WWE Extreme Rules
St. Louis, Missouri
Scottrade Center
May 19, 2013
1. Chris Jericho vs. Fandango - A solid match overall. There were a clunky spot at one point in the match from Jericho but, other than that, it was a good match overall. The live crowd was into the match and both guys worked well together. I kind of had a sense that they were sort of feeling each other out rather than going all out, which could be thought of as good or bad depending on where this program actually goes. The ending of the match was strong as they kicked it up a notch. The end comes after Fandango goes to the top and leaps off. He's intercepted by Jericho via the Codebreaker. Jericho gets the cover and scores the clean win just a bit past the 8.5 minute mark. Fandango losing here doesn't bother me as Jericho is someone that's lost a good number of matches and put a lot of younger guys over in the past few years. Given that they're tied at a match each, I suspect there'll be a rubber match coming up at the next ppv. **1/2
2. Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE United States Championship - This match was also solid but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. It went to the 6.5 minute mark and it seemed a little short. I think that if they gave these guys 12 to 15 minutes, they could tear the house down. All in all, however, the match was pretty good that had the expected, and the right, ending. They worked well together and the relative shortness of the first two matches has me thinking that WWE is going to give a lot of time to the main event matches. The end comes with Kofi going for Trouble in Paradise, he hit the move earlier but Ambrose was knocked out of the ring. After Ambrose dodges it, he follows up with the modified bulldog/DDT move that he's been using for his finisher. Ambrose gets the cover and scores the clean win. Dean Ambrose is the new WWE United States Champion. I'm excited about this move because, as I've said a lot of times, I simply don't see WWE putting gold on The Shield if they don't intend to use them well. They booking for them has been consistently strong and I just hope that doesn't change. **1/2
3. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry in a Strap Match - Meh, pretty forgettable stuff here. This match simply didn't do it for me and it just kinda felt half assed from the start. The match had the slapping with the strap as you'd expect but, to me, it's just an uninteresting & outdated concept. The fact that this is the third match of the card and has gone less than 8 minutes definitely is a sign than the main event matches are going to get lots of time. Sheamus ultimately wins after nailing Henry with the Brogue Kick. He'd managed to touch three of the four corners before this and slaps the fourth after taking Henry down. *1/2
4. Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger in an I Quit Match - Like the first two matches, this was a solid outing but it wasn't as good as I was expecting. It doesn't help that the crowds simply aren't responding all that well to Del Rio as a babyface. Both Del Rio & Swagger worked hard during the match and there was some entertaining action. The ending of the match was a little overbooked but it was also something different. Ricardo being attacked by Coulter only for Coulter to throw in Del Rio's towel was a nice little touch that I didn't expect when the match started. Having another ref come down to tell the other ref what happened was sort of a buzzkill. Eventually, however, Del Rio is able to get the better of Swagger by putting him in the Cross Armbreaker, causing him to say "I Quit". Del Rio is the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. **1/2
5. Team Hell No vs. The Shield in a Tag Team Tornado Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship - Aside from that I wish this match had been given more time, it's been the best of the night thus far. It had a wild, chaotic sort of pacing about it and, given the ppv, it was especially appropriate. Aside from the I Quit match, none of the matches on the show have made it to the 10 minute mark. For this one, however, the short time frame didn't hinder it all that much. It would have been nice to see them go longer but I can't really complain all in all. The end comes with Daniel Bryan across Reigns' shoulders in a Torture Rack position. Rollins jumps off the top with a knee/foot, hard to tell which one, only for Reigns to deliver a Burning Hammer. Reigns gets the cover and the clean win. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns are the new WWE Tag Team Champions. Ambrose comes out after the match to celebrate. The Shield now has gold and while it was expected, it still makes it a noteworthy show. ***
6. Randy Orton vs. The Big Show - This match surprised me in that it was actually a lot better than I was expecting it to be. The St. Louis crowd simply ate up everything that the hometown boy did. The match had some nice physical action, I've always enjoyed the kendo stick. It delivers a really loud whack and looks like it's painful as hell, though 99% of the time it isn't. There was a pretty sick spot in which Show was going for a Vader bomb off the second rope. Orton was lying prone across a ladder which was suspended across a couple of chairs. Again, the live crowd was massively invested here and really popped when Show missed, hitting the ladder gut first. Orton then hit his DDT off the second rope and then nailed Big Show with an RKO, only for Show to kick out of a great & believable near fall. After this, Orton goes to work on Big Show with a steel chair, only for Show to eventually counter with a spear. Both men sold the effects of the match while the crowd tried to rally Orton. After they recover, Orton hits another RKO, this time onto one of the chairs in the ring. He doesn't go for the cover, however, and Orton's expression told a great story as he teased a punt. Orton set up the punt and delivered it and really got jacked up. He then made the cover and scored the win. A strong match, a surprisingly strong match that was made all the more enjoyable by the crowd just eating everything Orton did up. Orton himself seemed to be really, really jacked up and inspired, more so than he has been in quite a while. ***1/2
