Extreme Rules will air on June 4th on the WWE Network. (WWE)
Extreme Rules, the newest WWE pay-per-view, has just wrapped up.
Although the card itself was not that exciting on paper, the show ended up being pretty solid, with only one match ending up being a complete dud. Most of the booking decisions were satisfying, and by the end, fans should find themselves much more excited for Great Balls of Fire than they ever would have expected.
Here’s our overall thoughts on Extreme Rules 2017.
Apollo Crews vs. Kalisto
Apollo Crews will fight Kalisto on the Extreme Rules pre-show. (WWE.com)
Reactions: Although this was a last minute addition to the show, not being announced until hours before Extreme Rules, it was a surprisingly enjoyable match with storytelling that actually made more sense than some of the main matches. A highlight was a spot in which Kalisto launches off of the second rope into a corkscrew, resulting in a near fall which caused Titus O’Neil to freak out at ringside. O’Neil’s insane reactions actually added a lot to the match, and the ending, while a bit predictable, was appropriate, with O’Neil’s distraction causing Crews to lose. It was a simple, well executed match that didn’t bring the house down but did what it needed to do.
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz (with Maryse)
Dean Ambrose will fight The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship at ‘Extreme Rules.’ (WWE.com)
Reactions: From start to finish, this was a spectacular match with excellent momentum and hilarious moments throughout. Although on the face of it, it’s a bit ridiculous that the “extreme” rule here requires Dean Ambrose to be less extreme, this idea was utilized well right away, with The Miz clearly trying to provoke Ambrose into disqualifying himself. Later, there was a funny and perfectly Miz-y moment in which Ambrose avoids using a chair as to not be disqualified, only for Miz to go after the chair as soon as the referee isn’t looking. The match might have gone on a bit too long and became slightly repetitive, but the ending was absolutely brilliant: The Miz begs Maryse to slap him so that the distracted referee can be tricked into thinking this was Dean Ambrose; although this doesn’t work, it does work when The Miz throws Dean Ambrose into the referee and Ambrose becomes so distracted defending himself that Miz can get the win. It’s kind of a bummer how little was done with Dean Ambrose’s Intercontinental Championship title reign, but here’s to another run for The Miz.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Rich Swann and Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar and Alicia Fox
Sasha Banks and Rich Swann will fight Noam Dar and Alicia Fox at ‘Extreme Rules.’ (WWE.com)
Reactions: The idea behind this match was a good one, as it’s nice to see the Cruiserweights actually interacting with the main roster and not feeling like their segments are taking place in a completely different universe than the rest of the show. Sasha Banks was, of course, amazing as always, and Alicia Fox came out of the match looking quite good as well. It was a bit strange that Sasha Banks wasn’t disqualified for making contact with Noam Dar, but it was worth it if only to see Rich Swan actually get a pin in his home town again all odds.
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars.
Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley
Alexa Bliss will fight Bayley at WWE ‘Extreme Rules.’ (WWE.com)
Highlights: This was a bizarre, unsatisfying match that managed to make Bayley look terrible and make Alexa look slightly less awesome than she really is. From the start, the stipulation to the match wasn’t explained particularly well; was it that the first person to reach the kendo stick is the only one who can use it, or they’re simply the first one who can use it? The former is how it was explained leading up to the show, but the latter is how things actually played out. It seems that the idea may have been that because Bayley and Alexa both theoretically knocked the stick down at the same time, they both got to use it, but this just caused confusion and was not articulated on commentary. Even though Bayley managed to get the kendo stick first, the match ended up essentially being a glorified squash match which was a very strange way to end a storyline in which it is repeatedly stated that Bayley is a loser; Bayley hardly proved Alexa wrong at Extreme Rules, and the whole endeavor felt like a waste of everyone’s time.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars
The Hardy Boyz vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
The Hardy Boyz will fight Cesaro and Sheamus at WWE Extreme Rules. (WWE.com)
Results: As is typical for the Hardy Boyz, this was an unbelievable match in which Jeff Hardy shocked the audience with several spots that could have easily killed him, not the least of which was his insane dive off the top of the cage onto Cesaro and Sheamus. Unlike some other matches this evening, this one was quite well paced, although the main issue comes down to just how illogical a lot of it turns out to be. For instance, when Sheamus was trying to get out of the cage, why didn’t Matt Hardy just let him go? He could have followed Sheamus out and therefore won, since Cesaro would still be in the cage. Also, the ending, which works in theory, was a bit strange in execution considering Cesaro and Sheamus for some reason very carefully and slowly climbed down from the cage instead of simply dropping down to ensure their victory. Still, this was an entertaining, classic cage match with a truly surprising ending, one of several shocking finales in tonight’s show.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Neville vs. Austin Aries
Austin Aries will fight Neville at WWE ‘Extreme Rules.’ (WWE.com)
Reactions: Of all of the matches Austin Aries and Neville have had over the past few months, this may have been the best one, which made it all the more frustrating that the crowd was chanting about a beach ball the whole time. The match was elevated by Aries doing a great job selling multiple injuries, mainly to his knee but also to his arm at one point. Aries also performed an incredible suicide dive, which was a suicide dive in the true sense of the phrase. That said, this was another example of a match where some weird logic gaps distracted from it a bit. For instance, if it was set up that the only way to win was by submission, why was a possible disqualification teased several times?
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Samoa Joe
A fatal five-way will take place in the main event of ‘Extreme Rules’ 2017. (WWE.com)
Reactions: This was a spectacular main event that lived up to the hype, plain and simple. All five performers came out of the match looking equally great, and it was particularly interesting to see a pairing of Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt, something that hopefully comes back sometime down the line. A clear highlight was Finn Balor placing Bray Wyatt on the announce table, only to be interrupted so that the audience is teased into thinking this spot might not happen; then, Rollins dives off the top rope onto Wyatt, also executing a frog splash a few minutes later. The ending was the most unexpected possible outcome, but it’s certainly a pleasant surprise, although it was slightly disappointing to see Finn Balor be the one to take the pin.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
