WWE: Extreme Rules hits a home run once again!

WWE Extreme Rules 2014
East Rutherford, NJ – 04/05/14

Extreme Rules has been one of the highlights of the WWE calendar over the last several years. Regardless of the card, it always tends to be a brilliant show. Even in the PG era – which tends to make most stipulation matches seem obsolete – this pay-per-view has rarely failed to deliver. With a pretty stacked line-up of established hands and legitimate rising stars, it was always going to be a success.

Cesaro v RVD v Jack Swagger
(Triple Threat Elimination Match)

This was the very solid opening match that most people expected. Everybody “got their shit in” as Stone Cold would say, and I think it made everybody look good. I was surprised to see Jack Swagger be taken out first by the five-star-frog-splash by Van Dam. I thought that the two former tag partners would end up facing off alone. Nonetheless, the final two did an excellent job. RVD brought out the extreme and had the big man on the ropes, so to speak. However, his second splash of the night missed and he hit his face on a trash can. Judging by the marks in and around his eye, Van Dam took more damage than was planned.

The King of Swing grabbed him up and hit him with the Neutraliser, for the victory. Cesaro powers on and his push is looking strong. This was also a great showing from RVD. One thing that disappointed me about this match happened outside the ring, at the announcer table. Michael Cole botched the fact that this was an elimination match, most painfully when he claimed that Van Dam had won the match by beating Swagger.

Alexander Rusev v R-Truth & Xavier Woods
(2-on-1 Handicap Match)

This match surprised me. I expected it to be basic filler and a loose exhibition for Rusev. It was both of those things, but so much more. Lana came out to the ramp first and put up a picture of Vladimir Putin on the big screen. That was weird, but amusing. The subsequent moronic “USA!” chants were an eye-opener. I didn’t think that old patriot angle could work anymore, but I guess it still can. This bout wasn’t the squash that I thought it would be. Rusev came out the winner, but it was a lot more competitive and inventive than I expected it to be. The match was booked rather well, but I fear for the Bulgarian. I’ve been very impressed with him, but his gimmick is going nowhere.

Big E(c) v Wade Barrett
(for the Intercontinental Championship)

The babyface Big E came out to complete silence. His opponent (the heel) Wade Barrett was cheered throughout the match. Huge “Bad News Barrett” chants were ringing out around the arena. Pay attention WWE! There were some really awesome suplexes in this very competitive match. There were tonnes of near falls. I was very pleased to see Wade win the title with the bull-hammer elbow. The crowd went insane after the three count. It felt like a really special moment and I think it’s a good thing for the IC strap.

Evolution v The Shield
(Six Man Tag Team Match)

I thought this was a very strange position on the card for what seemed to be the clear main event of the show. I worried that it could make the main event anti-climactic. Regardless, this was a world class match. The pace and tempo was excellent. Some of the moves were out of this world. The Shield once again pulled out all the stops to steal the show, while the three old lions led them to a brilliant encounter. It went through several stages and told a great story.

Dean Ambrose applying the figure four leg lock was a nice touch. Randy Orton doesn’t get anywhere near enough credit, for being the high grade worker that he is. The “You Can’t Wrestle!” chants aimed at Batista were nonsensical. The match really exploded when Roman Reigns got the hot tag and exploded into a crazy sequence. This sparked a brilliant back-and-forth, full of awesome false finishes. While Reigns and Batista were grounded in the ring, the other four guys brawled into the stands. Ambrose was isolated by Orton and Triple H, when Seth Rollins launched himself off the upper stand and splashed them. This truly was a “Holy shit!” moment, and it wasn’t the last.

With everybody down, Batista fell victim to the Superman punch and huge spear. This match was memorable, special and incredible. It was an enthralling performance from all six guys, and a very big win for The Shield.

John Cena v Bray Wyatt
(Steel Cage Match)

Steel cage matches don’t mean too much these days, but this was another surprisingly good match. John Cena acknowledged the insane crowd heat that he received on the ramp. It’s getting pretty crazy these days. I think it might be time to do the turn, or even a double-turn. Bray Wyatt seems to be getting more over by the week. I know it was a pretty hardcore crowd, but this was still significant. It seems like we are about to witness a change in the guard.

As for the match, it was very impressive. The crowd were hot. The storytelling was captivating. I didn’t think it would, but this genuinely had me on the edge of my seat for the most part. They managed to find interesting ways to use the numbers game, despite the steel cage. Things reached a crescendo when John Cena was about to exit the cage door. A child greeted him with the freaky song that we have all come to love, only his voice was distorted and creepy. That distraction took the man that never loses from victory to defeat in a heartbeat. He turned into Sister Abigail’s Kiss and Bray exited the cage. He walked with the child and the rest of his family to the back. Some may have found this quite gimmicky, but I thought it made sense to the story and it was something different. Big win for Bray!

Paige(c) v Tamina Snuka
(for the Divas Championship)

This was a very good match. We really are looking at some positive times for the Divas division right now. Both girls did very well making this match a success, but I can’t believe how hard they are pushing Paige. The fighting Champion was on the winning side again, this time against probably her most dominant challenger. She made the big, strong, daughter of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka tap out to her “modified scorpion cross-lock” – at least that’s what I think it is.

Daniel Bryan(c) v Kane
(Extreme Rules Match for the WWE Championship)

The amount of crowd heat for this match was very disappointing. I hope the Yes! movement doesn’t prove to be a fad. The opening stages of this clash were bog standard, but it really got interesting when the two brawled into the backstage area. The intense monster Kane through a television set at Bryan. He dodged and it crashed into a bucket of ice water. The effects of this tripped out the video and audio for a little while – the whole thing seemed unpredictable and dangerous at this point. He then through a gas canister at Bryan, only to see it smash the windscreen of a car. The Big Red Machine then punched through another car window. This brawl was awesome!

Dragon then symbolically drove Kane to the ring on the end of a forklift. He lifted him into the ring, and then climbed the machine himself, to land a wicked diving head-butt. Still no pop, for any of this. Another long two in a very strong match. It was a big shame about the crowd. My only guess is that they were tired from all of the other great matches. Things took an insane turn when Kane set fire to a table outside the ring. After having already choke-slammed him through the announce table, I thought he was going to do the same again. Bryan blocked it and through the big man off the apron through the burning table. He was then extinguished in the face for several seconds, only to stumble into the ring and suffer the running high knee. Daniel Bryan got the win and retained the title.

Final Thoughts: Overall, this was a fantastic event. In the PG Era that we live in, I thought the days of guys jumping off stands and burning tables at ringside were over. There were a few botches by commentators and referees, but the work from the wrestlers was out of this world. Most of the matches had the crowd popping. I think they were too tired at the end of the night to go on any more, and that’s a good sign. Extreme Rules is always a strong show. Payback – on the other hand – does not sound so appealing. WWE will have to do a lot, to one-up themselves after last night. However, it’s a great time to be following the product. With the likes of Cesaro, Bray Wyatt, The Shield and Wade Barrett getting mega-pushes, the future is looking bright.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to come back for my Payback review in June. With the show emanating from the All State Arena in Chicago, the company is sure to try and do something big to avoid a CM Punk hijack. I don’t see it being successful, unless Stone Cold or The Rock make an appearance.