never made the effort to change

 

[wadskillen]

whytravis felt, i too hope punk is headed for great things but the thought of him against cena scares the shit out of me cuz of how wwe books super cena, i hope to god punk stays away from wherever cena is. ive only started watching again the past year after quitting in 2006 and can not stand to watch cena bulldoze through everybody.....n earlier i meant to say to zevenzion did you see rvds debut for tna not say obviously

 

[The Doctor]

I thought the PPV was a ton of fun, and I am glad I could watch it. There wasn't a bad match on the card. Even the Diva's match was good, though I believe my feeling that could be contributed to my love of Beth Phoenix. The tag team match was an exciting way to start the show, and the crowd was HOT for the Hart Dynasty. The JTG/Shad match was pretty enjoyable, and I like seeing two midcarders get a match on a PPV to continue their feud. The Edge/Jericho match was pretty good, I greatly enjoyed Triple H/Sheamus, the Punk/Mysterio match was excellent and the end was intriguing, and the Cena/Batista match was awesome and had a very creative ending. Batista certainly went out on a high note.

A very solid PPV that I am glad I bought. It was a ton of fun and really enjoyable the whole way through. No matches were completely perfect (Though Centista and Mysterio/Punk were close) but stories were wrapped up or furthered, and there was a sense of excitement throughout the whole night. The right people went over in the right ways, in my opinion.

B+

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Overall, I thought Extreme Rules was a really good show. I know that many of the outcomes were pretty predictable among the IWC, but what would you expect? The IWC monitors the internet to find out potential spoilers, storyline ideas, rumored match outcomes, etc. long before they take place.

I enjoyed the ShowMiz gauntlet match idea to start off the show. It was unexpected and I'm just a fan of ShowMiz in general. The matches weren't classics or anything, but the whole thing was a tool to move along ShowMiz into a legitimate feud with the Hart Dynasty.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio was a fantastic match. This is really the sort of match that they should have had at WrestleMania. The live crowd was heavily into the match and you could tell that they were looking forward to the possibility of Punk actually losing his hair. I don't think it was expected, but it was still a great match. Punk scored a win at about the 16 minute mark and the SES gained a new member that helped Punk pull off the win.

The strap match between JTG and Shad was ok, though far from spectacular. This feud is still so young and in its earliest stages. There really hasn't been enough time for the feud to really have a chance of getting over and latch onto the audience's attention. In all honesty, this match probably should've just been left off the ppv card and put on Smackdown.

The WHC match between Swagger and Randy Orton was really good. Not an all-time classic, but a good match just the same. I very much like the fact that Swagger came into the ppv vulnerable because it just works well with the overall situation. The situation being a young, inexperienced champion that might be in a situation he's not really ready to handle up against one of the top performers of the WWE, a ruthless youngster and a multi-time world champion. Swagger went over clean and that's exactly what needed to happen. If the WWE intends to keep the title on Swagger for a while, this win ultimately means a lot for Swagger.

What they were doing with the Sheamus and Triple H situation all night was entertaining. Triple H wound up looking like a trooper, a battle hardened veteran that couldn't be kept down by Sheamus' ambush and Sheamus just came off looking like a ruthless young heel that'll do whatever it takes. Sheamus gets the clean win over Trips around the 16 minute mark and it just came off nicely. Sheamus needed to go over, the match was really good, Triple H sold everything really well and Sheamus ultimately came out looking like a million bucks.

The Women's Championship match between Beth Phoenix and Michelle McCool was also pretty good, particularly considering it was a Divas match. At the same time, however, Phoenix and McCool are two of the mere handful of Divas that are actually pretty good wrestlers. There was actually a bit of a pop for this match, but most fans just weren't really into it. There are just too many awful Divas matches that happen with one good one coming along every once in a blue moon.

The Edge/Jericho cage match was a really good 20 minute match. I don't think Edge is as over as a face as the WWE would like him to be. Maybe Edge has spent too much time as a heel, maybe the WWE brought him back and pushed him too quickly into such a high profile feud, maybe it's a little of both. Either way, I very much enjoyed the match and I think it's probably time to put an end to this feud.

