Geektified's WWE Extreme Rules Review 6.5.17

Geektified's WWE Extreme Rules Review 6.5.17

By Anton Ware

Official Results

-WWE Extreme Rules is LIVE from Baltimore, Maryland.

-Michael Cole, Booker T, and Corey Graves are your hosts for this evening.

-Intercontinental Title Match: Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz: On the May 1st edition of RAW, Dean Ambrose interrupted a segment involving Seth Rollins and Finn Balor regarding who was the top champion on RAW. This was in response to Rollins and Balor wanting a shot at Brock Lesnar’s Universal Title. With Lesnar on a leave of absence, Ambrose proclaimed that he was the true fighting champion on the red brand. The Miz added his two cents and a #1 contender triple threat match for the IC Title was made later that night which Miz won. Two weeks later on RAW, Ambrose and Miz squared off in a title match only for Ambrose to get disqualified in retaliation of Miz attempting to low blow him. A rematch was then made for this show where if Ambrose got himself DQ’d again, he would lose his championship to Miz. This match focused on Miz trying to get Ambrose disqualified in order to win. Ambrose showed aggression early on which later turned into frustration due to Miz taunting and persuading Ambrose to use a steel chair or deliver a low blow like their last title match. Miz even had Maryse slap him for a DQ, but the referee wasn’t buying it. Miz finally outsmarted Ambrose when he pushed the champion into the referee which sent the official to the outside. The referee had his back turned during the whole ordeal and was under the assumption Ambrose knocked him out of the ring on purpose. He was about to DQ Ambrose, but Miz capitalized on the distraction and hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin and win! NEW CHAMPION! Miz is now a seven time Intercontinental champion and only two reigns away from tying Chris Jericho’s all-time record.

-Mixed Tag Match: Rich Swann and Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar and Alicia Fox: The on-again/off-again relationship of Noam Dar and Alicia Fox flourished on 205 Live until Rich Swann turned things into a love triangle as he professed his “admiration” for the former Divas Champion. Swann conspired to break up the lovebirds only for Dar and Fox to overcome the odds and strengthen their bond as an item. Sasha Banks eventually got involved by trading victories with Fox only for Swann to support Banks to even the odds. A match was then set for this show. Swann is the hometown boy for tonight. A basic tag match where the women match with women and men match with men. The ending saw Banks give Dar a top-rope double knee to the outside and Swann finished him off with a Phoenix Splash for the pin and win! Banks and Swann have a victory dance afterwards.

-Elias Samson is out and sings about Baltimore. The crowd is not too pleased with his singing ability.

-RAW Women's Championship Kendo Stick on a Pole Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley: At WWE Payback, Bliss defeated Bayley to win the RAW Women’s Championship. Bayley invoked her rematch clause for this show. During the buildup to this match, Bliss attacked Bayley and the other RAW Women Division competitors with kendo sticks which explains the stipulation for this title bout.  SHORT match. Bliss started off hot by attacking Bayley in order to grab the kendo stick first. Both women fought for the kendo stick at the top of the pole with Bayley beating Bliss to the punch. She chased Bliss around the ring only for Alexa to gain the upper hand by grabbing the kendo stick. She struck Bayley with multiple strikes to the head and back followed by a DDT for the win!

- Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles is in attendance. Not to be confused with NFL star and former TNA Tag Team Champion, Adam “Pacman” Jones. He’s dressed as Virgil and his friends are dressed as IRS and Ted Dibiase.

