Extreme Rules 2022
Date: October 8, 2022
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re back with the violent pay per view and in this case the card might be able to live up to that hype. There is a different, or mostly different, gimmick to every match on the card and some of them could get rather violent. In addition, we find out who the White Rabbit is tonight and that could be a huge moment. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is narrated by Paul Heyman (of course) and features a boy in a spelling bee, trying to spell EXTREME. He asks for the definitions, with Heyman talking about what it means for tonight.

Imperium vs. Brawling Brutes

This is a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook, meaning street fight with some props at ringside. It’s a brawl to start, as it should be, with everyone pairing off in and around the ring. Kaiser is tied in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick but the rest of Imperium comes over for the save. Everyone goes for the weapons and Sheamus is sent into various things at ringside.

With Kaiser and Vinci holding Sheamus over a bar, Gunther chops away and hits the big boot before dropping him onto said bar. Back in and it’s Butch and Holland getting beaten up, including the double running dropkick to Butch in the corner. As Imperium poses, Sheamus fights up and it’s time to wreck Gunther’s minions.

Gunther tells Sheamus to bring it and the slugout is on. A release German suplex drops Sheamus but he’s right back up with a clothesline. Holland and Butch are back up to help with the beating until everyone knocks each other down. The teams get up and fight to the floor, with Butch hitting a heck of a moonsault off some barrels.

Gunther is back up and hits the shillelagh shot for two Sheamus. The rest of the Brutes get back in and beat down Gunther, allowing Sheamus to hit a heck of a shillelagh shot to knock Gunther silly. Gunther gets powerbombed through the announcers’ table, leaving Kaiser to get Brogue Kicked for the pin at 17:42.

Rating: A-. The good old fashioned part was right as these guys didn’t bother with anything more than what was advertised. They beat each other up for about eighteen minutes and you could feel a lot of the pain and violence they were showing off here. Sheamus getting the win was the right way to go and he can probably have a final showdown with Gunther. This was what I was looking for from this match and they delivered hard.

Miz isn’t happy about the idea of Dexter Lumis ruining his birthday tomorrow night. He’ll even talk about it with HHH….but something catches his eye. That would be Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty, who offers him a shirt. Miz throws it down and stomps on it, become the most despised man in the arena.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan for the Smackdown Women’s Women’s Title. Morgan escaped with the title over Rousey at Summerslam so tonight it’s Extreme Rules so Morgan can prove she can hang with Rousey with no rules.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan

Morgan is defending and it’s Extreme Rules, meaning Morgan brings a baseball bat. That works fine for Rousey, who starts the brawl and takes it outside, with Morgan being knocked down. Rousey picks up the bat but takes too long, allowing Liv to blast her with a fire extinguisher. That’s not enough though as Rousey hits a Piper’s Pit on the floor, followed by a baseball bat to the ribs (with Rousey looking to the crowd to see how far that shot went for some good heeling).

Some more shots to the knee put Morgan down but she’s fine enough to hit an enziguri for a breather. Back up and Rousey gets in some shots with a bat to the knee but Morgan sends her into the steps. A table is set up in the corner inside but Rousey sends her face first into it a few times. The running knee sets up an armbar over the ropes but Morgan slips out and grabs a chair.

Said chair is wedged in the corner….and then falls out, meaning there is nothing for Rousey to hit when Morgan kicks her into the corner. Back in and Morgan hits some awful chair shots, followed by a Codebreaker to drive the chair into Rousey’s face for two. Rousey is put on the table for the top rope backsplash for two, followed by a pretty awful powerbomb onto the broken table. That’s enough for Rousey to pull her into some kind of a leg choke for the knockout win (with Liv smiling for some reason) at 12:17.

Rating: D+. I’m trying to be nice with this one because they were absolutely trying, but this just didn’t work. I don’t think there was any reason to believe that Morgan had a chance to win a fight against Rousey, weapons or no weapons, and there was no way around that. Now that being said, Rousey unloading on Morgan’s knee with a bat and having it do nothing is inexcusable and had me wondering who put this match together because they need to be fired. They were in a bad situation that didn’t suit them and then it was all downhill from there. Bad match, but they put the effort in and it got better by the end.

We recap Karrion Kross vs. Drew McIntyre. Kross debuted about a month and a half ago, saying he wants to reset the timeline, meaning taking McIntyre out. McIntyre isn’t down for that and is tired of Kross disappearing, so they’ve having a strap match.

Karrion Kross vs. Drew McIntyre

Strap match and Scarlet is here with Kross. Hold on though as Kross jumps him before the strap is tied, meaning the fight goes into the crowd. They fight through the arena and make it back down to ringside, where Kross can’t suplexes him onto the steps. They get back inside with McIntyre in control and tying the strap to Kross’ wrist to officially start the match.

Some LOUD whips have Kross in trouble but Scarlet offers a distraction so Kross can manage a posting. McIntyre’s bad shoulder is banged up again but he wants to keep going, even as Kross hammers away. A Downward Spiral onto the announcers’ table (which isn’t like a Futureshock Cole) knocks McIntyre silly and the Doomsday Saito gives Kross two back inside.

McIntyre gets fired up by the whipping and a jumping neckbreaker drops Kross. Back up and the whip the heck out of each other until Kross finally gets staggered. The Futureshock drops McIntyre so he loads up the Claymore, only to have Scarlet get in the way. Some pepper spray blinds McIntyre and the Krosshammer (running forearm to the back of the head) finishes for Kross at 10:19.

Rating: B. Much like the opener, you went into this one expecting violence and that is exactly what you got. This was about two big, strong men beating each other senseless with a weapon that was going to make people cringe and they did exactly that. The ending was one of the ways they could go and McIntyre keeps face, but Kross needed to go over here after a brutal match and that is what happened.

Miz is on the phone about his birthday again when Gritty interrupts. More yelling ensues.

We recap Bayley vs. Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Title. Bayley returned at Summerslam and wanted to take over the division, including with her Damage Ctrl teammates. That means she needs a title and by pinning Belair at Clash At The Castle, she earned the shot here in a ladder match.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Bayley

Belair is defending in a ladder match. After the Big Match Intros, they waste no time in going outside to grab a ladder each. Belair gets the better of things and goes up, only to have Bayley break it up without much trouble. After explaining to a fan that she is winning and therefore cannot suck, Bayley sends her into a ladder, with Belair using it for a quickly broken climb attempt.

Belair takes her down and hits the handspring moonsault onto Bayley onto the ladder but Belair is banged up too. A ladder is set up in the corner and a running sunset bomb sends Belair into the ladder for a big crash. Belair has to make another save so Bayley sends her outside and bridges a ladder between the steps and the barricade. The running elbow off the apron hits Belair on the ladder but Belair is back up with a ladder shot of her own.

Back in and Bayley knocks her down again, meaning it’s time to….break off a piece of her knee brace. The charge misses though and Belair grabs a KOD. Belair goes up but the rest of Damage Ctrl take her down, including a big shove off the ladder. That’s broken up with Belair hitting a double KOD (geez) but Bayley is back up to Roseplant Belair.

Bayley loads up the ladder over Belair….who presses it up to shove Bayley off for the insane power display save. It’s Bayley going up but Belair uses the braid to bring her back down. Bayley picks up a ladder but Belair picks up Bayley (and the ladder) and KODs them both, allowing Belair to pull the title down and retain at 16:38.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure on this one and a lot of that is due to how the ending of the match went. They did a good job of making Belair look like a monster, but this was Damage Ctrl slamming into a brick wall, as Bayley had worn her down and then the other two couldn’t finish it off. It made Belair look great but for the rest of the team, not so much. Other than that, this was a good ladder match with some creative enough spots, but there are so many of them these days that it’s hard to get overly excited about them anymore.

We recap Edge vs. Finn Balor. Edge formed Judgment day after Wrestlemania and then Balor turned on the team to take Edge’s place. Edge has since tried to destroy the team but can’t get rid of them no matter what he does. Tonight is his chance in an I Quit match.

Finn Balor vs. Edge

I Quit match and Edge starts fast with a neckbreaker. Edge drives him face first into the corner but Balor gets in a shot to the face to take over, including stomping Edge in the corner. It’s time to work on Edge’s knee and a leglock sets up a figure four. Edge isn’t about to quit but he can’t turn it over, meaning Balor can crank on it even more. With that not working, Balor takes it outside and ties Edge up in the ring skirt to keep up the beating.

Edge fights up and knocks him over the announcers’ table so they can fight into the crowd. They brawl around the arena and over by the Kickoff Show set, but Balor still won’t quit. Now it’s off to the concourse, where Balor is launched face first into the concrete overhead. The spear only results in Edge low blowing himself on a barricade though, with Balor bending Edge’s neck around said barricade.

They get back to ringside, where Balor can’t get Edge to quit so he wedges a chair in the corner instead. A Crossface has Edge in more trouble but he fights out and grabs the Edgecator for a bit of a flashback. Cue Damian Priest (Cole: “I was wondering when this idiot was going to show up.”) for the save, with Dominik Mysterio following, so Edge spears Balor through the ropes to take them all down. Back in and Rhea Ripley pops in to handcuff Edge to the top.

The three men of Judgment Day beat Edge down and Balor unloads with kendo stick shots to the back. Rey Mysterio FINALLY comes in with a chair (where the heck was he five minutes ago) and makes most of the save but Dominik knocks Rey off the apron. Cue Beth Phoenix to make the real save and beat the fire out of Balor with the kendo stick. Ripley gets up for the staredown so Beth beats her down as well and gets the key.

Edge is freed and spears down Priest, followed by three spears to Balor. Beth grabs the chair for Edge, who loads up the crossface but Ripley comes back in to blast Beth with brass knuckles. Judgment Day beats Edge down, including a bunch of Coup de Graces. Edge still won’t quit, so Beth is loaded into a Conchairto. That’s enough to make Edge quit at 29:53.

Rating: B. This did work and it did feel extreme, but they probably needed about five to seven minutes cut out to make it that much better. The ending was about the only way that they could go as you don’t want Edge quitting clean and it also makes him look like a hero for trying to save his wife. Balor and the team absolutely needed this win though and having them be all evil towards Beth made them look even better.

That being said, the Rey/Dominik stuff still isn’t working and still isn’t as interesting as WWE thinks it is. It’s also not as evil as Michael Cole would have you believe, as he was REALLY annoying on commentary, screaming like Dominik was blowing up a bus full of orphans when he hit Rey. Cole was going so far over the deep end that I wanted Rey to hit him instead of Dominik and I don’t think that’s the right idea. Other than that though, good, violent brawl.

They Conchairto her anyway. Panic ensues, because this time Beth is some helpless creature instead of the time when she’s a Hall of Famer and unstoppable force.

Charlotte is coming back at some point in the future.

Gritty gives Miz another shirt so Miz beats him up….but Dexter Lumis is behind Miz. The choke out ensues, followed by Lumis helping Gritty up. Gritty kicks Miz in the ribs and leaves with Lumis.

We recap Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins. They have been fighting for months and making it very personal, with both insulting the other’s family. Rollins beat Riddle at Clash At The Castle when Riddle let his anger get the better of him, so now it’s a match in the Fight Pit, which is Riddle’s style.

Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle

This is in the Fight Pit, which is a cage with no ropes and a platform around the top of the ring that they can walk on. You can only win by knockout or submission and UFC legend Daniel Cormier is referee for some extra flavor. The bell rings and the fans immediately want Bray Wyatt, but have to settle for Riddle walking the cage wall for a kick to the head.

Riddle hammers at the head and Cormier pulls him off, even accidentally sending Riddle into the cage. Rollins is back up to hammer away but Riddle flips out of a German suplex. More shots put Riddle down but Rollins shoves Cormier a bit, earning him a stiff lecture. A hard forearm to the back of the head drops Riddle and Rollins is getting cocky. A twisting frog splash rocks Riddle and a Stomp makes it worse, but Riddle beats the count.

Rollins isn’t exactly keen on fighting a ticked off Riddle so he climbs the cage and makes it to the platform. Riddle follows up and they fight near the edge, with Riddle grabbing a choke while holding onto a chain to avoid falling back to the ring. Rollins gets in a few more shots but Riddle catches him with an RKO, which is enough to send Rollins back down to the mat (not much of a fall when he grabs the edge and hangs from the platform before dropping).

Since he’s a bit nuts, Riddle drops a Broton from the platform to the mat (that looked good) for the huge crash. After taking some time to learn to breathe again, Riddle grabs a triangle choke so Rollins drives him into the cage over and over. That and a powerbomb aren’t enough to break it though and Rollins taps at 16:42.

Rating: C. What you have here is an idea that sounded good on paper but didn’t work out so well in execution. It was basically a cage match with room for some big bumps, but all that did was make me wonder why they didn’t just have a cage match. Yeah Riddle gets the big win, but he gets it in a match tailor made for him, which isn’t that impressive. The Broton looked excellent with the camera looking up, but other than that, this wasn’t the most memorable match and it didn’t exactly draw me in. I wouldn’t call it bad, though it’s nothing I need to see again.

Riddle goes to leave….and the lights go out, with the Fireflies coming up and Bray Wyatt’s voice singing He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands. We see real life versions of the Firefly Fun House creatures in the crowd, plus a Fiend mask on the stage. Then the Fiend pops up near the barricade and we cut to the stage, where there is a real life Firefly Fun House. A TV comes on with a monster saying something I can’t quite make out. Light comes from behind the door to the Fun House and it bursts open…..with someone holding a lantern coming out and wearing the mask from the TV.

