The Brawling Brutes def. Imperium – Six Man Good Old-Fashioned Donnybrook Match
These six men have been some of the unsung MVP’s of WWE since WrestleMania, and with good reason. Not sure if I was hearing correctly, but I’m sure that the Brawling Brutes were saying “banger after banger after banger” as they made their exit from the ring. I cannot say they told one lie because this was one hell of a six man match. It was just six guys who don’t like each other and wanted to beat the ever loving crap out of each other. But there is also something I hope all of you paid attention to during the match. If you notice, aside from the shillelagh that was used, there was really no weapons that were used during the match, essentially making this a six man tornado tag match. However, the point of Imperium (and to an extent the Brawling Brutes) was that they have no need for weapons in order to get the job done. All they need is their wrestling ability and prowess.
Personally speaking, I can watch Sheamus and Gunther chop each other until their chests resemble strawberries. They just bring a big fight feel every time they fight, and they set a tremendous tone and atmosphere for this match, and the other four men representing their own factions played their roles as well. The Brawling Brutes getting the win over Imperium here may also suggest that there’s more to come between Sheamus and Gunther, and if that’s the case, then that’s more fun for us. Excellent, physical match to kick things off. ****1/4
Ronda Rousey def. Liv Morgan (C) – SmackDown Women’s Championship
Not the biggest fan of this one, primarily because of the sloppiness of some of the spots. It was physical, and it was “extreme”, but it did leave a lot to be desired. Throughout the match it just felt as though they were going for things, but it didn’t really connect like they should have. For starters, some of Ronda’s bat shots on Liv’s behind early looked remarkably soft. Some were saying that Liv should have sold them more, but it literally looked like Ronda was tickling her. Then, there was another sequence where Liv had wedged a chat in between the turnbuckle spots, but after a series of reversals, the chair fell onto the outside. I’m pretty sure the chair was meant to stay and that one was supposed to shove the other into it, but since the angle of the chair was off, they had to improvise and what proceeded was an awkward series of reversals that looked pretty botched.
The finish of the match also looked pretty awkward. I mean, it was cool, but the transition into it looked pretty awkward, I don’t know. So Ronda ends an otherwise mostly forgettable reign by Liv. I’m happy she at least got a chance to see what she can do, but she’s still a tier or two below the likes of Belair, Lynch, Flair, etc. As far as this match goes, I can appreciate the effort as they visibly worked hard, but the execution left a lot to be desired and prevented it from being more memorable. **3/4
Karrion Kross def. Drew McIntyre – Strap Match
Not sure I was the biggest fan of this either. Half of the match was basically unofficial, and honestly speaking, it didn’t really add anything to match and only served to pad time. The actual match itself was fine, but the strap itself didn’t really add an exciting element to the match. Just something else for both men to hit each other with. Physical, yes, but nothing really engaging. Also, I hope whatever Scarlett sprayed on Drew wasn’t really pepper spray, because that looked really overboard.
I’m not sure how all of you feel about Kross as a character, but so far, I’ve just had a difficult time engaging with him for extended periods. Hopefully, as he faces different opponents he can find his stride, but this was pretty forgettable. As for Drew, it’s kind of sad that he went from having a banger of a main event in a WrestleMania-like stadium to a bare-bones match that’s 3rd after the card. Strap matches are often hard to grade. Aside from the fact that there hasn’t been many in WWE history, it’s kind of hard to keep a crowd engaged for a strap match. You have a piece of leather that restricts you and your opponent’s moves, and you basically need to have a normal match. So you’re handicapped by nature, but that’s why strap matches often require the most creativity. Nothing bad, but I wasn’t really sports entertained. Thankfully, expectations for this match for me weren’t the highest to begin with. **1/2
Bianca Belair (C) def. Bayley – RAW Women’s Championship (Ladder Match)
Overall, a very solid ladder match which I deem to be safe. Which basically means that they accomplished the purpose of a ladder match without having to go to the extreme. They built up the drama, but in terms of the actual spots used for the ladder, they didn’t do anything too over the top. Not all ladder matches need to be this way, seeing as how the objective is to simply climb. It’s just a matter of telling the story of how both women got to the top. Bayleyy tried to manipulate Bianca’s hair and utilize other underhanded tactics to climb. Bianca had to overcome not only Bayley but the rest of Damage Cntrl.
I know some of you must have been thinking that Sasha Banks and Naomi were going to run down to Bianca’s defense the moment they mentioned Asuka and ALexa Bliss being out of commission due to getting jumped on Monday. My thing is, if there was any idea of those two potentially coming down, I would have done it here. Because if you think about it, Bianca foiled all of Damage Cntrl’s plans by herself in one match, which is definitely a blow to the faction. Feud will probably continue further into the fall, but overall, we got a safe, competently worked ladder match that was good enough to showcase both woman’s strengths, but not at the level where it was a classic or anything. ***1/2
Finn Balor def. Edge – “I Quit” Match
So, so much to unpack here. Not even sure where to start. This match was really a series of chapters that led to the closing sequence of the match. The first part of the match, which I think was unnecessarily elongated the match, was just a series of basic submission sequences in the ring in which Edge and Finn were asked way too often if they quit. One of the many pitfalls of I Quit Matches is the need to ask each competitor if they quit after each suplex, each rest hold and each transition sequence. They kind of overdid there at first.