The Last Man Standing match between Cena and Batista was a really good effort from both men. I personally loved the use of duct tape for the finish as it does have a bit of logic to it if you think about it. The purpose of the match is to keep your opponent off his feet for a count of 10, so what better way to win than to keep your opponent immobilized. This match went about 25 minutes and I just enjoyed most of what I saw. I figured that Batista would lose the match, even before the whispers began of him probably leaving the WWE after this week. Still, a good match.

Overall, I thought Extreme Rules was a really good ppv. I think some people are still hung up too much on the PG rating, the no blood policy and the general lack of spotfests in WWE matches. I could sit and nitpick all night and could find something wrong with anything if I looked hard enough. The ppv elevated the stock of some young stars, pushed a tag title feud forward, ended some feuds and had really good wrestling overall. If you watched the ppv to be entertained, I think you were more than satisfied. If you watched it just to have something to bitch about on the internet forums, then nothing the WWE does is going to please you.

 

[wadskillen]

and as for people sying it was too predictable, wtf? The results of matches in pro wrestling are for the most part predictable it is how the result comes about that is what is most interesting. Duck tape on batista, ne1 guess that? Swagger clean over orton? didnt think so. new member of ses hopefully as well. really good event me thnks, just should have kept the backlash name and not gotten people geared up for extreme when wot we got was a good wrestling show......but can someone tell me if there is something missing from the edge jericho feud. mite just be me but i feel like it has been lacking the moment edge started trying to get the crowd shouting spear

 

[Serial Thrill Her]

......but can someone tell me if there is something missing from the edge jericho feud. mite just be me but i feel like it has been lacking the moment edge started trying to get the crowd shouting spear

I definetly agree. Back when Edge first went out due to injury, as a heel mind you, they had the beginnings of a fantastic feud with Jericho talking about how he was the stronger and better part of the tag team and the video with Edge telling Jericho that he would be back.

But then all that time went by and the WWE just seemed to drop the ball. They focused all their attention on JeriShow and the tag titles, and then trying to keep Jericho on both RAW and Smackdown that I think a lot of people forgot the great promo that those two put together.

When Edge finally returned and won the Rumble, I think that WWE pushed him face too quickly and the crowd just wasn't behind it yet. I also feel, IMHO, that the WWE didn't focus on their feud or storyline nearly as much as say the Batista/Cena or HBK/Undertaker storylines going into Wrestlemania.

Maybe if they had used Edge like a tweener, much the same way they are doing with Orton, then the feud would have had some more fire behind it. But then again this is all just speculation on my part, not to mention that I think the whole "Spear, Spear, Spear" gimmick seems really forced.

 

[sharmaq]

Jack Swagger did not have his ass kicked for most of the match, he actually dominated at least 60% of it. Not a bad match, but I felt they over did the whole thing where Swagger would put Orton down and then stand back and stare for about 10 seconds. That only works if you have a real connection with the crowd (face or heel) and Swagger is still building that kind of connection with the crowd as he is still building up his credibility.

i agree that something is missing from the Edge-Jericho feud. And (it pains me to say this as I'm a huge fan of Edge), the problem is that Edge is just not taking off as a babyface. He still comes across slightly as a jerk during his promos, and the whole "spear, spear" thing hasn't taken off at all - more people sing along with r-truth than chant "spear". It's just so corny and doesn't seem to fit his character - which is the other problem here, as apart from the fact he came back from injury and doesn't like chris jericho, we've not really been given much reason to cheer him - the gut was a heel for over 5 years after all. You could say the same for Orton, but at least he has undergone changes in his persona and character to the point where fans started to root for him. With Edge he's pretty much still playing the same guy. I'm hoping last night was the blow off to this feud and he turns heel asap.

 

[axl626]

Edge has never worked as a face. Am I the only one that remembers when he was booked as a huge face drafted to Raw only to come back and get either no reaction or booed. He was so boring. Luckily they heard the fans and turned him heel at I think Taboo Tuesday. This was what I like to call his Billy Gunn point.