The mask comes off and it’s Bray Wyatt. The lantern is blown out and a logo that looks like an upside down mutated butterfly comes up on screen to take us out. To say the place went coconuts for this would be an understatement as they lost it for every bit, but Bray has a long way to go to make up for the mess that was his last run with the company. I’m not saying he can’t, but he needs to be on a really, really short leash.

Overall Rating: B. As cliched as it sounds, this was a show where what was good was good but what was weak was weak. The best thing about this show was the fact that it had a variety of stuff and I was never bored watching it. The ending is the part that is going to have people talking, as it should, but the Donnybrook stole the night with one heck of a brawl. It’s a good show, even if it was a bunch of rematches with stories that need to be wrapped up already.

Results
Brawling Brutes b. Imperium – Brogue Kick to Vinci
Ronda Rousey b. Liv Morgan via referee stoppage
Karrion Kross b. Drew McIntyre – Krosshammer
Bianca Belair b. Bayley – Belair pulled down the title
Finn Balor b. Edge when Edge quit
Matt Riddle b. Seth Rollins – Triangle choke

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

We’re off to another WWE pay per view and in this case it is another show where they already seem to have moved on to getting ready for the next major shows. In this case it’s Extreme Rules, but WWE is already hyping up Crown Jewel next month. That is the kind of show that can make for some good violence, but the show has been hit and miss over the years. Let’s get to it.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

We’re starting big with an I Quit match, as Edge’s war against Judgment Day continues. This is the kind of a win that could mean quite a bit for Balor, but WWE has a history of giving Edge one big win after another in major spots. I’m not sure why they would do that here, but there is a very real chance that they could go in the wrong direction, as Balor needs the win FAR more than Edge.

I’ll go with what should be the sane move here and pick Balor, likely due to Judgment Day threatening Rey Mysterio, or more likely Beth Phoenix. This is probably going to be quite the violent brawl with the usual assortment of weapons, including Edge’s obsession with breaking off a piece of a chair and putting it in Balor’s mouth. Despite that though, Balor wins, as he definitely needs to. I hope.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair(c) vs. Bayley

This is a ladder match, because WWE enjoys those quite a bit. Bayley returned at Summerslam and has gone on to become one of the biggest deals in the division, as she is pretty easily the top heel at the moment. That means she is going to need some gold sooner rather than later, and this would be a very good place to start for her. In theory that is, as it might not be that easy.

As much as I want to go with the easy path here and take Bayley, I’m not sure I can imagine Belair losing the title so soon. I’ll go with my instinct and pick Bayley, but this is one of the picks that doesn’t give me much confidence. I could absolutely see WWE wanting to give Belair a longer win, but I would hope that Bayley isn’t going to lose in one of her first major matches since her return.

Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium

The feud continues with a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook, which is the latest fancy (Is that fancy?) term for a street fight. It is the kind of match that suits these guys the best and after the screwy finish to Sheamus vs. Gunther II on SmackDown, there is a lot of revenge to be had for the Brutes. This is tailor made for these guys and they have a story to go with it, so we should be in for a…well a good old fashioned donnybrook actually.

I’ll take the Brutes winning here, as there is a good chance that Sheamus is going to get the pin over Gunther here to set up their third match. What matters is that these guys are going to be able to beat each other up for awhile and hit each other really hard until one of them doesn’t get back up. That is exactly what you need on a sow like this and I’m looking forward to a brawl, which hopefully keeps a good feud going.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Liv Morgan(c) vs. Ronda Rousey

They have backed themselves into a pretty severe corner with this one, as Extreme Rules or not, there is almost no way for me to buy that Morgan would ever be a threat to Rousey. The first win came via Money in the Bank cash-in and the second came on a fluke. Yet here we are, being asked to believe that Rousey wouldn’t rip her head off in a matter of seconds. That is something that can be set up, but Morgan suddenly wanting to prove how violent she can be isn’t the way to go.

I’ll take Rousey here, as hopefully Morgan’s title reign is finally put out of its misery. Morgan has been trying but WWE has done a pretty miserable job of making Morgan feel like she is a serious threat to the top names in the division. You can only get so far winning off of flukes and screwups and Morgan has hit that wall. She needs to drop the title here, if nothing else before Charlotte comes back and beats her even worse. Rousey wins here, as she should.

Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross

This one has gotten my interest over the last few weeks as it feels like the kind of match where two guys are going to beat each other up while looking like they want to destroy each other. Kross is in one of his first major matches on the main roster while McIntyre is still pretty much the default top face on SmackDown. That makes for a showdown and they have made this feel like a violent feud.

As much as it would make sense for McIntyre to win here, this needs to be Kross getting a win. After debuting and feeling like little more than a joke, Kross needs to come in and make a name for himself with a big win. That can be with or without Scarlett’s help, but Kross needs to go over here. McIntyre has been a made man for a long time now and he can get a win back later, but for now, this should be Kross.

Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle

I’m guessing that this will be the main event, as it is the most developed and by far most personal feud on the show. This is going to be in the Fight Pit, which was only used in NXT and is a cage featuring a platform around the top. There is potential to this one and Riddle could get a heck of a rub out of beating him. That being said, beating Rollins is quite the task and I’m not completely sold on Riddle being able to pull it off.

I’ll go with what makes sense here though and have Riddle win. It’s his match type and I’m not sure I can imagine Daniel Cormier being brought in to hold up Rollins’ hand after this kind of a violent match. Riddle could become a big deal with a win and the company needs some more top faces, so I’ll pick Riddle to win here, as he certainly could use a victory like this more than Rollins.

Overall Thoughts

The best thing about this show is its variety. There are some different gimmicks throughout the card and some of them feel like they have been built up over the last few weeks. Last year’s show had a total of one violence based match so having everything involved actually be about the carnage this time should help. I’m not sure how big of a show this is going to be, but at least they have set things up well. The White Rabbit stuff (I’ll go safe and say it’s Bray Wyatt) should help as a big moment, though I’m not sure how it is going to play in. I’m interested in the show though and now I have a reason to believe that it could work.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Extreme Rules 2021
Date: September 26, 2021
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the night they go extreme without remembering to go extreme. This year’s edition features six matches with one match having any kind of extreme stipulation. The fact that they have been hyping up the Draft and Crown Jewel at the same time doesn’t exactly make this show feel important. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

This was moved up from the main card and we hear about how Carmella’s face pays the bills. It separates her from people like Liv, who should be ashamed of herself. Carmella: “I’m hot and you’re not.” As the Spanish commentary is on in full, Morgan jumps her before the bell and the fight is on, unlike the Spanish commentary anymore. Carmella avoids a charge to the floor and kicks Morgan in the face for two. The Bronco Buster (McAfee: “I’m gonna bust your sternum with my a**!”) hits Morgan, allowing Carmella to shout that she is hot and Morgan isn’t.

We hit the chinlock and the Spanish commentary is back. Carmella gets two off a faceplant but Morgan is back up with a faceplant and a running knee in the corner. A double stomp in the corner gets two and it’s off to an exchange of rollups. Morgan is back up with a Codebreaker for two more but Carmella kicks her to the floor. This time Morgan kicks her face first into the announcers’ table, setting up Oblivion for the pin at 7:49.

Rating: D+. Well that certainly was a TV level match that they added to the pay per view. I’m glad to see Morgan get a win but when you go 1-1 against Carmella and Zelina Vega over the course of 24 hours, your career might already be in trouble. Morgan is stuck in the bottom of the division at the moment and until that changes, none of this matters.

The opening video talks about how Extreme rules in this kingdom and looks at the rest of the card. So the Kingdom is one match on the card?

New Day vs. Bobby Lashley/AJ Styles/Omos

Bonus match for the sake of getting THE WWE CHAMPION on the show. The commentary now sounds like the French version as WWE continues to find new ways to look lame. AJ takes Woods down into a very early Calf Crusher so it’s off to Kofi Kingston as commentary has finally gotten better. With that going nowhere, Big E. comes in instead and gets to face Lashley, who runs him over.

Back up and Big E. takes him into the corner for the Unicorn Stampede but everything breaks down for a big staredown on the floor. Back in and Lashley launches Kofi into the wrong corner so Omos can take over on him. A delayed suplex sets up a chinlock from AJ but Kofi fights his way out. That’s not enough for a hot tag though as Lashley takes out the rest of New Day, setting up a lifting Downward Spiral for two on Kofi.

Kingston spins out of the Dominator and slips out of the running powerslam, allowing the hot tag off to Woods. An enziguri sets up a tornado DDT for two on Lashley but Woods gets planted right back down. Back up and Woods shoves him off the top, setting up a missile dropkick. The double tag brings in Big E. to face AJ, with the latter getting suplexed over and over. AJ manages to get in a shot of his own for the near fall but the Midnight Hour gets two with Lashley making the save.

Lashley hits a quick spinning Dominator for two but Kofi is back up to knock Lashley outside. Big E. launches Kofi onto Omos, who chops him out of the air. Back in and Lashley runs Big E. over and loads up the spear but AJ tags himself in. Lashley tags himself back in as AJ misses the Phenomenal Forearm. A spear hits AJ by mistake and the Big Ending finishes Lashley at 18:15.

Rating: B+. They had me worried that Big E. was going to take the fall here but they did a nice job of letting him get the big win. Big E. can get his next opponent in the Draft so this was a good way to use him. I know New Day has been around for a long time but the fans still react to them and they can put on a good match like this one. Solid opener here with the fans still hot, so good choice to start things off well.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Street Profits

The Profits are challenging and McAfee makes fun of the commentary issues during their entrances. Montez Ford has taped ribs so Angelo Dawkins takes Jimmy into the corner to start. A dropkick staggers Jimmy and Dawkins runs him over, setting up a pair of dropkicks to put the champs on the floor. Back in and a kick to the ribs puts Ford in trouble and the Usos drop him ribs first onto the top. The tape is ripped off and a belly to back suplex has Ford in even worse shape.

We get in a tug of war with Ford reaching for the tag but he has to send Jey into the post instead. The hot tag brings in Dawkins to clean house, including the spinning splashes in the corner. The Usos send Dawkins to the floor but their dives are both blocked. The fans want tables but instead they get a superplex into the double arm twisting neckbreaker for two on Jimmy. The Doomsday Blockbuster gives Ford the same but it’s back to Jey for the running Umaga Attack in the corner.

Ford makes a blind tag though and it’s the Anointment into the Cash Out, which hits Jey’s knees for two. The ribs give out on another Doomsday Blockbuster attempt and Jey hits the Superfly Splash for a very close two on Dawkins. Everything breaks down again and Ford hits a huge dive onto everyone outside. Dawkins gets taken down though and it’s a kick to the ribs into the double Superfly Splash to retain at 13:45.

Rating: B. Another pretty awesome match here with the story of Ford’s ribs carrying things. They had me believing that the title change was taking place more than once here so they did a nice job of building the drama. The Profits are made men in the tag division at this point, though splitting them up to let Ford go on his own wouldn’t stun me. Either way, heck of a match here as the hot start continues.

Bobby Lashley wants his WWE Title back.

We recap Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte. Bliss wants to play with Charlotte and got her a doll of her own. Charlotte doesn’t play with dolls, sending Bliss into a rant about how she has an identity, unlike Charlotte when she doesn’t have a title.

Raw Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte

Hometown girl Bliss is challenging and puts Lillie on the post. Charlotte takes it outside to start and then throws Bliss back inside for some face rams into the mat. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two on Bliss and it’s time to crank on both arms. An inverted Gory Stretch has Bliss in even more trouble but she winds up in an electric chair. That means a hurricanrana can send Charlotte face first into the corner and things slow down a bit.

They head outside again with Bliss being sent hard into the barricade, giving Charlotte two back inside. The moonsault misses so Charlotte hits a standing version for two (ala Andrade), followed by a missed Natural Selection. They fight over some pinfall reversals until Bliss gets powerbombed for two. Bliss is back up with a heck of a Code Red for two but Twisted Bliss missed.

The Figure Eight is countered into a small package for two, followed by a hard DDT for the same with Charlotte putting her foot on the rope. With nothing else working, Charlotte throws Lillie at Bliss and hits a big boot. Bliss gets sent shoulder…..close to the post, setting up Natural Selection to retain at 11:27.

Rating: C+. This was far better because they didn’t do a bunch of stupid stuff. It isn’t a complicated idea and they made it work here. They had an intense match and didn’t do anything dumb. Charlotte winning makes sense in Bliss’ hometown, because you don’t want anyone getting too popular around here. That’s just not how WWE does things.

Post match Charlotte rips up Lillie, sending Bliss into a rage. The beatdown is on but since it’s Charlotte, she beats Bliss up again and sends her over the announcers’ table to leave. Bliss snaps and rips the top off the commentary table before going back inside to pick up the pieces of Lillie. A lot of emotional distress ensues.

Paul Heyman is on the phone when Kayla Braxton puts the microphone in his face. Heyman gets off the phone, saying he’ll call back in two minutes. Braxton asks who he is talking to, sending Heyman into a rant about how he doesn’t need permission to talk to other people. Is she worried about him talking to other women? He’s the special counsel to Roman Reigns, so now he needs to leave with the Usos.

