By Laura Mauro @lauranmauro
The PPV that gave us possibly the worst match of 2017 returns, this time bigger and (hopefully) better. With a unified roster, more belts than you can shake a kendo stick at, and a bevy of interesting match stipulations, Extreme Rules 2018 certainly had the potential to be a strong PPV. Did it live up to its promise? Read on to find out.
Kick-off Show: Sin Cara vs Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas
Sin Cara faced off against El Idolo in a too-short match that surely belonged anywhere but the pre-show. I’ve had my doubts about Sin Cara in the past but he has great chemistry with Almas, who has lost none of the fire he showed during his NXT days. Zelina Vega remains a vital presence at ringside. Almas grounded Sin Cara early on, but the masked man soon regained ground after a beautiful springboard crossbody. Not that you’d know, because WWE made the inexplicable decision to play a promotional video for the upcoming Reigns/Lashley match midway through – way to delegitimise the importance of your kick-off show, WWE, if it was ever important to begin with. Back to the action, where Almas began to lose his tranquilo in the face of Sin Cara’s gathering momentum. A beautiful Volador Spiral almost clinched it for Sin Cara, but thanks to Vega’s distraction Almas was ultimately able to regain lost ground – double knees into the corner and a hammerlock DDT saw Almas to victory.
Winner: Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas
Kick-off Show: New Day vs SAnitY (Tables Match)
This is the first time I’ve seen SAnitY on the main roster, having been on a WWE break as of late, so I was very interested to see how they’d translate. New Day are arguably far too good for the pre-show, but equally good at getting the crowd going, so I can understand the decision to place them there, especially given the relative low-stakes of the match. I notice Killian Dane is now wearing a shirt, which I suppose isn’t much of a surprise. As with the Sin Cara/Almas match I felt this one suffered from being too short, but the participants delivered as much as they could; control of the match passed neatly back and forth, with New Day setting up what would ultimately turn out to be Chekov’s Table on the outside. Some neat spots from both teams, including stereo topes from Woods and Kofi (swiftly followed by a brutal dive from Killian Dane). What looked to be a standard Tower of Doom superplex setup turned into a unique double powerbomb/double foot stomp from the top rope, laying out Wolfe and Young. The match came to a jarringly abrupt conclusion when Alexander Wolfe took a bite out of Kofi Kingston, allowing Eric Young to elbow-drop Kofi through the waiting table. Probably a wise decision to have SAniTY take the win – they work best when they’re presented as a legitimate threat.
Winner: SAniTY
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The Deleters of Worlds (C) vs The B Team
Apparently it’s very important for viewers to know that Ronda Rousey is in the crowd, so consider yourself appraised of that vital fact, which will have no bearing on this Tag Team Championship Match. Two comedy tag teams face off for the Raw Tag Team titles, and the result was an unremarkable but watchable affair, with some nice moments between brothers Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt – the wry nod to their real-life relationship was good fun, especially as they remain separate entities in kayfabe. Nothing to highlight here, except perhaps a stiff-looking uranage from Bray to Bo, but the payoff was in the B-Team’s victory. It’s not a storyline to suit everyone’s tastes, but it reminded me a little of the days of the Mean Street Posse and Crash Holly – you know, when ‘fun’ was a thing. The B Team aren’t a long-term prospect, but they bring a little light relief, and with Curtis Axel asking such vital questions as “how did Stretch Armstrong feel when he landed on the moon?” I’m all for extending their run just a little bit longer.
