WWE rolls out another PPV/Network Special with Extreme Rules. A show which has a main event with one of the most preposterous stipulations ever made. That said, WWE does have a precedent of having shows that look weak on paper that wind up being very good due to the talent putting their working boots on. Hopefully this will be no exception because this weekend has had at least four other good to great events to compete with.
PRE-SHOW
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Shinsuke Nakamura p. Finn Balor(c) with a Kinshasa to win the title – A little weird to see Nakamura in a pre-show match. Balor got the shine out of the gate. Nakamura gained control and grounded Balor with submissions. Balor made his comeback but missed the Coup De Gras. Nakamura rebounded and landed the Kinshasa to get the pin and win the title.
WWE CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Drew Gulak(c) p. Tony Nese with the human Cyclone to retain the title – Gulak came swinging out of the gate. Nese made his comeback and the two exchanged several reversals and counters before Gulak landed the Human Cycle to get the pin and retain the title.
MAIN SHOW
The opening video montage showed a spinning roulette wheel that looked like a 21st Century Spin The Wheel Make The Deal. Then it recapped the background on the Reigns/Take vs. Shane/Drew match.
The Undertaker & Roman Reigns b. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre when Undertaker pinned McMahon with a Tombstone – Eventually it had to happen. Reigns and ‘Taker had to sell for Shane McMahon’s punches. Still, it felt big when Drew got in ‘Taker’s face. The babyfaces managed to cut Drew off until Shane caused Reigns to fall to the outside over the top rope. The heels then got the heat on Reigns. Taker got the hot tag and dropped Shane with Snake Eyes. Taker cleared away one of the broadcast tables like he was going to powerbomb through it. Before he could, Elias ran out of nowhere and busted a guitar over his head. The heels gathered up Taker and laid him across the table. Shane did his trademark dive off the turnbuckles and put Taker through the table. They then rolled Taker into the ring and Shane hit the Coast To Coast. Reigns made the save, and Taker rose to life. He chokeslammed Shane and Elias. Reigns speared Drew to keep him from interfering, which allowed Taker to hit the Tombstone on Shane for the pin.
Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch cut promos backstage comparing Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans to historical Philadelphia landmarks. Becky Lynch said both will be covered in pidgeon poop.
RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: The Revival (Dash Ilder & Scott Dawson) b. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) when Jimmy got pinned with a Shatter Machine – Revival cut off Jey and got the heat on him. The referee missed the tag to Jimmy, allowing the double teaming to continue. Jimmy finally got the hot tag and ran wild for a bit. Jey tagged back in to go for the win, but The Revival escaped and hit the old Power & Glory finisher. Jimmy made the save, leading to all four men in the ring at the same time. Jey got pulled to the outside, effectively taking him out of the finish. Revival hit a Shatter Machine on Jimmy for the win.
Aleister Black p. Cesaro with a Black Mask kick – Cesaro apparently kept knocking on Black’s door and leaving before Black answered. I don’t know if any TP-ing of Black’s house happened, but that’s a similar level of maturity when it comes to behavior. The match started out as back and forth before Cesaro gained control and grounded Black. Black fired up and made his comeback and landed a Black Mask kick for the pin.
SMACKDOWN WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP: Bayley(c) b. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross by pinning Cross with a Savage Elbow – Bayley bounced off the ring steps early in the match, and the heels capitalized. They double teamed her for the next few minutes. Bayley made her comeback and slammed both opponents onto each other. She then managed to lock both in submissions at the same time. Alexa went for Twistef Bliss, but Bayley blocked it with her knees. Cross also tried to jump off the top and also got stopped. Bayley then hit her own Savage Elbow on Cross to get the pin.
LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: The Braun Strow Man b. Bobby Lashley by powerslamming him through the floor – Strowman got the shine by running into Lashley. He went one too many times and got caught by a spear. Bobby then brawled with Strowman throughout the arena. Eventually they made their way back to the ring where Lashley covered Strowman with an announce table. Strowman still answered the 10 count. Lashley rushed at him for a Spear. Strowman dodged and Lashley crashed into another announce table . They continued to brawl through the crowd. Strowman powerslammed Lashley through the floor. The referee began the count obn both men, and when he got to eight, Strowman busted through the wall like The Kool Aid Man to answer the count.