United States Title: Damian Priest vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus

Priest is defending. Sheamus blasts Hardy to the floor at the bell so Priest goes right after Sheamus in a hurry. Some rapid fire kicks into a clothesline sends Sheamus outside with Priest following. Sheamus sends Priest into the barricade but Hardy is back up. The brawl lets Priest get back inside for a big flip dive over the top onto both of them. Back in and Priest beats up both of them, including the Broken Arrow to Hardy.

They all head outside again with Priest getting posted, leaving Hardy to walk into the Irish Curse for two. A tilt-a-whirl powerslam plants Hardy again and Sheamus hits the ten forearms to Priest’s chest. Hardy gets back up to roll Sheamus up for two with Priest making the save. Hardy hits the Whisper in the Wind onto both of them but Sheamus blocks the slingshot dropkick with a kick to the chest.

There’s an Alabama Slam to Hardy as Sheamus has lost his mask. The Cloverleaf goes on so Hardy makes the rope, which doesn’t matter because there is no rope break (how EXTREME). Priest makes the save and gets caught with White Noise but Hardy Twist of Fates Sheamus to the floor. The Reckoning is countered though and Hardy hits the Twist of Fate on Priest. Sheamus breaks up the Swanton and goes up where, after mocking Hardy’s dance, he drops a top rope knee to crush Priest for two more.

Sheamus flips up top but gets chokeslammed down, only to have Hardy Swanton onto both of them for the save. Priest and Hardy slug it out with Priest breaking up the Twist of Fate. Priest’s springboard is kneed out of the air by Sheamus so Hardy can come in and grab a near fall. A sunset flip gets two on Sheamus, who is back up with the Brogue Kick to Hardy. Priest is back up as well though and it’s a rollup to Sheamus to retain at 12:20.

Rating: B-. Dang they’re on a roll with this show and that’s a great thing to see. This was all about drama and again they had me wondering with some of those rollups from Hardy. The fact that he can make you believe that a surprise title change is coming makes things that much more interesting. Good stuff here, with Priest getting another win over a former World Champion as a good thing.

Big E. says he isn’t scared of Bobby Lashley and the title match is starting tomorrow’s Raw at 8pm.

We look back at the Kickoff Show match.

We recap Bianca Belair challenging Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Becky returned at Summerslam and won the title from Belair in a surprise in 26 seconds. Now it is time for their straight rematch, with Lynch not wanting to hear Belair’s excuses.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch

Belair is challenging and Becky is mainly in white to change up the signature look. Becky offers an early handshake but they have to escape an exchange of finisher attempts, sending Lynch outside. Back in and Belair takes her down but has to slip out of a Disarm-Her attempt. Belair hits a splash for two and goes up, where she moonsaults back over Lynch. A dropkick puts Becky on the floor, where she has to yell at Cole for a bit.

Back in and Becky takes Belair down and shouts at the fans a lot. The running legdrop sets up an elbow, allowing Becky to yell at the fans even more. Becky tells the fans to shut their faces but also to cheer for the champ. So silent cheering? Or cheering from their elbows? Back up and Belair misses a charge in the corner, allowing Becky to hit the Bexploder for two. The kickout leaves Becky looking confused and we hit the camel clutch.

That’s countered into a suplex though and they’re both down. Belair gets back up and starts cleaning house but has to win a tug of war over her own hair. The spinebuster plants Lynch for two and there’s a fall away slam to make it even worse. The gorilla press is countered into a Disarm-Her but Belair is right next to the rope. They head outside with Belair loading up a double chickenwing, only to be sent into the steps.

Back in and Becky hits a top rope legdrop for two and the shocked kickout face returns. Another gorilla press is countered into a cross armbreaker but Belair flails around for the block. A chokebomb gives Belair two and it’s time for the exchange of rollups. Becky reverses into the Disarm-Her but has to pull Belair away from the ropes, allowing Belair to muscle her up for the KOD but Sasha Banks returns to jump Belair for the DQ at 17:30.

Rating: B. Dang it when did WWE remember how to be great? These two had a heck of a match going and the DQ actually makes sense for a change. You don’t want either of them losing and Banks returning is about as good of an idea as they had. Belair continues to look like a star and that’s what either women’s division has needed. Yes it’s more of the Horsewomen, but now someone new is coming in and that’s a great thing to see for a change.

Post match Banks beats Belair down and looks at Becky….before beating her down as well. The big brawl is on with Belair getting to leave, saying she’ll see the two of them on Friday. I’ll certainly take that over another Two Woman Power Trip.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. Reigns has been fighting off a bunch of people who want the title, including attacking Balor. This didn’t sit well with Balor, who has brought back the Demon for the big title match.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor

Balor, as the Demon, is challenging and this is Extreme Rules. They extremely start with an extreme lockup and Reigns throws him down in an extreme manner. Balor starts kicking at the leg (McAfee: “He might be possessed but he has a brain!”) but Reigns is back up with a Samoan drop. It’s FINALLY time to get some weapons going, as Reigns grabs a kendo stick. Balor rolls outside though and rises up, this time with a bunch of kendo sticks tied together.

The bunch of sticks are enough to put Reigns down but he’s right back up to send Balor outside. That’s fine with Balor, who is back up to stomp away on Reigns. There’s the running kick to the face from the apron and it’s time for a table. Reigns isn’t having that though and puts it back under the ring, making him even more hated. Instead it’s time for a chair but Balor sends him into the steps. NOW it’s time to set up the table and the fans are rather pleased.

That takes too long though and Reigns hits a running boot to the face, sending Balor into the post. Reigns tosses him over the barricade and follows out to send Balor into the Kickoff Show area. Balor is tossed onto the Kickoff Show table but he kicks his way to freedom. A high crossbody off the table sends Reigns through the first table of the night for the big crash.

They head back to the ring, with Balor setting up another table. That takes too long though and it’s a release Rock Bottom to drive Balor through the table. Balor is back with the Pele Kick but the Superman Punch gives Reigns two. The spear is cut off with a kick to the face and Balor hits the Sling Blade….only to get speared down for two, with the kickout hitting Reigns low (to steal a counter). The Coup de Grace connects but the Usos pull Balor out at two.

It’s time for another table but Balor fights back and powerbombs Jey through the announcers’ table. One heck of a spear drives Balor through the announcers’ table and everyone is down, but the red lights start flashing and Balor pops up again. With the red light through the arena and Balor’s music playing, Balor unloads with a chair and dropkicks Reigns through the table. Back in and Balor goes up top….but the top rope breaks. Reigns hits the spear for the pin to retain at 19:40.

Rating: B. I’m not sure on this one, but what mattered here was giving you the belief that the title could change hands. The rope breaking was at least something unique and I’ll take that over the Usos coming in for the DQ or something like that. Balor was not going to win here and that’s all well and good, but they did have a fun match on the way there. I’m not sure how extreme a good chunk of it was, but at least the last few minutes worked well. It might not have been logical, though I’ll take what I can get around here.

Overall Rating: A. Yeah this was great and I don’t know what else there is to say. You had one great match after another and almost nothing was bad. The lack of extreme didn’t help, but that’s on the show’s name rather than anything else. I mean, it can only be so extreme when the main event ends with a rope break (dang I wish I could take credit for that one). Overall, this was an outstanding show and one of the best things WWE has done for a very long time. As usual, WWE is at its best when they have no expectations and there were a grand total of none coming into this one.

Results
New Day b. Bobby Lashley/AJ Styles/Omos – Big Ending to Lashley
Usos b. Street Profits – Double Superfly Splash to Ford
Charlotte b. Alexa Bliss – Natural Selection
Damian Priest b. Jeff Hardy and Sheamus – Rollup to Sheamus
Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch via DQ when Sasha Banks interfered
Roman Reigns b. Finn Balor – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

It’s time to go EXTREME, but I don’t think anyone has told WWE about that part. This is Extreme Rules, and of the six (yes only six) matches announced so far, a grand total of one has anything beyond a standard match structure (at this point, triple threats are a way of life and hardly extreme, or even out of the ordinary. I’m sure a few more matches will be added, but it would be nice to have some stipulations added, just to spice things up a bit. Let’s get to it.

Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

We’ll get the least important one out of the way first. This is a feud that started when Carmella did her best Mandy Rose in NXT impression and suffered a face injury during a match with Morgan. That set a feud between Morgan and Carmella/Zelina Vega, the latter of whom defeated Morgan this week on Smackdown. Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen when you’re losing to Vega?

I’ll go with Morgan here, if nothing else because I can’t fathom Carmella winning a pay per view match these days. I know fans, myself included, want to see Morgan break through to the next level but at this point, it doesn’t seem likely. Outside of a surprise Queen of the Ring win, what does Morgan have to look forward to? She isn’t breaking into the main event and is toiling with Carmella and Vega. She’ll win here, moving her absolutely anywhere but up the ladder.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. Street Profits

Does anyone else think WWE has kind of forgotten this match is happening? The Profits have been dealing with Roman Reigns more than the Usos and the Alpha Academy was already staring the champs down this week on SmackDown. With Montez Ford wrestling a singles match against Reigns this week and Angelo Dawkins not even on the show, would a split between the team in the upcoming Draft surprise you?

Since there is no reason to have the Usos drop the titles, I’ll take them to retain here and possibly move on to an unlikely feud with the Alpha Academy. The Bloodline doesn’t need to be losing anything for a long time and that includes the Usos, so let them keep the titles here in a good match. I’m not sure what is next for the Profits, but would winning the titles again mean that much for them anyway?

Raw Women’s Title: Charlotte(c) vs. Alexa Bliss

This is where the show is falling apart as the Raw women’s division is among the worst things in wrestling in a very long time. It is clear that the people running it have a very different vision than what has been going on in the last few years and that is getting near impossible to watch. Charlotte is champion again (because of course she is) and Bliss has an evil doll (because of course she does). That doesn’t leave many options.

In something I’m not at all sure of, I’ll take Bliss to win the title. I know it sounds insane, but there is something to remember about Charlotte: she loses a lot. Yeah she is a million time champion, but that means she has lost almost as many times. Bliss has been the focus of the division for a long time now and giving her the title is what makes sense, as painful as it is going to be.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Bianca Belair

Now we get to the good women’s match, as this is at least an interesting story. Lynch came back at Summerslam and beat Belair in less than thirty seconds, leaving Belair to….do everything she usually does and give excuses for her loss. That hasn’t been the best look for Belair, but she is now established as a name in the division and a proper match between the two will work well.

That being said, I can’t imagine that Belair gets the title back here, so we’ll say Lynch retains. She might not win the match, but she retains. They’re in a bit of a spot here, as you don’t want Lynch losing so soon but the feud is more or less wrapped up as soon as Belair gets a pin. These two could go on for a bit though and that’s what they should be doing, with Lynch retaining here.

US Title: Damian Priest(c) vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus

Hardy was added to this match on Monday by pinning Sheamus, and that’s a good thing in this case. Above all else, it gives us a fresh match after Priest has already defeated Sheamus. I wasn’t wild on seeing those two fight again so mixing it up a bit is one of the best things that they could do. Throw in the fact that Hardy is someone you could see winning almost any title and this should work out.

Priest retains here, as he certainly should do. There is no reason to have him drop the title so soon and pinning either former World Champion is a good move. Sheamus flat out is not getting the title back here, leaving Hardy as the only other option. While Hardy is someone who could win a title, it would not make a lot of sense to have him do it here. Priest retains, as he should.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Finn Balor

This has a double twist with Balor as the Demon and an actual stipulation, as this will be held under Extreme Rules. It’s nice of them to actually remember that, as it really felt like they were going to go through a show built around a style of match without anything involving that style of match. I know it doesn’t seem likely, but would you put anything by WWE at this point?

Of course Reigns keeps the title here, as this feud has felt even more tacked on than the Usos vs. the Profits. WWE is already hyping up Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for Crown Jewel and there is nothing to suggest that Balor has a chance here. Reigns is going to hold that title for a very long time to come and this is going to be the next successful title defense over a former World Champion as the Demon is next on the list.

Overall Thoughts

I remember a few years ago when (I believe) Hell in the Cell had almost no matches announced until the weekend of the show. It’s the same feeling here, as WWE is having a show built around violence but one of the six matches has any sort of stipulation. If we’re to the point where a triple threat match counts as extreme, WWE is in deeper trouble than I thought. Odds are some more stipulations are added either Saturday or Sunday, but if they really can’t figure it out until that late, why are we having this show in the first place?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

WWE had two choices and picked a third.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-gimmicked-gimmick-show/

IMG Credit: WWE

Extreme Rules 2020
Date: July 19, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We have finally arrived at this one and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. The show is dubbed The Horror Show at Extreme Rules because we have reached the point where a show involving taking someone’s eye out and a Swamp Fight requires a subtitle. There are no expectations coming in so hopefully they can exceed. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Kevin Owens vs. Murphy

Owens wastes no time in going for the Stunner but Murphy shoves him off and slugs away. Another attempt is blocked again and Murphy hits a knee to the face. The right hands stagger Murphy until he grabs a quickly broken sleeper. Murphy goes up but Owens kicks him out of the air and grabs a DDT. The backsplash hits knees but Owens is fine enough to knock him into the corner. The Cannonball connects for two and Owens isn’t sure what to do.

