Prowrestling.net Live returns today at 3CT/4ET with Jason Powell and Will Pruett taking your calls at PWAudio.net.
By Jason Powell
WWE Extreme Rules Hits
Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins in a five-way: An exciting and suspenseful main event for those who avoided the betting odds. A good case could be made for four of the five wrestlers winning the match, and casual viewers likely bought into Reigns winning, not realizing that WWE is saving Brock Lesnar vs. Reigns for a big event showdown. Joe winning sets up a true dream match. And while I wish Lesnar vs. Joe was saved for a time when it didn’t feel like a quick one-off due to Braun Strowman appearing to be slotted for the SummerSlam title match, it’s still the most appealing match of the five potential matches this main event teased. The only negative of the five-way was Joe being outsmarted by Wyatt yet again. I’m all for Bray Wyatt being a master of mind games and the smartest wrestler in the company, but not when it requires his peers to look like gullible idiots. Even so, the match was suspenseful until the very end with Balor appearing to be on the verge of beating Reigns until Joe caught him in the Coquina Clutch.
Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus and Cesaro in a cage match for the Raw Tag Titles: The oddball rules of the match were not enough to prevent the crowd from being fully invested. The heels going over felt like the right move in that there were no potential challengers built up for the Hardys coming out of this match. This feud will continue with the Hardys now in chase mode. It would be great to think that this is the first step to the brothers becoming Broken, but there’s no word on where things stand with their legal battle with Impact Wrestling over the rights to the gimmick.
Neville vs. Austin Aries in a submission match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Another good match from Neville and Aries. They delivered their best performance at WrestleMania, but this was better than the second match of the feud. Aries was protected by the spot where he forced Neville to tap to his finisher at ringside. It will be interesting to see where both men go next. It feels like the feud has run its course for now, but it’s not like the company has been building up anyone else to be the obvious next challenger. Will we get another five-way elimination match to determine the No. 1 contender?
Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz for the IC Title: You had to turn your brain off due to the early lack of attention paid to the stipulation that the title could change hands on a disqualification. Sure, Ambrose showed that he had to play it safe a couple times during the first half of the match, but they just didn’t get as much out of the stipulation as they should have. Miz’s master plan of having Maryse slap him long after he had been on the wrong end of several near falls was ridiculous. Even so, the last five minutes of the match were enough to move this into minor Hit territory. It will be interesting to see where Ambrose goes from here, and who Miz ends up feuding with over the IC Title. If they feel the need to book a rematch, here’s hoping it happens on television tonight so that both men can move on from this tired feud quickly.
Sasha Banks and Rich Swann vs. Alicia Fox and Noam Dar: Fine for an undercard filler match. Sasha was quick to point out that Swann broke the curse by winning a match in his hometown. Hopefully this is more than just Sasha having some fun, as it would be nice if Vince McMahon and creative have figured out that fans recognize and despise this counter productive hometown formula. Yes, there are times when a babyface losing in his/her hometown is the right move that puts heat on their opponents, but it should be assessed on a case by case basis, not an unwritten rule for match finishes.
WWE Extreme Rules Misses
Overall show: I’m right in the middle on this event despite the Hit count. It’s not a Hit or a Miss, but it needs to be listed somewhere in this format. I went into the main event feeling like this was a missable show. Fortunately, the five-way was strong enough to save the show. I’m not big on garbage matches these days, but very little about this event lived up to the Extreme Rules billing. The opening match carried an anti-Extreme stipulation, the mixed tag was just a mixed tag, a submission match isn’t extreme, the cage match was fairly tame in that the cage was rarely used as a weapon, and the five-way main event could have occurred on any show. Is there really a need for an Extreme Rules show if the company can’t or won’t book matches that fit the show’s description?
Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley in a Kendo Stick on a Pole match for the Raw Women’s Championship: The kendo stick was hung laughably low from the pole. WWE can’t tell viewers enough that Bliss is five feet tall, yet she stood on the second rope and had to pretend that she couldn’t reach up and pull it down. This was a surprisingly one sided match. Bliss dominated Bayley and the story that Bayley was hesitant to use the stick felt like a story that the broadcast team was telling more than Bayley did with her actions. Did you hear the boos for Bayley? Stop and think about that. One of the most universally loved babyfaces to ever come out of NXT is now being booed because she has been booked so poorly since arriving on the main roster. The lovable underdog character was portrayed as being too confident when she debuted on the main roster, and she found success in the form of winning the Raw Women’s Championship far too soon. They damaged her character even more by having her keep the championship despite the fact that her first title win occurred because Sasha Banks interfered on her behalf. The ultimate feel good character’s first title win was not the feel good moment that it should have been, and she’s still paying the price for these booking mistakes. Hopefully this lopsided loss is designed to be a reset that leads to sheepish and unconfident Bayley returning and starting on a long road to regaining her mojo.
Kalisto vs. Apollo Crews: Good in-ring work with the specter of the Titus Brand silliness looming over everything they did. Sure enough, coach Titus bickering with Crews led to a distraction finish. Crews may smile too much and probably needs a little something extra, but the Titus Brand isn’t it.
Be the first to comment