SMACKDOWN TAG CHAMPIONSHIP NO DQ MATCH: The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) b. Daniel Bryan & Rowan(c), and Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker) when Big E pinned Bryan after a Midnight Hour to win the titles – Heavy Machinery were arguably the stars of this match. All three teams looked to be legal, though tag rules still applied. Heavy Machinery hit E with the Trash Compactor. Woods made the safe and got powerslammed for his efforts. Heavy Machinery positioned Rowan on the top rope for a Superplex. Before they were able to follow through, Big E powered both Otis and Tucker down. Big W then landed the Superplex. However, owan was able to tag out to Bryan, who promptly hit a Frog Splash. Rather than go for the pin, Bryan went for the Lebell Lock. E desperately tried to break free, since the rules were No DQ, E had to make it to the edge of the ring. When he did, Bryan started landing Yes Kicks. E shrugged them off and went after him. Bryan tried a moonsault. E managed to catch him in mid-air. Woods capitalized by climbing to the top rope where he anE hit Midnight Hour on Bryan. E then pinned Bryan to win the titles.
After the match, New Day celebrated their win since all three were now champions. However, before they could cut any promos, Paul Heyman walkedin unannounced at too the interviewer’s microphone, Heyman walked out on stage and stated Brick Lesnar will be cashing in. He concluded by saying “Am I telling the truth? Or am I just Paul Heyman?”
WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP: AJ Styles (w/Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) p. Ricochet(c) with a Styles Clash – The Club used their numbers to their favor. Styles worked over Ricochet for the first half of the match. Ricochet made his comeback and landed several high risk moves. He also dove unto the other Club members and knocked them to the floor. Styles broke his momentum by catching in mid-air and hit an Ushigoroshi. AJ kept trying to score the pin, only Ricochet kept kicking out. The two battled atop the turnbuckles. Ricochet knocked AJ to the mat and hit a Shooting Star. Anderson placed AJ’s foot on the rope to break the count. Ricochet fended off Anderson and climbed the turnbuckles again. Gallows crotched him on the ropes, allowing AJ to hit a mid-rope Styles Clash and pin Ricochet
Kevin Owens came to the ring and cut a promo on Shane . Out came Dolph Ziggler for an apprent unadvertised match
Kevin Owens p. Dolph Ziggler with a Stunner – Barely a match, because Owens hit the stunner within a few seconds and got a quick pin. It makes you wonder if Dolph did something to tick off management.
WWE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Kofi Kingston(c) p. Samoa Joe with Trouble In Paradise – This is the problem with WWE shows running so long. You risk burning out the crowd. Joe dominated most of the match, including trying to break Kofi’s hands and fingers. Kofi made his comeback and hit the Trouble In Paradise for the clean win. The crowd chanted for Lesnar during this match.
WWE UNIVERSAL AND RAW WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS TAKE ALL MIXED TAG MATCH: Seth Rollins(c) & Becky Lynch(c) b. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans. when Rollins pinned Corbin with three straight curbstomps – The match was billed as Extreme Rules where anything goes. So why did they have to make tags? Despite the ridiculous stipulation, this match actually was pretty entertaining with some memorable spots. Some of the memorable moments were double submission spts, and Becky and Seth simultaneously splashing Corbin and Evans through tables. The finish was Corbin hitting Lynch with End of Days and taunting Rollins. This caused Rolins to snap and deliver several stick shots and chairshots before hitting three straight curbstomps. Rollins pinned Corbin before checking on Lynch.
Brock Lesnar’s music hit and Lesnar made his way to the ring. He hit a German Suplex on Rollins before officially cashing in the briefcase.
WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Brock Lesnar p. Seth Rollins(c) with an F 5 to win the title – The match was literally one move, as Rollins was likely still exhausted from the match. The show went off the air with Lesnar celebrating his third Championship win.