Murphy gets in a few more shots to the face and hits the top rope Meteora for his own two. Owens can’t hit the Pop Up Powerbomb and Murphy nails a pair of knees to the face, followed by the brainbuster for two more. Murphy’s superplex attempt is thrown off and Owens hits a jumping moonsault for a rather near fall. Murphy manages to get up top again but misses the Meteora, setting up the superkick into the Stunner to give Owens the pin at 8:51.

Rating: C. This could have been on almost any Raw and that’s all this needed to be. Owens is getting a bit of a renewed push and I could certainly go for more of that. Raw can use some extra star power and someone the fans seem to care about would be a good choice. Murphy is always worth a nice performance, though I’m not sure how much that is going to mean if he keeps losing.

The opening video focuses entirely on the horror aspect, saying the show is going to be very scary and how you’ll see things you’ve never seen before. The regular matches get a focus as well. Why in the world can they not do this for a Halloween themed show?

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

New Day is defending in a tables match. There are no tags here so it’s a brawl to start with New Day getting the better of things. They head outside with Nakamura being sent into the barricade and Cesaro being sent into the steps. The first table is set up in the middle of the ring and Kofi goes up, only to need Big E. to break up a double superplex attempt.

The table is moved and Kofi slips out of a gorilla press on the apron, allowing Big E. to spear Cesaro through the ropes. Kofi is left alone so Nakamura kicks him down, leaving Big E. to get double kneed. Back in and the sliding knee knocks Big E. silly and Nakamura sets up a table on the floor. Kofi’s trust fall takes him down and it’s another table being stacked on top of the one outside.

Big E. can’t superplex Cesaro through bot of them and Kofi is knocked down on the floor. The swing sends Big E. into Nakamura’s knee to the head but it’s Kofi coming back in for the save. Nakamura gets knocked off the apron and Cesaro is sat on top, but he muscles Kofi up and powerbombs him through the tables for the titles at 10:12.

Rating: C. It’s a tables match so there is only so much that you can do with the whole thing. New Day losing is probably overdue, but at the same time, it’s not like there are a bunch of teams for them to lose to. Cesaro and Nakamura are going to be fine as a team, but I can’t imagine this being some big changing of the guard.

Alexa Bliss gives Nikki Cross and Asuka a pep talk and Cross gets WAY into it.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross

Cross is challenging with Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks at ringside. Bayley armdrags her to start and strikes the double bicep pose while telling Cross to do it for Alexa. A big slap in the corner puts Bayley down though and Cross hits the Purge for a quick two. The high crossbody gives Cross two more and she does it again for the same. Bayley bails to the floor and gets hit with a third crossbody from the apron. Cross is a bit too happy so Bayley sends her hard into the Plexiglas.

Back in and Bayley grabs the chinlock before taking Cross outside to tie her in the ring skirt. Bayley stops to brag though, allowing Cross to slip out and crawl underneath the ring. That freaks Bayley out so much that Cross hammers her down and hits Bayley’s running elbow in the corner. The quick Bayley to Belly gets two on Cross and frustration starts mounting up in a hurry.

A superplex gives Bayley two more and Cross heads outside, where Bayley misses the baseball slide under the bottom rope. Back in and Cross hits a reverse DDT and a bulldog, followed by a belly to back suplex for two. Bayley misses a charge into the corner and gets caught with a Purge off the apron to the floor. Back in and Banks gets on the apron with Bliss cutting her off. The distraction is enough for Bayley to take Banks’ BOSS jewelry to knock Cross silly. The arm trap faceplant retains the title at 12:33.

Rating: C+. There were some good near falls in there, but I’m not sure how much drama there really was about Cross ending the very long title match. It would seem that we’re destined for Banks vs. Bayley, but at this point we’ve waited so long to get there that I can’t even bring myself to get interested in it anymore. The heel team works fine, but the singles title reign needs some challengers.

We go to the Firefly Fun House where Bray Wyatt is now a mad scientist. He wants to show us something scary and we almost see the karaoke contest from last week (ok that was funny). After yelling at Ramblin Rabbit for putting up the wrong tape, Bray talks about how Braun Strowman won’t be able to escape his past.

Apollo Crews vs. MVP will NOT be taking place as Crews has failed his pre-match physical due to an injury at the hands of Bobby Lashley.

We see a clip of Lashley full nelsoning Crews, which led to the injury.

Here are MVP and Lashley to brag about the whole thing. MVP says that’s what happens when you mess with Lashley and he declares himself the new champion via forfeit.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Rey Mysterio. Rollins wanted to sacrifice Mysterio for the greater good of Raw and injured his eye with the corner of the ring steps. Mysterio was out of action so his son Dominick went after Rollins instead. When that didn’t work, Mysterio himself came back for revenge and tonight, you have to take your opponent’s eye out to win.

Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins pulls some pliers out of his jacket to show how things are going. Rey sneaks in from behind though and dropkicks Rollins in the back to start. It’s too early for a 619 so Rey headscissors him into the post instead. Rey grabs the pliers but Rollins moves away and gets a kendo stick. Another 619 attempt misses and this time the headscissors is countered into a Falcon Arrow onto the apron.

Something close to a low blow lets Rollins send him into the Plexiglas but he can’t put a kendo stick into Rey’s eye. Rollins pins him down with a chair though and gets a thumb near Rey’s eye but Rey chairs him in the ribs. Rollins pulls out a toolbox and finds a metal spike, which can’t hit the eye. Rey drop toeholds him into the corner of the announcers’ table but Rollins blocks the chair to the eye.

Back up and Rollins wedges a kendo stick in the corner but Rey blocks a whip into the end. Instead Rey is back with a seated senton and a tornado DDT sends Rollins outside. Rey’s sliding sunset bomb into the Plexiglas lets him break up a kendo stick but he can’t get the eye out (it makes you feel so stupid to type that).

There’s the 619 to put Rollins on the floor again and it’s Rey with a Stomp of his own. Rey drives the eye into the point of the steps but a low blow gets Rollins out. Rollins hits his own Stomp and says Rey did this to himself. Rollins drags him over to the steps and drives it into the corner, which apparently pops the eye out at 18:42.

Rating: B. Believe it or not, Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins in a match with some time was pretty good. They could have a good match in their sleep and most of this was solid, as long as they weren’t trying to go for the eye. The ending was stupid, as expected of course, as the only thing you could see was a bit of white through Mysterio’s gloves. At worst it looked like a bit of a golf ball, which is probably a lot better than what it could have been. I know they’re having a horror themed show (because that goes with July) but can’t we just have a wrestling match?

The doctor gets Rey out and Rollins vomits. Rollins is booed out of the arena. Unless I missed something, the only thing you could see was a bit of white through Rey’s gloves. There was no big shot of the eye hanging out or anything and that’s a good thing given how stupid this could have been.

Bayley says she’s a big Rey fan but NO, he isn’t seeing double because she really does have two belts. Tonight, Sasha Banks will too.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt. Strowman was part of the Wyatt Family but broke free. Wyatt has been haunting Strowman though so he needs to go back to where it started and beat Wyatt once and for all.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Asuka

Asuka is defending and Bayley/Kairi Sane are the respective seconds. Banks takes her down to start but Asuka kicks away. That earns her a quick Bank Statement and Asuka is in trouble early. Banks tries to drive Asuka’s arms to the mat but misses the Meteora. A corner run wristdrag is kicked out of the air and the hip attack sends Banks outside. Banks is fine enough to hit a 619 on the apron but Asuka blocks a sunset bomb attempt. Asuka gets back to the apron for a sliding knee to the face and they head back inside.

Some running knees have Asuka in trouble and Banks bends the fingers back to make it worse. The armbar goes on and Banks hits the running knees in the corner. Banks starts talking trash and you don’t do that to Asuka, who nails the spinning backfist. A quick headscissors sends Asuka face first into the buckle but she’s right back with a Codebreaker. They go to the apron with Banks teasing a German suplex to the floor. A standing switch lets Asuka try the same thing but Banks slips out and powerbombs her into the Plexiglas.

Back in and the frog splash gives Banks two, followed by the Bank Statement in the middle of the ring. Asuka makes the rope and they head to the apron with Banks getting hit in the face. A German suplex drops Banks hard and Asuka kicks away for two more. Asuka misses a missile dropkick though and gets kneed in the face to give Banks her own near fall. Banks goes up top and has to flip out of a German superplex. The running knees to the back connect but Banks slips off the ropes and comes up favoring her knee.

They slug it out from their knees as Bayley and Sane brawl on the floor. A Bayley to Belly plants Sane and Banks trades rollups with Asuka. The Asuka Lock goes on but Bayley throws in a title for a distraction so the referee doesn’t see the tap. Asuka lets go and Banks grabs the belt but the referee says no. Instead, Asuka loads up the green mist, which hits the referee. Bayley lays out Asuka and puts the referee’s shirt on to count the pin at 19:55…..and the bell actually rings? Banks’ music plays and she and Bayley leave with all of the titles so I guess this stands for now?

Rating: B-. Another good match with another rather dumb finish, but that goes without saying these days. For reasons that I’m not clear on, WWE doesn’t like this idea of having a match without doing something dumb to set up something else later. You can have the screwy ending but it might not be the best move to do something to set up a rematch with a ridiculous setup like this. Asuka vs. Banks in a long match was good because of the talent involved, but dang man. Going back to back with endings like that isn’t the best idea.

Rey’s eye could be saved with surgery so he’s on the way to a medical facility.

We recap Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre for the Raw World Title. They were partners a few years ago but then McIntyre turned on him. Ziggler claimed responsibility for McIntyre’s rise to the top of the company and gets to pick the stipulation tonight. We don’t know what it is yet though.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

Back in and Ziggler gets caught with a helicopter bomb, only to come back with a low blow. A bunch of chairs are brought in and Ziggler unloads with some shots to the back. McIntyre’s throat is placed across the top of an open chair for another shot to his back for a close two. The champ is right back up and takes it outside with Ziggler being sent over the announcers’ table.

Ziggler slips out of a belly to belly though and hits a Fameasser off the table but McIntyre beats the count. The sleeper goes on but McIntyre grabbing the rope means nothing. McIntyre shakes him off and hits a hard clothesline for the double knockdown. Ziggler is taken back outside for a catapult into the Plexiglas and it’s a reverse Alabama Slam back inside. The Claymore is blocked with a chair to the knee though and the Zig Zag gets two.

They head outside again with Ziggler superkicking him onto the table and a huge elbow off the top of the post drives him through it. That’s only good for nine and Ziggler screams a lot. McIntyre hits a Glasgow Kiss but Ziggler is back with Fameasser into a Zig Zag. That doesn’t even get one so it’s a Rock Bottom onto the chair (nice nod to Rock’s comments about the match this week) for two on McIntyre. Ziggler tunes up the band but McIntyre nips up and hits the Claymore to retain at 15:34.

Rating: B. The stipulation made perfect sense here and that’s what let them have a good match. There was a grand total of zero drama of a title change but you can still have a nice match even under those circumstances. It doesn’t make up for the really dull build, but after the two previous matches, I can absolutely go for a good match with a clean ending.

Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt

Non-title and in the swamp, with Bray sitting in the rocking chair as Braun arrives. Braun says he’s home and Bray laughs before disappearing. The rocking chair is thrown at an Abandon All Hope sign and Bray laughs again. Some masked goons appear and we cut to the Fun House with Mad Scientist Bray cheering for Braun. Someone pops up to hit Braun in the back with a shovel and it’s…..Braun in the sheep mask. Braun wakes up chained to a chair and Bray’s old music starts playing. He comes up with the lantern and walks up to Braun, welcoming him home.

Braun says he hates Bray for everything he made him do but Bray says he’s already dead. Bray is proud of what Braun has done but his success is temporary. What happens when Braun’s fifteen minutes are up? Braun can’t see where he belongs and he can’t understand that Bray isn’t his enemy. Together they could be like gods and the people would bow to them. Braun still says no but Bray talks about how good it feels to have his wings back. To make Braun the monster he needs to be, he has to destroy the monster Braun has become.

Bray asks if Braun wants to see something really scary. Cue a masked woman holding a snake, which bites Braun. Bray tells Braun to come home and we see shots of the old Wyatt Family. We cut to Braun next to a campfire, where he beats up more goons. One of them takes a shovel to the face and falls into the fire, sending him running off while in flames. A woman’s voice says Braun doesn’t need to do this and it’s….Alexa Bliss? She knows he’s always wanted them to be together and they can be together forever, just like he’s always wanted.

Bray pops up and goes for the eyes again but Braun throws him into a bat. Braun starts to leave but another, empty boat appears. He walks over to it but Bray pops up and hits him with a shovel before trying to drown Braun in the water. Braun comes out of the water and lays on the dock but Bray appears to swing the shovel at him again. Bray unloads with the handle of the shovel, saying look what Braun made him do.

Braun stands up behind him and kicks Bray through a wooden barricade and into the water. He says it’s over and the copyright notice comes up, but Bray pops up with the Mandible Claw and pulls him into the water. Bray tries to get out but falls back into the water. Everything turns red and the Fiend comes out to end the show. I’m not sure when the match began or ended but we’ll say it was about 18:30.

Rating: N/A. It wasn’t a match is any sense of the word so no rating. What we got instead was another cinematic angle which sets up the third part of the trilogy that I’m thinking only WWE is begging to see. This was about what was expected as Strowman vs. Fiend has been the endgame since the beginning. The cinematic stuff is done well, but it doesn’t help the fact that this isn’t an interesting feud, mainly because Strowman isn’t an interesting character. It’s one of the weaker one of these things, but if you liked the previous ones, you’ll probably like this too. Oh and look for Matt Hardy to complain about the water of reincarnation.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was running with an anchor all night long and it was getting obvious time after time. They were having good matches but it kept having to go to something else to take the focus off of the positives. Be it the eye stuff, the wacky interference or another cinematic ending, there was a good show in here being dragged down by all of the extra bells and whistles that WWE loves to tack on.

