Well the night of extreme has gone and we now have a clearer picture of the WWE landscape after WWE Draft and Extreme Rules. On the whole, I was quite happy with the event, thought the quality on the majority of matches was there, minus the Cole/Swagger vs. King/JR match, but who expected much from that. So here it is, My Extreme Rules review.
Randy Orton beats CM Punk in a Last Man Standing match
I was surprised that they chose this match to begin the event, thought it would be Cody/Rey, but what a great match it was, I had a feeling that the New Nexus would be involved, but not so long as the Raw GM banned them from ringside (quite possibly the most extreme rule of them all!!) Action all over when these guys got going, hard kendo stick shots to both wrestlers, did you see the welts on Punk's back?? OUCH!!! so many hold and counter hold with them both, GTS into RKO back into GTS etc., had all the crowd on the edge of their seats. I still think that Punk should have been the guy to win this match, this match was totally awesome and a great way to start the night.
Kofi Kingston beats Sheamus for the United States title in a Tables match
Impromptu match here, which many of us expected due to Friday's Smackdown, a lot of us knew this match would take place and had a feeling that the match would be won by Kofi due to Raw not having a secondary title, but again, both men gave the crowd many a false finish, avoiding tables in different ways, Kofi showed his athletic side on so many levels and showed why he should be pushed and taken more seriously by WWE, a very good ending and probably the only time a Boom drop/leg lariat puts a wrestler through a table. Sheamus will bounce back though on Smackdown and can make a great Intercontinental Champion but his target must be the World Heavyweight Title.
Sir Michael Cole & Jack Swagger beat Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross in a Country Whipping Match
When this was changed from the street fight to this match, I was expecting it maybe to be some sort of strap match where you would have to touch all 4 corners, how wrong I was, which was for the better. Cole coming out in bubble wrap was amusing and something that Bobby Heenan would have done back in the 80's. I wasn't looking forward to this match, but it was an improvement on WrestleMania, funny to see JR whipping Michael Cole so that's a small good thing from something very poor.
Rey Mysterio beats Cody Rhodes in a Falls Count Anywhere match
I expected this match to kick off the event, which it never, but once this match got started, the event got back on track after the previous match on the card, Cody and Rey have good chemistry, I wanted Cody to win as I thought he was on a role and his creepy depressed/psycho character is really over with me, and having the associates handing out brown paper bags is amusing. Straight off the bat, these guys where going on the ramp, in the crowd, in the concession stands, all over the arena. Rey used a mist like Tajiri, is this something to see in the future or a one off?? I really hope that Cody can be used very well on Smackdown after this loss, he still can be a big player in 2011.
Layla beats Michelle McCool in a No Count Outs, No Disqualifications, Loser Leaves WWE Match
Now when it comes to a WWE Divas match, we can never expect too much, but with Layla and Michelle in the ring, these women have come along so well in such a short period of time, think back, these women came into WWE as Diva Search competitors, now they are arguably 2 of the best women in the WWE right now and for the last 10 years too. Layla needed the win but I really expected to her to win also, because Michelle is just off her ankle injury, which didn't seem to bother her at all, for a Divas match, this was as tough as they come, and some good hold to counterhold chain wrestling in this match also. A nice added gem into the night was the debut of Kharma, who if you didn't know was in TNA as Awesome Kong, and we have been waiting her debut for sometime, and once in the ring with Michelle, she dominated her and hit her finisher and gave her evil laugh after doing it. Kharma's music really fit the character too.
Christian beats Alberto Del Rio for the vacant World Heavyweight Title in a Ladder Match
Thought by many to be the main event for the night, but not to be, this match was a really good match, very brutal too, Christian showed why he is one of the best in a ladder match environment, Del Rio also looked strong in this, but at times, you could see his inexperience in these kind of matches. With a ladder match, its impossible to not bleed when getting hit with the corner of the ladder, Christian's forehead took a knock, he also took a deep scratch to his hip area on the stairs, pretty brutal, but also Brodus Clay was totally messed up from the small ladder shot by Christian, it was attempted to be edited by WWE but when Del Rio was pushed off the ladder onto Clay and Ricardo at the finish, check the pool of blood on the mats and also check Brodus' face. A nice touch by adding Edge's distraction at the end, though many can argue that Christian only won the match due to that, so what, Christian deserved to win the World Heavyweight Title for paying his dues over the years, I admit that I was slightly emotional when he raised the belt above his head and he embraced Edge. Del Rio will be a WWE Champion over on Raw before the year is out.
Big Show & Kane beat Wade Barrett & Ezekiel Jackson to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles in a Lumberjack match
Another impromptu match, quite surprised it was Wade and Zeke representing The Corre rather than Heath and Justin, the usual tag team combination of The Corre. This match, in my view, only served to purpose to show the disintegration of The Corre, as Barrett tags himself in after Zeke slams the Big Show. WWE has really made it clear that tag team wrestling is not big on their agenda, hence why this match wasn't advertised and hence why it wasn't that memorable but another good showing in dominance for Kane & Big Show.
John Cena beats The Miz & John Morrison for the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match
This match had many people talking as it was the hardest match to call of the night as arguments could easily be made for all 3 men being the WWE Champ. The beauty of a triple threat cage match, is there are so many false finishes, someone is always trying to escape as the other 2 guys are going at it on the other side of the ring. I had predicted Cena to become the new WWE Champ but I didn't want him to be Champ, I would have been happy with Miz or Morrison winning, but with The Rock being on Raw tonight, I just thought it seemed to make sense that The Rock returns to Raw to find John Cena as WWE Champion. One good thing with Miz losing the title, is that he lost it cleanly, Miz was the one who took the pinfall from a AA off the top rope, which looked awesome. R Truth also interfered in this match costing Morrison his chance of being WWE Champ, obviously pushing the feud between Truth and Jomo for Over The Limit it would seem.
All in all, this was an awesome event on the whole, it will be interesting to see how WWE books for Over The Limit, but I guarantee that Over The Limit will struggle to come close to Extreme Rules.
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