Winner: The B Team
Finn Balor vs Baron ‘Constable’ Corbin
This is the first time I’ve seen Corbin as ‘Constable’ and I have to admit, the look works a hell of a lot better for him. It’s a great character for him too; he’s got a natural smarminess that suits playing the authoritarian suck-up. Pity poor Finn Balor, though, whose fall from the top shows no signs of turning around – it feels a little beneath Finn to win via roll-up, particularly since it felt as though the match squandered the potential David vs Goliath dynamic it appeared to be building early on. (We’ve seen Finn work with this dynamic before, and it suits him.) The match itself was decent enough: Corbin is never going to be the world’s most exciting wrestler but he looked convincing as the dominant force of the match, blocking Finn’s comeback at every step. Finn, on the other hand, never really got going: in a story of power vs agility, you’d expect there to be a chance for agility to shine through, but there was precious little for Finn to work with here, except perhaps to showcase his endurance. A picture perfect Deep Six was the highlight of the match, and though I feel like Finn is above chancing the win the way he did, it does continue the ongoing theme of Corbin being crushed under the weight of his own hubris, which is a nice touch.
Winner: Finn Balor
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Carmella (C) vs Asuka (with James Ellsworth in a shark cage)
Why is Ellsworth in a shark cage? Why is he there at all? Why is Asuka losing to Carmella, even with the caveat of Ellsworth as a distraction? Why is Ellsworth once again the focus of SmackDown’s women’s division? What was the point of this terrible, terrible match? Answers on a postcard.
Winner: Carmella
United States Championship Match: Jeff Hardy (C) vs Shinsuke Nakamura
This was a daft interlude which nonetheless served a purpose: Nakamura delivering the low blow to Jeff Hardy before the bell and following with a swift Kinshasa for the win at least accomplishes something that should have happened a long time ago, namely: Nakamura winning the US Championship. It also set up Randy Orton’s return from injury which – while I can’t exactly pretend to be excited to see Orton (sorry) – at least makes for speculation as to what the next chapter of this story is going to be.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Braun Strowman vs Kevin Owens (Steel Cage Match)
I know it’s not big, and it’s not clever, but I enjoy Braun Strowman. I enjoy him even more when he’s not bothering the main event scene and doing what he does best: dumb feats of strength. Kevin Owens suffers beautifully, which makes him the perfect foil to Strowman, and the sheer spectacle of watching him theatrically brutalised is weirdly compelling in its own right. It’s not going to win any awards for complex storytelling, or for in-ring prowess, but it was fun, and that bump from the top of the cage? Well, there’s your ‘extreme’ right there. Braun Strowman doesn’t care about winning so much as getting what he wants, and the finish allowed Kevin to pick up a needed win (technically, anyway) while keeping Braun strong. It worked for me, anyway.
Winner: Kevin Owens
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: Bludgeon Brothers (C) vs Team Hell NoHel
Following a sneak attack earlier in the show the match seemed to be going ahead as a 2 on 1, with plucky underdog Daniel Bryan against the formidable Bludgeon Brothers. Bryan does a great job of playing babyface in peril, and watching him ply his speed and ring IQ against the more powerful Harper and Rowan almost made this match worth watching. Kane defying injury to help his teammate was a nice touch too. I’m not sure where the Bludgeon Brothers go from here – they’ve been set up as nigh-on impossible to beat, with even SmackDown’s best falling at the first hurdle. If a red-hot Team Hell No can’t capitalise, it’s hard to imagine who can. Ultimately this match did nothing for anyone.
Winner: Bludgeon Brothers
Roman Reigns vs Bobby Lashley
Unpopular opinion time. I feel really bad for Roman Reigns.