I get why they felt they needed something extra on this show, but dang it would be nice if they put in the effort to make the show work without all of that stuff. Not bad overall, but it needed someone to look at what they had on paper and say “no, try again.” The horror theme wasn’t exactly needed, that maybe it can show them that an EXTREME RULES pay per view isn’t the best idea if they need a gimmick to sell the gimmick show.

Results

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura b. New Day – Powerbomb through tables

Bayley b. Nikki Cross – Arm trap faceplant

MVP b. Apollo Crews by forfeit

Seth Rollins b. Rey Mysterio – Rollins took out Mysterio’s eye

Sasha Banks b. Asuka – Pin after interference from Bayley

Drew McIntyre b. Dolph Ziggler – Claymore

Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt went to a no contest

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Can we just get this done already? I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am not exactly thrilled with Extreme Rules and based on the last month or so of television numbers, a lot of the fans aren’t either. It seems like WWE isn’t trying very hard with the build to this show and that is coming off rather badly on television. That usually means a good show, but you can never be sure. Let’s get to it.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro

This is a tables match, as chosen by Cesaro and Nakamura after Cesaro defeated Big E. on Smackdown. It is also my regular time to say that I don’t think New Day can go on forever as Tag Team Champions, even though they tend to go on forever as Tag Team Champions. You have to go with someone new at some point, though as usual, the question is whether that is what we are seeing here.

I think they do at least drop the titles here, as there is little to no reason to keep them on New Day at the moment. WWE has been hinting at teasing at a Big E. singles push (you can tell how sure they are about it) and it would be nice to see for a change. New Day is great, but how many times can we see the same thing over and over again? They do mix things up, but it tends to be New Day holding the titles forever, and that can get a little tiresome. New champs here, but I wouldn’t bet on anything long term.

US Title: Apollo Crews(c) vs. MVP

I still can’t get over how great MVP has been during this run. He can talk with the best of them in WWE today but he can also wrestle a match when necessary. A title run isn’t completely out of the question, but there seem to bigger issues out there to deal with. Crews feels like he has been ready to lose the title since the day he won it, and I’m not sure that changes here.

Crews retains this time around, as it seems that we are coming up on Crews vs. Bobby Lashley as the big boss at Summerslam. MVP is fine for a filler opponent until we get there, but as someone who doesn’t exactly get in the ring as a full time singles wrestler most of the time, I’m not sure I can see him getting a title run out of this. Either way, it should be a better match than you would expect and that’s always a nice treat.

Seth Rollins vs. Rey Mysterio

Let’s get this one out of the way. The idea here is that you have to take out your opponent’s eye to win. I get that they’re going for something to tie into the Horror Show idea (because they seem to think it’s October) but….dang man. Remember when you have two future Hall of Famers having a good match instead of this? They can have some kind of a violent, brutal match (maybe even an extreme one) without this nonsense.

I’ll take Rollins to win and hopefully get on to something other than this messiah deal that he has been doing which hasn’t worked so well yet. Mysterio doesn’t seem to have a contract at the moment so finding an out for him isn’t the worst idea. I’m not sure what else they can do with Rollins other than put him against Kevin Owens, but the real winner here is going to be the fans for seeing how stupid of a way they use to deliver on the ending (assuming they actually do).

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Nikki Cross

Now this one could be a sleeper hit as the two of them can both do some good things in the ring. Bayley has gotten WAY better at her heel stuff in recent weeks and it has been a lot easier to watch her on all of the shows. Cross on the other hand is someone who seems capable of having an awesome match at the drop of a hat, though she rarely actually gets to that point.

Of course Bayley retains here though, as she has held the title so long that it is almost hard to imagine her losing the thing anytime soon. Then again, when you have practically held it for a year already, the idea of seeing you hold it much longer is a little hard to fathom. I can go for more of Bayley, though they need to make up their minds on the Sasha Banks stuff already. Or find a better top level challenger for her, as she has been lacking one for most of her time as champion.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka(c) vs. Sasha Banks

While the other Women’s Title match seems more like a sleeper hit, this one is probably a wide awake one and might be the match of the night. Banks and Asuka do not have the biggest history together and it could be interesting to see what they can do in a big setting. I’m not sure I can imagine the title changing hands, though Asuka being a dominant main roster champion doesn’t quite feel right either.

For now though, I’ll say Asuka retains without the deepest confidence. What matters here though is having a good match between two talented wrestlers, which could be a rarity on this show. The women’s divisions have gotten better since the masses have been allowed to catch up with Charlotte and Becky Lynch gone, so hopefully these two can pull off what they are capable of doing here.

Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt

This would be your middle match of the trilogy which is there for the sake of setting up the final match in the trilogy. This is still something that is supposed to be interesting based on that time where Strowman and Wyatt were in the same stable, even though they never really did anything significant together. However, this time they’re in a swamp, which is the kind of thing that you don’t see very often.

In the least surprising result of the month, of course Wyatt wins here, likely in a cool visual after we go through the swamp in their latest cinematic match. That is about all they have around here and I’m not sure if it is going to be enough to overcome a rather dull story. These two don’t feel like they’re having a major feud, but we’re going to be seeing them do it again next month too. But yeah Wyatt wins here, as you probably guessed when the match was announced.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre(c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

So now we have these two in the main event, which will probably be a pretty decent match. They can both do good stuff when they have the chance and they will here. The problem is that it isn’t a story I care to see, which is where they lose me. It’s a lot better than Strowman vs. Wyatt, but at the same time, it is going to feel like a big countdown until we get to the finish.

That finish of course will be McIntyre Claymoring Ziggler’s head off for the pin. I’m not sure why that is something that we need to sit through what will likely be twenty minutes to get there, but at least the action should be good. We should be in for a solid match, but I can’t imagine it’s going to be enough to make up for the general apathy every time that I hear Ziggler’s music playing.

Overall Thoughts

I’m to the point where I’m expecting the show to be good but it is going to have to be a complete home run to make up for the build. You can tell when WWE just isn’t trying and they haven’t been all month. Maybe that picks up with the start of the Summerslam build, but looking at the audience numbers dropping like stones and seeing this stuff getting weaker and weaker, they need a good one here to kick things off. I’m not sure if it is going to happen, but the show could look a heck of a lot worse.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Extreme Rules 2019
Date: July 14, 2019
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Michael Cole, Renee Young

We’re finally wrapping up a long stretch with what feels like a show from one company or another every week for months. This is a show built around violence and a full three matches out of the twelve have some form of gimmick that includes violence. The card doesn’t look bad though and hopefully it works out. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Intercontinental Title: Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is challenging and this is a bonus match. Balor starts fast with a running dropkick but gets laid over the top rope for a running knee to the ribs. A middle rope knee to the head is broken up though and Nakamura falls out to the floor. That means the running flip dive but Nakamura is right back with an armbar back inside.

Balor is in the ropes in a hurry but has to fight out of a dragon sleeper. A running dropkick takes Nakamura down by the knee and we go to a split screen. Back with Balor hitting the shotgun dropkick in the corner but the Coup de Grace misses. Nakamura hits the running knee to the back of the head, followed by Kinshasa for the pin and the title at 7:03.

Rating: C. Well ok then. Nakamura winning the title is probably the right move as Balor wasn’t doing anything with it, but that’s going to present the same problem: is Nakamura going to do anything with it? Recent history would suggest no, but at least it’s better than Nakamura sitting around doing nothing all day.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Tony Nese vs. Drew Gulak

Gulak, the hometown boy, is defending. They go straight at it to start with Nese taking him down for some left hands. A leg sweep gives Nese one and a running clothesline puts Gulak on the floor. Gulak gets in his own clothesline on the outside though and they’re both down. We go split screen again and come back with Nese hitting a pumphandle powerslam for two.

Nese sends Gulak to the apron and ties him in the ropes for a middle rope moonsault (that’s a new one). Back in and Nese’s 450 goes a little far, meaning his knees go into Gulak’s chest for two. The sunset driver is countered into a powerbomb to give Gulak two, followed by the Cyclone Crash to retain the title at 7:28.

Rating: C+. They’re not wasting time with these Kickoff Show matches. In this case that’s for the best as you don’t want to have the matches go long and take away from what is being planned for the main show. These are designed to get the fans going and that is what this one did. Gulak retaining is the only logical choice and a showdown with Oney Lorcan is probably penciled in for Summerslam.

The opening video features a woman who might be Mandy Rose whispering that the rules are changing. We shift into a look at most of the matches, the majority of which are in no way, shape or form extreme.

We recap Shane McMahon/Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns/Undertaker. Shane has had the power go to his head (again) and helped Drew beat Reigns at Stomping Grounds. Undertaker is back to even the odds and take Shane down a few pegs.

Shane McMahon/Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns/Undertaker

No Holds Barred. Undertaker has some slightly different gear as the front of his top covers up the middle of his chest now, as opposed to the lower cut style he has had for years. It’s No Holds Barred, so of course tags are required with Reigns and McIntyre starting. An early belly to belly has Reigns in trouble and it’s off to Shane for the punches in the corner, drawing some nice booing.

Somehow Reigns survives and brings in Undertaker to hammer away, including Old School. Undertaker strikes away in the corner and we get the YOU STILL GOT IT chants. It’s back to Drew so we get a nice looking staredown before the slugout is on. A clothesline puts Undertaker on the floor but he lands on his feet and pulls Drew down. That means the apron legdrop and Reigns comes back in for his own right hands.

Undertaker has had it with Shane interfering and goes for a chair to chase him up the ramp. Reigns is sent into the steps as Shane comes back to watch McIntyre grab an armbar. Back up and Reigns nails the Samoan drop, allowing the tag back to Undertaker. It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but here’s Elias to guitar Undertaker in the back. McIntyre adds the Claymore to Reigns and another one saves Elias from the revived Undertaker.

Shane drops the top rope elbow to put Undertaker through the table and pops up far too fast. Coast to Coast drives a trashcan into Undertaker and McIntyre takes Reigns down. Undertaker sits up (thank goodness….I think) and chokeslams Shane, followed by another to Elias. McIntyre rises up behind him (cool shot) but it’s the spear from Reigns. The Tombstone finishes Shane at 16:56.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to think of this one but they were smart to start with this. What matters most for me though is Shane losing like this, marking the first time he’s been pinned since November. It would be great if they were toning down the Shane love, which has caused more problems than almost anything else as of late. Good thing they gave that rub to someone who needed it so badly too.

Undertaker gets to pose on his own because we’re supposed to believe he’s not going to wrestle much longer.

Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins talk about taking a walk through Philadelphia last night and coming up with ideas of how to hurt Lacey Evans and Baron Corbin. Losing is not an option.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Revival

The Usos are challenging with Jimmy and Dawson starting things off. Jimmy’s backslide gets two as Graves and Renee argue about the Revival enjoying the good life. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Usos hit stereo dives to take the champs out as the fast start continues. Jey stalks Wilder, who suckers him into a clothesline from Dawson to take over.

Back in and Dawson takes over on Jey before picking Wilder up for an assisted legdrop. The waistlock goes on for a bit before Dawson comes back in, only to distract the referee so we don’t get a hot tag. Dawson even throws in some Eddie Guerrero by pretending to be down so the cheating doesn’t come off as so obvious. Jey gets taken up top but a double collision knocks Dawson to the floor and Jey down to the mat. A double tag brings in Jimmy and Wilder as everything breaks down.

Jimmy can’t fight off the numbers though and gets sent into the corner, only to have him come out with a Whisper in the Wind. Dawson grabs a brainbuster for two and it’s an ode to Power and Glory with the PowerPlex. Jey dives in for a save and everyone is down again. The double dives are broken up but so is Wilder’s tornado DDT. That’s fine with the champs as the Shatter Machine finishes Jimmy to retain at 12:34.

Rating: B. This was the usual fast paced and entertaining match between the two teams and that’s why it was put on the show. There is nothing wrong with having two awesome teams go out there and do something entertaining, which is exactly what we got here. The Revival needed this far more than the Usos did too so it’s a good idea all around.

We recap Aleister Black vs. Cesaro. Black wanted someone to pick a fight with him and Cesaro did. Time for a match.

Cesaro vs. Aleister Black

An early Black Mass attempt misses and Cesaro uppercuts him into the corner. The Neutralizer is reversed into a backdrop but Cesaro sticks the landing and sits down, ala Black’s signature pose. Black knocks him to the floor and hits the middle rope moonsault for the first big knockdown. Back in and Black sweeps the leg but gets caught by the springboard uppercut for two. Black fights out of the chinlock in a hurry before switching over to an armbar. A Meteora attempt is caught in the air and Swiss Death gets two to keep Black in trouble.

Cesaro’s springboard uppercut is knocked out of the air with a springboard knee, followed by more kicks to the leg. That means a kneebar but Cesaro turns it over into a Sharpshooter in a sweet counter. Black crawls out so Cesaro switches over into a nasty Crossface. That’s broken up as well so they slug it out with Cesaro loading up the Neutralizer again. Some punches to the leg get Black out and Black Mass is good for the pin at 9:44.