The next sequence was when they got out into the crowd and brawled all across the arena. This is where things started to pick up in a big way as the crowd got more involved. Can’t say that there was anything especially unique that we haven’t seen, but of course, whenever the superstars go into the crowd, or into the stands, the match takes on a different energy and you can tell that from the moment they shifted the action out of the ring, the energy of the match took a noticeable shift.
Then, once they got back in the ring, that’s when all the external parties started to interfere, and I think this is what started to put the match into a different tier of greatness, because they added an emotional element to this match that I think was needed. In I Quit matches, we know that heels usually say I Quit cleanly more often than not. But when a face has to say I Quit, such as when Triple H said so against The Rock in 1998, it’s usually to protect the welfare of a loved one of the face via manipulation by the heels. In this case, Beth Phoenix was that object of manipulation, and she played her role beautifully. Also, can you believe that at Beth’s age, she took a brass knuckles shot to the school followed by a con-chair-to within a five minute span? I especially loved that when Edge was forced to say I Quit, Rhea just ended Beth anyway because that’s what evil people do.
Edge’s feud against Judgement Day had been grossly one sided in favor of Edge ever since the group turned on him, so Judgement Day, and Finn Balor (who has been rumored to have huge plans in the future as the leader of Judgement Day) badly needed a win over the Hall of Famer, and they did so in a great way. The overall match was probably about 5-10 minutes too long, but the emotional peaks it took towards the end, as well as the back and forth of finishers, handcuffs and all the other bells and whistles made this match a banger in my opinion. Can’t wait to see where this goes next. I do hear that War Games is at Survivor Series, correct? ****1/4
Riddle def. Seth Rollins – Fight Pit
I didn’t really know what to think of the concept of a “Fight Pit” match, and after seeing it in a WWE setting, I still really didn’t know what to think. It was basically a two level steel cage without the ropes. Riddle and Seth can put on a great match in their sleep, but they had to be especially creative here with the confined space they had to work with. Basically, I guess you can say that that this was their Clash at the Castle Match with less space. Riddle hitting the Floating Bro from the top of the pit damn sure looked every bit as painful as it looked.
Honestly speaking, with the backdrop of the White Rabbit promos and the impending return of Bray Wyatt expected after the match, I do believe most couldn’t fully get into it because that’s what they were looking forward to. So in essence, they were just waiting for the match to be over to see the conclusion. The match was good from what I can tell, but I really didn’t think the Pit added anything overtly special to the match. And Daniel Cormier didn’t really add anything to the match aside from pushing each superstar back and serving as a pseudo enforcer. But let’s face it, every referee does that to an extent. Solid main event, but again, nothing special. ***1/2
The Return of Bray Wyatt
Of course, we need to discuss the event at Extreme Rules that has the most impactful future implications, which is the return of Bray Wyatt. Through QR codes and other subtle means, WWE has been teasing this for a while, and based on the messages that were found when one would see the QR codes, many deduced that it would be the return, or a new incarnation, of Bray Wyatt. Our suspicions proved to be true, and WWE nailed it. At least for tonight. Showing the run-down Firefly Funhouse which is now filled with cobwebs, and showcasing real life caricatures of the Firefly Funhouse characters in the crowd, we were once again welcomed by Bray Wyatt, who unmasked himself, lantern in hand, back in his original form in full.
We don’t know what plans WWE has in store for Bray, or what he will set his sights on. But I sincerely hope that under Triple H’s regime in WWE, he will finally get booked correctly. He’s far too great an orator and far too talented a superstar to be subject to poor booking again. His previous world title reigns have been forgettable, he’s taken some ugly, character-damaging losses, and the last time we saw him, he left in the most unceremonious of ways, which was an anti-climatic loss to Randy Orton in the opening match of Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 as Bray Wyatt looked at Alexa Bliss with black fluid flowing everywhere. That was the last we had heard of Bray (or The Fiend), and it left far too many questions as to why he lost, what Alexa’s gesture meant, and what his future held. But now he’s back, and received a loud pop in doing so. Let’s hope this run serves him better.
Conclusion:
Well, we can’t say this PPV wasn’t memorable. WWE had been hitting out the park with their PPV’s and premium live events as of late. I don’t think this one was quite as entertaining as other shows that WWE has held in the past, but between the opener, the I Quit match, and some of the other matches on the card, followed by Bray’s return, I think there’s enough in here to enjoy if you have a couple of hours to burn. Although I will say 3 hours for a six match card is quite something. I must also credit WWE for making each match on a PPV called Extreme Rules actually have an “extreme” stipulation. At last year’s Extreme Rules PPV, the only match that was extreme was the main event. Baby steps. Overall, I’d say a thumbs slightly up for Extreme Rules, although I will say on a re-watch, the opener, the I Quit and Bray’s return is probably the only things worth seeing a full replay of.