This was a surprisingly solid match which suffered from instantaneous crowd disinterest. At this point, just the mention of Roman is enough to put large swathes of the crowd to sleep. This isn’t Roman’s fault: he does the best with what he’s given, and I felt he put on a pretty decent show against Lashley; Reigns dominated early, but Lashley took to the top rope to mount a comeback in what turned out to be a well-paced, physical matchup. Reign’s arrogance once again saw him defeated after Lashley pulled out a number of big moves, including a belly-to-belly suplex onto the announcer’s table. It’s the kind of match that might have lent Lashley some legitimacy, if only the crowd had been paying attention.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Raw Women’s Championship Match: Alexa Bliss (C) vs Nia Jax (Street Fight)
After the shambles that was the SmackDown women’s championship match, I had hoped that the Raw women would get a better showing. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. This was a total mess of a match. Alexa’s refusal/inability to take bumps really shows in a match like this, which leads to ridiculous moments like Nia throwing away the weapons Alexa is lobbing at her instead of using them like she’s supposed to. Natalya’s presence at ringside was a complete mystery. And Ronda Rousey’s interference just felt like a thing that happened. Nia losing to Alexa only makes sense if the match tells the story properly, and this completely failed to deliver, resulting in Nia looking stupid, and Alexa clinching a victory she really didn’t need. For all the talk of the Women’s Revolution, tonight the WWE’s women’s division had a whiff of the Divas Era about it tonight, and that’s not a good thing.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles (C) vs Rusev
Finally, the kind of match that makes WWE worth watching. The wrestling was good, but this was all about the psychology, and the storytelling. At this point Rusev is the world’s least convincing heel – it felt clear that we were supposed to sympathise with him and it was difficult not to, as AJ’s sustained targeting of Rusev’s injured leg made the Bulgarian Brute’s fightback all the more compelling. When Rusev’s leg gave way as he tried to lock in the Accolade, I was almost yelling at the TV in frustration. In the end, AJ was too much for him – a springboard 450 splash and a Phenomenal Elbow in swift succession put an end to Rusev’s title chase, but did him no disservice either, and the duelling chants throughout the match should tell you something about Rusev’s untapped potential. More of this, please.
Winner: AJ Styles
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler (C) vs Seth Rollins (Iron Man)
As mentioned earlier, I’ve been on a WWE break lately, so imagine my surprise that Dolph Ziggler is not only a title holder, but is main eventing a PPV. Still, it’s great to see the Intercontinental Title getting top billing. It’s easy to forget that Dolph is one of the best in-ring performers WWE has, but matches like this serve as a reminder. As for Rollins – he’s been on fire for a while now, and it’s surely only a matter of time before he’s pushed right to the top.
As for this match: It’s a bit odd to see a thirty minute Iron Man match, but the PPV had gone on so long at this point that an hour might have been overkill. The pacing was wonky, most likely as a result of the thirty minute time limit – Seth Rollins went three falls up early on, putting Ziggler on the back foot – it seemed at first that McIntyre had hindered more than helped as, following his interference, Rollins gained a fall by DQ. But it was worth it: McIntyre’s beatdown weakened Rollins, and Ziggler quickly recouped his losses, leading Rollins 4 falls to 3. The last few minutes of the match were electric: with the score at 4-4, Rollins fought tooth and nail to land one more fall. With three minutes on the clock, Rollins locked in the Sharpshooter, transitioning to a crossface, to no avail. One minute to go, and Ziggler tried to escape into the crowd, but Rollins pulled him back in. A superkick-stomp combo flattened Ziggler, but just as Seth looked triumphant, the time ran out. It looked as though Dolph would retain, but out came Kurt Angle, inexplicably changing the rules: the match would continue on to sudden death. All of which would have made more sense had the match not ended mere moments later thanks to a McIntyre distraction, allowing Dolph to er, retain his title anyway. A missed opportunity, perhaps, but at least there was some decent wrestling along the way.
So, did Extreme Rules win me back over to the WWE side? Well, not quite. A few glimpses of brilliance in an otherwise very average card just aren’t enough, especially with the already superior G1 running alongside. The women’s division was a crushing disappointment, the title scenes are largely uninspired, and the best wrestling was (mostly) confined to the pre-show. Rusev vs AJ Styles at least demonstrated that WWE are still capable of putting on top-notch matches, and I was pleasantly surprised by Roman Reigns vs Bobby Lashley. There’s life in the old dog yet, but Extreme Rules didn’t quite win me back into the fold. Roll on, Summerslam…