Rating: B. Yeah that was awesome and exactly what it needed to be. Black could go on like this for a long time to come as his striking really is that good. Couple that with an awesome look and the great entrance and how could he not be a success? Maybe by having him sit in a room for months without doing anything but talking?

R-Truth is putting wanted posters everywhere for Drake Maverick, including on his own back. He asks Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross if they’re in the women’s locker room but Carmella drags him away. Bliss gives Cross her own Bliss shirt when the Street Profits come up to say they interrupted a special moment. They think Bayley is going to lose the title but it turns into an argument over stolen shrimp. Nikki screams at them and leaves, though Dawkins seems to approve of her in a certain way.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross

Bliss and Cross are challenging but Bayley has accused Bliss of using Cross. We get an early Sasha Banks reference as Cross tags Bliss in after about ten seconds. Bayley slugs away and drives Cross outside for a ram into the barricade. That’s fine with Bliss, who sends her into the steps to take over.

Back in and Cross gets two off a neckbreaker before tying Bayley up in the ring skirt for a beating. Bliss comes back in for the near falls and it’s time to tie Bayley in the Tree of Woe (Referee: “YOU HAVE TO LET HER GO! Bliss: “I KNOW!”). There’s no Alberto double stomp though as Bliss chokes instead and slams Bayley down by the hair.

Insult to Injury gets two but Bayley pops up with a clothesline and some more aggressive than usual right hands. Cross comes back in so Bayley slams Bliss onto her, followed by a modified Indian Deathlock. Bliss’ save attempt is countered into a Crossface while Cross is caught as well. The rope is finally grabbed and Cross hits a DDT but Twisted Bliss hits raised knees. Bayley knees Cross in the face and drops the top rope elbow to retain at 10:23.

Rating: C. Not bad here and it opens the door for where this is going to go in the future. Cross and Bliss could have an interesting split, but the manipulation could go on a bit further. What matters most is Bayley continuing to build moment, though you know Charlotte is getting the title shot at Summerslam because that’s what always happens. Nice enough match, especially with another nice nod of “Bayley doesn’t need help.”

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley. They’ve been feuding for awhile now with Strowman winning their previous match, so they crashed through the set and caused a big explosion. Tonight, it’s Last Man Standing.

Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman

Last Man Standing and the fight is on before the bell with Strowman running him over. We get the opening bell and Lashley has to roll outside to beat the count. Strowman hits the running shoulder but a second attempt is cut off by the spear. That’s barely even good for a count so Lashley grabs the steps to knock Strowman over the barricade. They go up the steps with Lashley still in control, which is a bit more than I was expecting for him.

Strowman gets knocked into the concourse and they ram into a wall. Back up and Strowman sends him into a merchandise stand with a suplex sending Lashley into the t-shirt stand. That’s enough to bring them back into the arena with Lashley getting knocked down some steps. Strowman runs him over again but Lashley is fine enough to drive him through the barricade to get back to ringside.

A big charge drives Strowman over the table and Lashley turns it on him for a bonus. Strowman gets up again and heads into the crowd again, leaving Lashley frustrated. Lashley follows him out and gets tossed onto the international announcers. That doesn’t even keep him down for a long count and he sends Strowman into another wall.

Strowman gets up and kicks him in the chest so Lashley tells him to bring it, meaning it’s even more knockdowns. They go up the steps again with Lashley throwing a fan at Strowman, who tosses him aside. Strowman catches up to him and they fight on top of a tunnel, with Strowman hitting the powerslam down into the abyss for the win at 17:27.

Rating: B+. This was far better than I was hoping for with both guys beating each other up in a match that felt like two monsters wanting to finish each other. Strowman needs something new and I’m not sure what that is, but I can’t imagine it’s going after the World Title again. At least wait until Brock Lesnar doesn’t have the briefcase again because I can’t take Strowman losing to him again.

AJ Styles says he didn’t reform the Club to win the US Title. He can’t take away Ricochet’s skills but he can take away the title tonight.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Daniel Bryan/Rowan

Bryan and Rowan are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Woods runs the ropes with Bryan to start and slides between his legs to set up a hard rolling elbow. Tucker tags himself in and gets headscissored right into the corner, allowing Rowan to tag himself in. That doesn’t go well for Woods, who gets slammed down, followed by the running corner dropkick from Bryan.

The surfboard goes on with Bryan remembering that it’s No DQ and grabbing Woods by the face. It’s back to Rowan but Bryan suckers Big E. to the floor and sends him into the steps. Woods manages a middle dropkick and tags Otis in instead due to a lack of Big E. Otis gets to clean house and it’s a corner splash to set up the Caterpillar to Bryan. A slingshot into a belly to belly gives Tucker two but Big E. comes back in.

The Warrior splash hits knees though and it’s an Otis suplex with Tucker adding a high crossbody for two. Rowan kicks Otis in the face and runs Woods over on the floor, leaving Big E. to spear Bryan through the ropes. Otis teases a dive, goes to the apron, and jumps off instead. Tucker adds a dive off the top and it’s the Compactor to Big E. Woods dives in for the save with Rowan following. Heavy Machinery hits a bunch of splashes in the corner but can’t double superplex Rowan.

Bryan tags himself in as Big E. superplexes Rowan but gets caught in the LeBell Lock. That’s switched into the Rings of Saturn with a leg grab but Big E. manages to pull him other leg over….until he realizes there are no rope breaks so he has to crawl to the floor to get Bryan to let go. Bryan fires off the kicks and slaps to Big E., who tells him to bring it. The backflip out of the corner is caught on Big E.’s shoulder and UpUpDownDown gives New Day the titles back at 14:00. Woods: “WE GOT ALL OF THEM!”

Rating: B-. Another good and fast paced match with a lot of action to keep the fans going. New Day winning the titles back isn’t the most interesting change but it feels similar to Balor losing the Intercontinental Title. What’s the point in keeping it on him if they’re not going to do anything with him? At least New Day will be on the show every week.

Kofi Kingston is celebrating with New Day in the back when Paul Heyman walks by. Heyman comes to the stage and says he is the advocate for the future Universal or WWE Champion. He is Philadelphia and the entire concept of extreme. Tonight, Lesnar is cashing in Money in the Bank and that is a spoiler. To tell you that in advance would make him stupid, so maybe he’s lying. Is he telling you the truth or is he Paul Heyman?

US Title: Ricochet vs. AJ Styles

Ricochet is defending and this is their rubber match. AJ has the Good Brothers with him and gets in a cheap shot before the bell with Ricochet saying he’s good to go. Ricochet is back up with a dropkick and a running chop in the corner as the pace stays fast to start. They head outside with AJ taking over and yelling at the referee as a bonus.

Back in and Ricochet gets whipped hard into the corner as the announcers actually explain the idea of AJ not wanting to be a mentor and put out to pasture just yet. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Ricochet flips out and hits an enziguri. A running hurricanrana sends AJ into the corner but Ricochet stops to go after the Good Brothers. That means a moonsault only gets two, followed by the rolling northern lights suplexes for the same.

Another springboard is countered into the fireman’s carry backbreaker but AJ can’t follow up. AJ suplexes him into the corner for two and a reverse DDT gets two more. The Styles Clash is countered with a hurricanrana and they’re both down again. It’s AJ up first with a Pele and a brainbuster for two more. Ricochet goes up top and knocks AJ down but Karl Anderson offers a distraction, allowing Gallows to get in a crotching. That means the Super Styles Clash (with Ricochet’s face bouncing off the mat) gives AJ the title back at 16:30.

Rating: B. This show is on a roll and I can live with Styles winning the title back. There wasn’t a terrible ending around here so it worked as well as anything they could have done. Ricochet can come back and win the title back in the big match at Summerslam, though I wouldn’t have done two matches in the first place to set this up. Do something else and keep things a bit more fresh.

We recap Kevin Owens coming after Shane McMahon earlier this week. Kevin complained that Shane was on the show and he wasn’t so Dolph Ziggler called him out. A match is made.

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler

Trash talk, Stunner, Owens get the pin in 19 seconds. Ok I can go with this.

Post match Kevin says that since Shane got Tombstoned, there’s no one to cut his mic. Owens says that Shane’s time is coming up and there’s something he can kiss.

We recap Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Joe for the Smackdown World Title. Like everyone else, Joe doesn’t believe in Kingston but you can believe that he’s the next champion.

Samoa Joe says he’s here to end Kofi’s unremarkable dream. New Day has all the titles right now and it’s time to begin the nightmare.

Smackdown World Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Joe

Kofi is defending and hits a running dropkick into the corner to start. Joe clotheslines him right back down though and it’s time to slug it out. A spinning kick to the leg has Kofi’s knee bending backwards and Joe runs him over again. Joe tells him to stay down and takes Kofi outside to crush his fingers in the steps. Back in and Kofi chops away, setting up the jumping clothesline to rock Joe.

The high crossbody gets two but Joe grabs the scoop powerslam for the same. The STF goes on with Joe switching into a Crossface. That’s broken up and Kofi grabs the SOS for two but Joe is right back with the Koquina Clutch. Kofi tries to walk the corner so Joe slams him down, setting up the backsplash for two. Another Clutch attempt is countered and Trouble in Paradise retains the title at 9:50.

Rating: C+. This was slow paced, but Kofi gets another win and is likely heading to 100+ days as champion (he has to make it to Tuesday). That’s a long longer than I was expecting him to make it, but it isn’t exactly going to matter as long as Lesnar is looming over him. I’m not sure where he goes at Summerslam, but I’m still hoping for the New Day triple threat.

We recap the Winners Take All match with Becky Lynch/Seth Rollins facing Baron Corbin/Lacey Evans. This is the third title shot for both of them and believe it or not, the interest isn’t that high. It’s a mixed tag with the personal relationship vs. the business relationship.

Raw World Title/Raw Women’s Title: Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch vs. Baron Corbin/Lacey Evans

Corbin and Evans are challenging, it’s Extreme Rules and the winners take all. Lacey has SETH written on the back of her trunks. There are tags again, because Extreme Rules means something very different in WWE. The men start with Corbin grabbing a kendo stick but walking into a Sling Blade. Lacey comes in and grabs the stick before getting rather close to Seth, earning a beating from Becky. She and Seth get in stereo beatdowns with the sticks and stand tall early on.

Back in and Seth has to knee his way out of a suplex attempt but Corbin is smart enough to get in a chair shot. Some chairs are brought in as Lacey points out the writing on the trunks. A DDT sends Seth onto a chair for two but Corbin makes the mistake of wedging a chair in the corner.

Becky has had it and unloads on Lacey with the chair before ramming her face first into one. The Bexploder onto the chairs and a legdrop onto the chair onto Lacey gets two. Lacey is right back with an elbow and a double springboard moonsault. The Woman’s Right misses so Becky grabs a reverse DDT. It’s off to Seth, but Corbin is still down on the floor. Since Rollins can’t go after Lacey, he brings in a table instead.

Becky gives him a hand and they set up a pair of them on the floor, which takes WAY too long. Lacey gets up and sends Becky into the steps, meaning it’s time for the champs to get destroyed with kendo sticks. A double chokeslam gives Corbin and Evans a double two and it’s time to go back outside. Becky saves Seth from a double suplex through a table so it’s a double suplex onto the ramp.

Corbin and Evans are laid on the tables and it’s a legdrop for Lacey and a very high frog splash for Baron in a pair of big crashes. Back in and Corbin is fine enough to hit Deep Six for two on Rollins with Becky making the save. Evans gets tossed outside but Baron gets smart by hitting End of Days on Becky. Corey: “Too far man.” As I roll my eyes, Rollins erupts and beats on Corbin with the chair, followed by the Stomp. Another Stomp sets up a third to retain the titles at 19:53…..and here’s Brock.

Rating: C. So I think I should probably get through this one in a hurry to get to what matters. The match wasn’t too bad but there is only so much that you can get out of Corbin and Evans as challengers. At least they didn’t win the titles, but egads man, I’m hoping Lesnar doesn’t get the title here.

Universal Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

Brock snaps off some German suplexes and Heyman says ring the bell. The bell rings and the F5 gives Lesnar the title at 17 seconds. So yeah, everything from the moment Wrestlemania went on the air in the Universal Title picture? Forget about it.

Overall Rating: A-. I mean, what more can you ask for? There was nothing really close to bad and things certainly happened, though your definition of how good they were could vary. This was the final stopping point to the bad summer before we can get the new direction for Summerslam and it was one of the best shows that they’ve done in a long time. Maybe it was pure exhaustion or having no expectations, but this worked very well and I had roughly a 485% better time than I expected. Oh and it’s done before eleven, putting this at 4:55 instead of over five hours so…..good? Anyway, great show.

Results

Undertaker/Roman Reigns b. Shane McMahon/Drew McIntyre – Tombstone to McMahon

Revival b. Usos – Shatter Machine to Jimmy

Aleister Black b. Cesaro – Black Mass

Bayley b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross – Top rope elbow to Cross

Braun Strowman b. Bobby Lashley – Powerslam into a tunnel

New Day b. Daniel Bryan/Rowan and Heavy Machinery – UpUpDownDown to Bryan

AJ Styles b. Ricochet – Super Styles Clash

Kevin Owens b. Dolph Ziggler – Stunner

Kofi Kingston b. Samoa Joe – Trouble in Paradise

Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch b. Lacey Evans/Baron Corbin – Stomp to Corbin

Brock Lesnar b. Seth Rollins – F5

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

The summer of WWE continues. There are a lot of problems in WWE at the moment and any WWE fan can list them all off for you at a moment’s notice. I’ve been right there with them, though things have gotten slightly better in recent weeks. One of the underlying problems has been the amount of shows that the company has been running and it’s time for another one in the form of Extreme Rules, which doesn’t have the most extreme set of rules. Maybe the card itself will surprise me. Let’s get to it.