-RAW Tag Team Title Steel Cage Match: The Hardy Boyz vs. Sheamus and Cesaro: At WWE Payback, The Hardyz defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to retain the titles, only to be attacked afterwards by the losing team. The following night on RAW, The European Connection explained their actions by saying they felt the Hardyz stole their WrestleMania moment and wanted what was rightfully theirs. On the May 15th edition of RAW, Sheamus and Cesaro won a #1 contender's Tag Team Turmoil match for the Raw Tag Titles. The following week on RAW, Matt Hardy defeated Sheamus to decide the stipulation for this match and a Steel Cage was chosen.  A good match between the two teams. No pin fall or submission, as BOTH teammates have to escape the cage in order to win. The first half of the match started with basic brawling between the competitors, but things picked up as Jeff managed to escape the cage first which left Matt at 2-on-1 disadvantage. Jeff tried to get back in the cage to save his brother, but Sheamus nailed Jeff with a Brogue Kick through the door as Matt summoned enough strength to fight to the top of the cage only for the Europeans to pull him back in and drop him with White Noise from the top rope. Jeff regrouped and climbed to the top of the cage to hit Whisper in the Wind on Sheamus and Cesaro. With all four men battered and bruised, it was a race to see which team escaped the cage first. The Hardyz tried to exit through the door while The European Connection took the climb out of the cage approach. Sheamus and Cesaro beat the Hardyz to become the NEW Raw Tag Team Champs!!!

-Random Thought: With Bayley and The Hardyz picking the stipulations for their respective matches, maybe it's in the wrestlers’ best interest to let their opponent pick the stipulation in order to gain the advantage from a reverse psychology standpoint.

-Cruiserweight Title Submission Match: Neville vs. Austin Aries:  This is a continuation of their rivalry ever since WrestleMania 33. In both of their previous title matches, Neville used dirty tactics to get out of Aries’ Last Chancery submission. To top it off, Aries defeated Neville’s partner TJP via submission which led to this match to settle the score once and for all. The story of the match was Neville weakening Aries’ injured knee in order to set up his Rings of Saturn submission hold while Aries targeted Neville’s head and neck to set up The Last Chancery. The winning factor of Neville’s game plan was his ring awareness as he scouted Aries’ offense multiple times including avoiding a missile dropkick which allowed him to lock in the Rings of Saturn. The ending saw Aries attempt his Heat Seeking Missile dive only to crash and burn to the outside. Neville immediately took advantage by connecting with the Red Arrow on Aries’ back which set up the Rings of Saturn for the tap out win! Neville retains the Cruiserweight in a damn fine matchup.

-#1 Contender's Fatal 5 Way Extreme Rules Match: Bray Wyatt vs. Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns: This match is a result of multiple rivalries coming together (Joe/Rollins, Balor/Wyatt, Reigns/an injured Braun Strowman) to determine who can face Brock Lesnar for his 1st Universal Title defense. This past Monday on RAW, Samoa Joe won a triple threat match against Wyatt and Balor and Roman Reigns defeated Seth Rollins in a singles match which tipped the odds in their favor heading into the main event. This was the match of the night. Highlights included Rollins and Balor hitting dives all over the place, Joe and Wyatt forming a temporary alliance to wear down the fan favorites, Reigns spearing Joe and Balor through the barricade and Rollins hitting a frog splash on Wyatt from the top rope through the announce table. The carnage allowed Rollins and Reigns to continue their main event match from RAW as both men battled it out with edge-of-your seat action. Rollins was laid out with a Superman Punch as Balor joined the fray. He hit Reigns with the Coup De Grace and was about to pick up the win until Samoa Joe attacked Balor from behind and applied the Coquina Clutch for the victory! Joe is the #1 contender and will meet Brock Lesnar at the Great Balls of Fire PPV!

-END SCENE

-Final Thoughts: A fun show for the red brand. The highlights were the Steel Cage match and the Fatal 5-way. We have new Intercontinental and Tag Team Champions along with the #1 contender for the Universal Championship. With Samoa Joe facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title, it creates a dream match scenario as both men are known to be menacing, athletic bruisers trained in mixed martial arts. Their title match at the next RAW PPV has already generated buzz and anticipation which gives the main event scene a much-needed boost. Just the interaction between these two BEFORE the PPV has “must watch TV” written all over it and it’ll be interesting to see what transpires over the next few weeks. If both men are allowed to cut loose, we have a Match of the Year contender on our hands.

-Personal Enjoyment: The Fatal 5-Way. Just a fun, wild contest. Everybody brought something to the table and played up their strengths to provide a fitting end to the show. Critics can say what they want in regards to recent WWE programming, but you can’t deny that they have an amazing roster of athletes who time and time again provide a great in-ring product.

-So what did you guys think of the show? Hit or Miss? Let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

-Anton