I will point out that I don't like Edge. He has never proven to me that he has what he takes to be where he is. He overacts and lets others do the work. Now that said, if an E&C reunion or feud happen I will be all over that, I don't care who the face is. Christian is the shit.

As for Extreme rules I will once again say that the booking of heels and faces in two matches made no sense to me. Why did Punk, the heel, go into a match with a stipulation that could only hurt him? Rey could and should have joined the SES when he lost, unless of course they're coming to Raw, which would makeup for that travesty. The second part is the tag team gauntlet. How does beating a team that beat two other teams make you look strong. It doesn't and I hope they bury the Hart Dynasty tonight. MizShow were the real faces in that match.

 

[maar130]

You actually considered this Pay Per View good? Wh...

First of all, this is "Extreme Rules", which means there are no rules, which means it's not about wrestling it's about being extreme. And what's the most extreme match of the night?

The Divas Match.

That's right, you read me. Beth Phoenix stole the show, and this is totally not a joke..

As sad as it is, I have to agree with you there.

All of the matches were PAINFULLY predictable, there was nothing extreme or interesting about them. Not even PPV Quality. Nothing. I've seen better matches on RAW.

CM Punk vs Rey - I thought Rey was a Highflyer, and thank you WWE for not giving us what we all wanted, a bald CM Punk. I sense that this was more of a Storyline furthering type of match but how awesome would it be if Punk was actually bald now? It would take the feud to a whole new level. But no. Let's have some jackass screw Rey. Yeah, that's what we want, another guy to stand behind CM Punk while he's cutting promos. Yaay.

Ok here, did you really wanted a bald Punk? are you freaking kidding me? Punk has been Rey's bitch since the Elimination Chamber, he has defeated Punk everywhere and beyond, Do you know where the feud had gone with avictory by Rey? Right to the dumpster because it would have made it 4-0 in favor of Rey Mysterio, not counting tag matches, What would Rey need to get revenge from if he keeps kicking Punk's butt everytime they face each other?

Randy Orton vs Shwagger - OKay, I like Orton and I like Swagger. The match wasn't as good as I thought but that's not my issue. My issue is this... Jack Swagger has not won a DAMN thing since he became World Heavyweight Champion. This is a guy who jobbed to Santino before he won it, then cashed in, took the belt, kept losing losing losing, now he gets his ASS kicked all match long and OH! Beats Randy fucking Orton ... cleanly. Have him cheat, have him do something. He's a heel not mother Theresa? It makes no sense and it makes Orton look bad. What the hell?

Come on that was also way to predictable, did you really though Orton stand a chance to win? That is how they have Swagger built, he lost to everyone but when it counts, he will retain, besides it would have being a waste to give him the MITB if he has only keep the title 1 month, they did that with Edge and it was a freaking mistake they corrected later. Also more than make Randy look bad, it made Swagger look a thousand times better, except for the part of he getting he RKO fom the Outside, which made it look like a bitch and fluke champion all over again.

Beth vs McCool - Match of the night and it's not even funny. It's sad. This was the only match that had a hint of an extreme rules match in it. I got to see two cool reversals and moves by Beth. It is official. Beth Phoenix is the best wrestler in the WWE. He deserves it.

Well, at least it was the most interesting and come on, I know her arms tells you other wise but Beth is a she, stop the bashing for her physique.

Cena vs Batista - Never got to see it because I turned the PPV off.

Well, since you knew the result already, you didn't miss much, it is better that way anyway.

 

[TLC]

I enjoyed this show quite a lot. I wasn't even going to watch it but TM sent me a link and it drew me in which was a very good thing. The whole show was entertaining throughout although I think it wasn't as extreme as it could of been. The CM Punk vs Mysterio match was the best match of the night for me personally. It was exciting, fun to watch, it had some nice spots and some great wrestling and I loved the winner. Cena and Batista was good, it was a little slow at the start but then picked up and was pretty fun and I thought the ending was quite creative. All the rest were quite good or at least passable so a good pay per view all around. I can't wait for the draft to shake WWE and make some sweet PPV's in the future.