Aleister Black vs. Cesaro

This was literally set up with a knock on the door and even though that is where the story was supposed to go, it doesn’t make things that interesting. There is no history between the two of them but that’s kind of the point with Black. I have no idea how they’ve managed to screw up Black’s push so badly but I’ll take what I can get, even if it has taken this long.

I’ll go with Black to win because that’s the only thing that makes sense. I know the fans are going to be annoyed at seeing Cesaro lose again, but that’s just kind of what happens with him. He’ll help get Black somewhere, but it’s going to be the Black Mass for the pin, just as it should be. Black is the kind of guy who could go a long way, and Cesaro is a fine first step. Well the second first step as that first run with Ricochet has been forgotten.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Revival(c) vs. Usos

These two are joined at the hip and that’s fine by me. The best part about this whole thing has been the Revival getting away from the HORRIBLE pranks at the hands of the Usos, which didn’t help anyone whatsoever. The Revival enjoying the good life is funny enough, though at least they’re not looking like the bad end of jokes and that’s better than nothing at this point.

This could go either way but I’ll take the Revival to retain with some cheating. The Usos have been champions so many times that it doesn’t feel important anymore and they certainly don’t need the belts. Let the Revival keep them a little longer and rehab their image that much more, which they really do need after the last few months. They can still be a great team, as long as WWE will just let them do so. A win here would help.

SmackDown Tag Team Titles: Daniel Bryan/Rowan(c) vs. New Day vs. Heavy Machinery

As I was getting ready for this show, I wasn’t sure if New Day was doing anything on the show or who had these titles. That’s how little they matter and that says a lot about the tag division as a whole. Heavy Machinery doesn’t exactly belong in this match after they lost last month but when has that bothered them before? The titles are nearly ice cold right now so this isn’t the most important match on the show.

Give me the champions retaining here, as I’m hoping that we’re getting closer to the New Day getting frustrated with Kofi Kingston getting most of the glory and success. Much like the Usos, the New Day winning the titles again wouldn’t mean anything and I can’t imagine Heavy Machinery actually winning the titles. Bryan and Rowan are doing nothing as champions, but somehow they’re the best option at the moment.

Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak(c) vs. Tony Nese

Somehow this isn’t on the Kickoff Show (yet) but you can probably pencil it in. Gulak won the title from Nese in a three way at Stomping Grounds and this is his first title defense. What matters most here is Gulak’s new, aggressive character which has gotten him a lot further than his entertaining For A Better 205 Live deal. He’s fitting well as champion, though I’m not sure how long he’ll have the title.

He’ll have it longer than the end of Extreme Rules though as I’ll go with Gulak to retain here. Nese has had his run and while he was a success, he’s not the long term solution with the title. They’ve already got Oney Lorcan waiting to challenge Gulak over Summerslam weekend as well and that could be a heck of a match. Nese has come a long way, but he’s not getting back to the top again, at least not here.

SmackDown World Title: Kofi Kingston(c) vs. Samoa Joe

This has been a better feud than anything Kingston vs. Ziggler did, mainly because it feels like something fresh. What matters here is having a good match, because this feels like a one off match instead of the start of something big. While there is a chance that we could see a rematch at Summerslam, odds are this is going to be it and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Kingston retains here, at least I think, as I could see Samoa Joe puling off a surprise win. That’s the kind of thing he tends to do, though I’m not sure if he’s going to do so here. Kingston’s title reign has not gone very well so far, though it’s hard to put the entirety of the blame on him. Samoa Joe almost has to win the title at some point, but I don’t think that’s the case here.

Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley

This is Last Man Standing and a result of the two of them blowing up part of the set a few weeks back. It feels like we’ve seen this kind of thing from Strowman for years now as he gets to look dominant in a story like this, though I have no reason to believe that he’s going to win the title in the end. Lashley has looked great as well, though there is a lot more to be done with Strowman, at least in a company that makes sense.

Of course I’ll take Strowman here, though it’s going to come after a lot of stuff is destroyed. That’s not a bad place to go and the match should be fun (or at least extreme) but I have no confidence for where this is going in the future for either guy. At least it’s better than arm wrestling or a tug of war though, which means Heyman at least has one good thing going for him.

Undertaker/Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon/Drew McIntyre

No Holds Barred for the sake of McMahon. The match itself isn’t what matters here, as the whole point is much more about who Undertaker gets to face at Summerslam. Odds are that it’s going to be McIntyre, but I’m not sure who would win once we get there. That’s for later though so for now, we get more McMahon getting to hang with multiple time World Champions, if not beating them.

For the sake of my sanity, I’m going with Undertaker and Reigns squeaking by a guy whose career highlight is the NXT Title and the Monster McMahon, because somehow this is one of the biggest feuds of the summer. Assuming Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler isn’t added to the card (or even if it is), I could easily see Owens interfering here and taking McMahon down. Not for a pin of course because Undertaker and Reigns aren’t on that level, but maybe he can help bring McIntyre down.

SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss

This feud has gotten a lot of time in recent weeks, though I’m not entirely sure which way it’s going. That’s the best thing about it though, as they really could take it in a lot of different directions and see what they can find. Cross is being conned by Bliss, but Bayley has been showing some more heelish tendencies as of late. That opens up a lot of doors and any of them could be followed up on here.

I’ll take Bayley winning to retain here, likely pinning Cross in the process. Above all else, Bayley needs to get FAR away from Bliss, as the two of them have been joined at the hip for far too long now. It almost never goes well for Bayley either and the longer they’re together, the more I expect Bliss to get the title and kill Bayley’s momentum again. Odds are Charlotte gets the title shot at Summerslam (because she’s Charlotte) so Bayley has to win here to set that up.

US Title: Ricochet(c) vs. AJ Styles

This one is going to come down to how much you believe the stories about Paul Heyman being so high on Ricochet. At the end of the day, Ricochet is the kind of guy who could be turned into a new top star for the company in the blink of an eye and it seems that they’re heading that way. At the same time though, Styles is Styles and you don’t want the newly reformed Club losing their first big pay per view match.

I think they’ll put the title on Styles though, likely through Good Brothers interference, meaning it’s time to have Ricochet chase the title again. Ricochet losing due to the numbers game is acceptable, but it would be nice to let the younger guys get a longer term chance. I’m not confident whatsoever in this one though and that’s a nice feeling for a match like this.

Universal Title/Raw Women’s Title: Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch(c) vs. Lacey Evans/Baron Corbin

We’ve covered every possible bit of ranting that can be done about this match and these feuds but now we get an Extreme Rules match for both titles. The big story here is the real life relationship between Lynch and Rollins (because that’s REAL while everything else is fake) vs. the business relationship between Evans and Corbin, because that’s what we want at an EXTREME show.

For the sake of my sanity (again with the sanity), I’ll go with the champions retaining here because….how could Corbin ever be World Champion? I mean I know he will be someday, but egads the possibilities of that give me hives. I’m not sure where this takes Rollins and Lynch (though the Power Couple battle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon is starting to seem plausible) but for now, they keep the titles.

Overall Thoughts

Main event aside, this is actually a pretty good looking card and I don’t remember the last time that was the case for a WWE pay per view. There are a few violent matches sprinkled here and there but did anyone really expect an actual EXTREME show from this event? You take what you can get here as the nightmare summer continues. I don’t know what Heyman and Bischoff have in mind for Summerslam, but it almost has to be better than what we’ve been doing for the last few weeks. At least it’s going to be fresh and that’s what matters most.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Extreme Rules 2018
Date: July 15, 2018
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the extreme pay per view that forgot its extreme. Tonight’s show features ten matches and only a handful have any kind of gimmick attached, including the likely main event of the completely standard Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley. WWE hasn’t done much to make the show feel special but maybe they’ll surprise me. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Sin Cara vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Rematch from Smackdown. Cara starts fast with a headscissors to send Almas outside but the suicide dive reinjures the elbow that kept Almas out for about a month. An elbow to the face puts Cara on the floor again and we get the double pose in the ropes/on the apron from Almas and Zelina Vega. Back from a break with Cara fighting out of an armbar and grabbing a hurricanrana out of the corner. Cara shoves him off the top and hits a frog splash but Vega offers a distraction. Back up and Almas hits a charge in the corner, setting up the running knees. The hammerlock DDT finishes Cara at 7:00.

Rating: C+. Nice cruiserweight style match here with the right ending, though they covered this already on Smackdown. I’m rarely a fan of having a match added to a card for the sake of having a match added to a card and that feels like what we got here. Almas needs to move up to something bigger now though as he has the complete package to really make a run up the ladder.

Kickoff Show: New Day vs. Sanity

Tables match. New Day clears the ring just after the bell and it’s already time to look for a table. Big E. gets double teamed inside until Young hits Wolfe by mistake. The spear through the ropes is broken up and Young drops the top rope elbow. Back from a break with Big E. still getting double teamed until Woods and Kofi send Wolfe and Young to the floor. Stereo suicide dives take them out but Killian Dain hits a dive of his own to crush them against the barricade.

Two more tables are set up on the floor and one is stacked upside down on top of another. Woods and Big E. fight their way out though and it’s a modified Tower of Doom with Kofi hitting a top rope double stomp instead of getting superplexed. Dain comes back in to flatten Woods and Big E. until Trouble in Paradise puts him back on the floor. Kofi and Wolfe fight on the apron above a table until Young comes off the top to drive Kofi through for the win at 7:36.

Rating: C. They moved a lot out there and it was entertaining while it lasted but that wasn’t exactly very long. Much like the other match, the right person won without much trouble, though at least this one was over some more successful opponents. I’m not sure where Sanity goes from here but they’re the kind of act that can go up against anyone and be tailored to make it work.

The opening video looks at a little bit of everything tonight, almost none of which feels like an important match in the slightest.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt vs. B Team

The B Team is challenging. Matt takes Dallas down to start with his zany screaming offense and Bo is already rolling to the floor. Back in and it’s off to Bray for the showdown with Dallas, who immediately tags instead. Bray has no problem pounding Axel down and Matt comes back in for his ten rams into the buckle. Matt gets two off a clothesline but runs into a boot to give the B Team their first opening. It also gives us our first dueling chant of the evening as the fans are split on the challengers.

Dallas whips Hardy into a DDT for two and it’s off to a neck crank. The comeback doesn’t take long and it’s Wyatt coming in to clean house. The release Rock Bottom plants Dallas but Axel breaks up the Kiss of Deletion. Dallas sends the champs together and the hanging swinging neckbreaker is enough to pin Hardy for the titles at 7:58.

Rating: D+. The ending is probably the right call as somehow the comedy team is the best thing that we can get for the titles instead of someone like Revival, who have already shown that they can wrestle a great match against a variety of teams. I’m sure someone finds them hilarious (and they are funny) but my goodness what happened to Hardy and Wyatt? They were a big deal just a few weeks ago and now they’re jobbing clean in an opening match.

The B Team compares this to Stretch Armstrong landing on the moon. Ok maybe I do like these two a bit more.

General Manager Kurt Angle is in the back and talks about how tired he is of Brock Lesnar refusing to defend the title. Therefore, Lesnar needs to show up tomorrow night to set up his next title defense or he’ll be stripped of the belt. I’m not sure what it says to think of that as a big relief.

Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor

Another “I’m better because I’m bigger feud”. Balor starts fast but gets caught in the corner for some running clotheslines. Corbin punches him down for two and stomps on the back while making sure to mention that he’s bigger. It works so well that Corbin breaks up a springboard with another right hand for two more and it’s off to the chinlock.

Balor slugs away for a breather and kicks Corbin down but it’s way too early for the Coup de Grace. Instead it’s a chokebreaker for two and Deep Six is good for the same. A quick double stomp stuns Corbin but Balor can’t follow up. The End of Days are reversed into a small package to give Balor the fast pin at 8:20.

Rating: D. There was no need for this to be on pay per view and there was even less need for Balor to win. I like Balor, but he’s ice cold at the moment while Corbin had been getting a nice boost thanks to the Constable thing. The story was Big Cass warmed over and that’s not exactly something that was worth watching in the first place. These two didn’t have any chemistry together and there’s no reason to see it happen again.

In the back, the Bludgeon Brothers attack HELL NO with Kane taking a mallet shot to the knee.

We recap Asuka vs. Carmella. Asuka got cheated out of the title last month by the returning James Ellsworth (who just had to be cast in the role) so tonight he’s locked in a shark cage to ensure a fair fight.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Carmella

Asuka is challenging and starts kicking away as soon as the shark cage goes up. Ellsworth is already dropping a chain down less than thirty seconds in but Asuka kicks it away. Carmella gets in a few shots so this time Ellsworth drops some mace. That doesn’t work either as the hip attack gets two and the Asuka Lock sends Carmella straight to the ropes.