7. John Cena vs. Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship - This was a very physical match that some people will praise and others will probably outright despise, mostly because of the ending. However, I think WWE did what they needed to tonight: they made Ryback look like he was on Cena's level. Ryback & Cena just went back & forth through the match and, frankly, it was better than I'd hoped or anticipated. Cena seemed to jack up the intensity & aggressiveness to another level as he really took it to Ryback in a manner that we don't usually see from him. Ryback, just like Cena was for him, took everything that Cena had to give and just kept coming back for more. I honestly expected The Shield to interfere in this match and lay Cena out when it looked as though Ryback was done. Personally though, I'm glad it didn't go down that way. I thought the ending overall was much better. After an attempted AA attempt, Ryback drives Cena backward through the Extreme Rules set. Both men sell unconsciousness and Ryback is eventually helped by two refs while Cena is stretchered out. The live crowd chants "bullshit" and I'd normally agree but, personally, I think this match had just the right ending. WWE needed to make Ryback look like an absolute beast against it's golden boy, John Cena, and they most definitely did that in my opinion. Ryback looked versatile, resourceful and just flat out tough as he took EVERYTHING that Cena could dish out and just keep coming. The match ends in a no contest about the 23 minute mark. Hate on it if you want but I really enjoyed this match and the ending helped make Ryback look stronger than he ever has. In the follow up to this, WWE shouldn't have Cena downplay the violence of the match or his "injuries" during it. I also think that he shouldn't try to make any jokes about Ryback and treat him like he truly is a threat the likes of which Cena hasn't faced before. ***3/4
8. Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar in a Steel Cage Match -Much like their match at WrestleMania, I thought both men worked their asses off and delivered a really good match. It was much better, in my opinion, than the overall reaction they got from the fans. It's a better reaction than WrestleMania, but still. Triple H spent a good portion of the match working on Lesnar's knee, which Lesnar started to favor after hitting Triple H with a running knee early in the match. I would have preferred that Heyman stayed out of the ring altogether but his actions did get some great reactions from the crowd. It was also something of a change to see Triple H using great wrestling holds like the Figure Four & the Sharpshooter against Lesnar. Not saying that Trips can't wrestle or anything, it's just that we've only seen him wrestle in brawl gimmick matches for several years now that I guess I just kinda forgot about it. Late in the match, after Triple H had pulled down a sledgehammer, and before Heyman interfered, Lesnar is able to get the hammer, eventually, and nails Trips with it. Lesnar then puts Trips up on his shoulders and delivers an F5. Lesnar gets the win in the center of the ring, pinning Trips at the 20.5 minute mark. I thought the story of Lesnar's injury was told well throughout and Trips was protected some while Lesnar still looked like a badass. ***1/2
Final Thoughts - From top to bottom, Extreme Rules was a very solid show. I thought WWE had things paced out in such a way that, for the most part, the matches simply got better as the night went along. With the exception of the strap match, the undercard matches were all solid, though most were a little on the short side in my opinion. Jericho scoring a win to even things up with Fandango works for me, he's lost a lot lately so giving him this one won't hurt Fandango. Kofi vs. Ambrose was also a solid match with the right guy, namely Ambrose, winning. The strap match just didn't work for me frankly. The I Quit match was well wrestled, albeit ending in a pretty predictable way. The tag title match was fun, but would have been better with more time. Also Rollins & Reigns winning was the right call. Orton vs. Big Show was a surprisingly good match, one much better than I was expecting. Cena vs. Ryback was match of the night, in my opinion. They delivered a very physical match that protected John Cena while making Ryback look like an absolute beast. People might not like that the match was a draw but considering that Ryback needed to look strong while Cena needed to retain, it was absolutely the right call and I enjoyed it. Lesnar vs. Triple H was also a good physical match with both wrestlers working hard. I'm glad they got a better response than their WM match. Lesnar picking up the win here was also the right call, so I'm hoping now that they'll move him onto other things. Not a lot of surprises on the show tonight but the show was really good, overall, in my opinion. It'll be interesting to see how they follow up things with Cena & Ryback, The Shield, Team Hell No and Lesnar & Triple H.
Grade: B