Ellsworth manages to pick the lock but his pants get caught in the door, leaving him hanging upside down. Asuka beats on him like a punching bag and let’s stop the match so Ellsworth can be put back in the cage. Instead of letting the production people do their jobs, Asuka beats them up and leaves the cage hanging there. Carmella sneaks in, rams her into the cage, and gets the pin to retain at 5:37.

Rating: F. I don’t think this needs an explanation do you? Instead we’ll look at how fast everything is going for the sake of trying to cram all of this into the time limit, which isn’t likely to happen anyway because WWE will manage to over run anyway. This felt like a bad Smackdown angle, but at least Asuka got pinned again.

Asuka beats up Ellsworth to blow off some steam.

Quick recap of tonight’s happenings.

US Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Hardy is defending and gets hit low before the bell. He says he can go so the bell rings and Kinshasa gives Nakamura the pin and the title at 5 seconds. That has to be an injury or something.

Post match Randy Orton is back….to stomp Hardy low as Nakamura is stunned.

We recap Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman. Owens tried to get everyone to go after Strowman in Money in the Bank so Strowman destroyed Owens’ car, then locked him in a portable toilet. The result: a cage match of course.

Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Pin, submission or escape. Owens bolts for the cage early on but Strowman pulls him back down. Strowman: “YOU SAY FIGHT OWENS FIGHT! FIGHT ME!” Owens slugs away and actually drops Strowman with a superkick. The frog splash gets two so Owens goes for the door, only to be pulled back in screaming for mercy. Strowman throws him into the cage a few times and stands over Owens as the fans want someone to GET THESE HANDS.

A Stunner of all things gets Owens out of trouble and back to back superkicks put Strowman down on one knee. Owens busts out some handcuffs to attach Strowman to the ropes but hammers away instead of leaving. I really don’t see this ending well. A chokeslam drops Owens again but he rolls away and mocks Strowman before going up. Strowman breaks the handcuffs and runs up the wall to catch Owens, who he chokeslams off the cage onto the announcers’ table (with the crash pad showing), giving Owens the win at 8:50.

Rating: D. Well the crash was great, but I could go for a match actually getting some time tonight. A long stretch of this was spent on the handcuffs bit and that was hardly revolutionary. I hope they don’t try to keep Strowman the face if this feud continues, but for some reason that seems to be the most likely outcome. If nothing else has made him the heel in this thing, this won’t either.

Post match Owens is taken out on a stretcher while Strowman laughs about how Owens won.

We look at the US Title match and Orton’s return.

We recap the Smackdown Tag Team Title match. Bryan annoyed the Bludgeon Brothers so they beat him down a few times. Kane made his return to help his former partner, setting up the title match here. It’s pure nostalgia but it’s been fun.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: HELL NO vs. Bludgeon Brothers

Bryan, with bad ribs, is challenging on his own as Kane is too injured to compete. The rapid fire kicks give Bryan some early hope and Rowan gets knocked outside. A hurricanrana sets up the YES Lock on Harper but Rowan makes a quick save. Rowan gets two off a running splash and rips at Bryan’s face. Harper comes back in and eats some kicks, only to have Rowan catch the Flying Goat. He can’t hold Bryan long enough though and Harper’s suicide dive hits Rowan instead.

Cue Kane with a cast on his foot to limp down the aisle and take a diving tag. A pair of weak chokeslams drop the Brothers but Harper kicks him in the leg. Bryan tags himself back in for a missile dropkick and it’s time for the YES Kicks to Harper. A blind tag brings Rowan in and he spinwheel kicks Bryan down. Rowan whips Bryan into Kane, setting up a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination to pin Bryan at 8:18.

Rating: C. They were flying through this (just like everything else tonight) but this was actually getting somewhere with Kane’s injury being a nice little story. That being said, Kane doesn’t quite have it in the ring anymore and it’s showing more and more every time. Bryan taking a fall after coming in injured and fighting most of the match on his own doesn’t hurt anything and the Brothers shouldn’t be losing the titles yet anyway. It was short, but this was one of the best things on the show so far.

Roman Reigns is walking in the back when he runs into the still celebrating B Team. He can be part of the team tonight if he Beats Lashley and they can all celebrate together. Roman walks away and the booing intensifies.

We recap Reigns vs. Lashley (which actually isn’t main eventing). It was about the #1 contendership but Lesnar wasn’t feeling that so it became the two bickering about who should fight Lesnar. Reigns called Lashley out for leaving and Lashley bragged about being awesome. They had a huge brawl on Raw which went very well but other than that, it feels like two kids arguing about beating up the bigger kid who would probably flatten them.

Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley

Reigns powers him into the corner to start and shrugs off the first suplex. The apron dropkick sets up an early chinlock as they’re going fast but not really at a high pace if that makes sense. Reigns takes it outside again and they fight over the steps with Lashley (minus the headband) getting the better of it.

Back in and the fans call this boring as Lashley hits a belly to belly suplex but charges into a boot in the corner. Reigns is favoring his ribs as he hits the corner clotheslines so Lashley grabs a powerslam to hurt the ribs even worse. An ax handle from the top puts Reigns down again but he’s back up with something like an AA to put Lashley on the floor in a big crash. Back in and a legdrop gives Reigns two, followed by Lashley’s vertical suplex for the same.

Lashley’s spear is cut off by a Superman Punch, sending him rolling to the floor. Reigns tries a charge but gets caught in a belly to belly onto (not through) the announcers’ table. That doesn’t have much of an effect though as he Superman Punches Lashley off the top. The spear is loaded up but Lashley spears him down instead for the pin at 14:54.

Rating: C+. Well that’s certainly a thing that happened. Lashley winning was the only logical call as he needed something to energize his return, especially after that horrible Sami Zayn feud. I still expect the possibility of Reigns getting to beat Lesnar somehow, but at least they gave Lashley the win he needed here.

We recap Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss. Jax was defending against Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank when Bliss cashed in her briefcase. Rousey snapped and attacked Bliss, earning herself a suspension. Therefore, tonight Rousey is in the front row instead of being in the ring but it might not matter as Bliss is defending in an Extreme Rules match.

Raw Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss

Bliss is defending, anything goes, and Natalya and Mickie James are the seconds. Nia goes into stalking mode to start so it’s time for weapons, all of which Nia throws away without much effort. Bliss’ chair is pulled out of her hands and a gorilla press drop puts her onto a trashcan. Some trashcan shots have Nia down and Bliss wedges a chair in the corner.

Mickie and Natalya get in a fight on the floor with Bliss heading outside to send Natalya into the barricade. Rousey jumps the barricade and sends Mickie inside for a twisting Samoan drop (not bad). James gets sent over the announcers’ table and Rousey runs Bliss down but James is back up with a kendo stick. Back in and James hits Jax in the back to break up a Samoan drop. Bliss chairs Nia down and DDTs her on the chair to retain at 7:21.

Rating: D. This show is feeling more and more like a Vince Russo show every match. They flew through this again and the Rousey stuff was the focus (as it should have been) but it felt like it could have been a big TV angle instead of a pay per view match. It was as much as you were going to get out of hitting each other with weapons for a few minutes until the angle started and that’s all you really could have expected here.

Rousey chases Bliss and James off.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Rusev because the Intercontinental Title match really is main eventing. Rusev Day has become one of the hottest things in the company but Styles is still the Phenomenal One. It’s Rusev’s first ever singles match for the title and he’s ready to make the most of it.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Rusev

Rusev is challenging and has Aiden English singing him to the ring. AJ starts fast with some kicks to the leg but gets kneed in the ribs to cut him off. A backdrop puts him down and a belly to back suplex works on the ribs a bit more to start the setup for the Accolade. We hit the bearhug for a few moments until Rusev puts him on top. You don’t do that to AJ though as he slips between Rusev’s legs and kicks him to the floor with Rusev holding his leg.

Back in and a running seated forearm has Rusev in trouble, followed by a reverse DDT for two. AJ gets sent to the apron but doesn’t seem to mind as he snaps off a kick to the head. The springboard 450 misses and neither submission hold can go on. Instead AJ kicks him down but the running forearm is countered by a kick to the head from the mat (that’s kind of impressive).

A belly to belly on the floor sets up the Machka Kick for two and the roundhouse kick to the head gets the same. Rusev loads up the Accolade but the leg gives out from earlier. The one legged version of the Accolade doesn’t work very well so Aiden English rips off a turnbuckle pad. AJ slips out of another Accolade attempt and Rusev charges into the buckle. The springboard 450 gets two so Styles decks English and hits the Phenomenal Forearm to retain at 15:35.

Rating: B. Easily the best thing on the show so far, mainly because they didn’t rush through the thing. Rusev gets to save a little bit of face thanks to the messy ending too and that’s a good sign for his future. AJ wasn’t really in a lot of danger here and now he can move on to the biggest threat of all, which should be Samoa Joe.

Seth Rollins is ready to burn it down and get his Intercontinental Title back.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Thirty minute Iron Man match with Ziggler defending and Drew McIntyre in his corner. Feeling out process start with Rollins taking it to the mat and working on a hammerlock. That goes nowhere so Rollins tries a rollup for two instead. Ziggler takes him to the mat as well but Rollins pops back up with a Buckle Bomb. La majistral gives Rollins the first fall at 4:35.

1-0 Rollins

Rollins hits a slingshot dive to the floor as Coach talks about John Cena and Shawn Michaels having an Iron Man match (wrong). The fans have a new annoying idea: counting down the time like the Royal Rumble clock, but on every minute. Back in and Ziggler hits an elbow but Rollins slips out of a suplex, setting up Stomp for the second fall at 7:57.

2-0 Rollins

Ziggler is rocked so McIntyre comes in to jump Rollins for the DQ at 8:45.

3-0 Rollins

McIntyre beats on him even more and gets ejected but there’s no second DQ, not even after a Claymore to Rollins as we hit ten minutes. Ziggler covers to get a fall back at 10:28.

3-1 Rollins

A superkick gives Ziggler another fall at 11:09.

3-2 Rollins

The fans aren’t happy that the clock has been taken off the Titantron (I’ll be happy for them) so Ziggler hits a Zig Zag to tie things up at 12:09, hopefully getting their attention back.

3-3 Tied

We get a WHERE’S THE CLOCK chant because fans don’t understand the concept of having something taken away from you if you abuse it. Therefore, they just start randomly counting down, even if it doesn’t match the clock on the screen. Rollins sends him outside but the suicide dive hits a forearm, allowing Ziggler to get a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 14:07.

4-3 Ziggler

Ziggler grabs an armbar as we’re halfway through. With Rollins running out of time, Ziggler grabs a long sleeper with a grapevine to eat up a few minutes. Rollins fights up and sends him outside for a suicide dive and a springboard clothesline gets two as we have ten minutes left. The clock comes back on so we get a YES chant as Ziggler dropkicks Rollins off the top. Normally a big bump like that would get a reaction, but the fans were too busy counting down again.

They fight to the corner and on top until Rollins headbutts him back down. The frog splash gets two on the champ so Ziggler gets smart by grabbing the bottom rope. Rollins kicks him free and loads Ziggler up for the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two with four minutes left. Ziggler breaks up the Stomp but gets sunset flipped to tie it up at 26:51.

4-4 Tied

Rollins wastes no time in pulling him down into a Sharpshooter and then a Crossface. With that not working, Rollins misses a Stomp and Ziggler rolls outside with a minute left. Back in and a quick Fameasser gets two to put them both down. Ziggler tunes up the band but walks into a superkick, setting up the Stomp but time expires on Seth at 30:10 (not sure how they messed that up) and it’s a draw.

Rating: B. REALLY annoying crowd aside (“We came up with something clever! Let’s do it thirty times in a row!”), this was a rather good match that never felt long in the slightest. I did like the idea of doing that many falls at the beginning as it gave the match a hot start and took away some of the dragging that comes with Iron Man matches. Better than I was expecting here so that’s a nice surprise.

Actually hang on a second here as Kurt Angle comes out to say we’re going to overtime.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

McIntyre runs in for a distraction and Ziggler hits the Zig Zag to retain at 14 seconds.

Overall Rating: D+. The last two matches came close to saving it but this was a prime example of WWE not taking the time to plan out their shows and cramming in WAY too much stuff to make them work. This show needed to have a few matches changed (drop Almas vs. Cara, move the Raw Tag Team Titles to the Kickoff Show, do the US Title match on Smackdown and cut Balor vs. Corbin) so that you don’t have to rush through everything else.

The show felt so rushed and while I REALLY appreciate them being out at a more reasonable time (show ended at 10:42), they needed to trim things down a good bit. Not everyone belongs on pay per view and that couldn’t have been more true here. I really would have been fine without some of these matches and the show would have had a lot more breathing room if they weren’t slapped on there.

Lesnar and the title being back will help a lot though as we now have a target for Summerslam. It’s not the worst show in the world, but they would have been in some serious trouble had the last few matches not completely bailed them out. Just cut down on some of this stuff and it would be a lot better.

Results

B Team b. Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt – Hanging swinging neckbreaker to Hardy

Finn Balor b. Baron Corbin – Small package

Carmella b. Asuka – Carmella rammed her into the cage

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Jeff Hardy – Kinshasa

Kevin Owens b. Braun Strowman – Owens escaped the cage

Bludgeon Brothers b. HELL NO – Powerbomb/Top rope clothesline combination to Bryan

Bobby Lashley b. Roman Reigns – Spear

AJ Styles b. Rusev – Phenomenal Forearm

Dolph Ziggler b. Seth Rollins 5-4

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6