Rules that are Extreme in Nature

I warn you in advance that this was all written live as the matches were happening. As is the case with anything, I'm sure a lot of the rankings will change with time and a rewatch so for those wanting to criticize, do so with that in mind. Overall, I did think the show was solid and felt like it was a building block towards this "New Era" that WWE keeps talking about lately. Here's the meat and potatoes:

Anderson and Gallows vs The Usos, Tornado Tag Rules at WWE Extreme Rules 2016

This one starts hot and heavy with brawling on the floor. The pacing makes total sense after the weeks of bad blood between all these men. Both teams take turns throwing bombs early with highlights including Uso dives to the floor and Anderson and Gallows hitting their finish on the floor. I think Gallows looked awesome here as the biggest man in the fray when he could have easily been lost between the other three work wise. Boy are the Usos hated nowadays and the WWE continues to push them as faces for some stubborn ass reason. It's not like it used to be. As much as I love New Day, this feud feels like a proper tag championship feud but I feel like that's coming sooner than later anyways. A few lost moments here in terms of positioning and timing but otherwise this is a solid match. Great spot with the ring bell to set up the finish. **1/2

Kalisto vs Rusev, WWE United States Championship, WWE Extreme Rules 2016

I've turned around quite a lot on Rusev. Not just a few months ago I couldn't stand him and I quickly realized that was due to his booking in that abysmal League of Nations stable that he suffered through with no reasoning. Here we see Rusev showing his entertaining, devastating self against a firecracker worker. I think the same problems have plagued Kalisto though despite him being the US Champ. Since he defeated Del Rio, he's just toiled badly in the mid card having to carry the shitty Ryback for a couple of months. We get a nice start with Kalisto throwing leg kicks on Rusev while Rusev feigns power moves. Kalisto goes for broke with a corkscrew press but Rusev slaps him down impressively and puts the heat on Kalisto. Kalisto is just awesome selling, the way that he can contort his body when taking offense really aids him as a babyface. It doesn't hurt that he'll always be the underdog size wise and these guys really work that well here. Just as the first match had some issues, this one had some timing problems as well. To me it speaks to the highly choreographed nature of how WWE does matches. An argument for a different time. The crowd really lost interest in the match which didn't help them. Lana works magic on the floor here and you can see her in the background often selling the momentum one way or the other. Very odd finish but nonetheless, Rusev is back in the saddle again with the US title! **

The New Day vs The Vaudevillains, WWE Tag Team Championship WWE Extreme Rules 2016

The New Day is crazy, insane fucking over. That's pretty much all you need to know. Literally they say the dumbest shit and the crowd eats it up and doesn't even care. Interestingly enough Woods and Big E are in the match this time whereas usually it is Kofi with E. I'm happy about that though because Woods gets to show here that he's actually very good in the ring. Woods takes the heat very well and sells like a fool. The crowd buzzed like crazy when it looked like the Vaudes were going to win the belts but we get a sweet false finish. E's apron spear is awesome. We get some shenanigans with Kofi interfering behind the ref but with New Day it WORKS. Woods brings the hate with a Shining Wizard for the finish to an exceptional match. ***

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn vs Cesaro vs The Miz, Fatal Four Way for the Intercontinental Championship WWE Extreme Rules 2016

This is so fantastic and one of the matches I had to see. I have to give WWE credit for letting these four guys go for the last month and create a situation that feels organic and important. Genius start with Zayn taking out Owens immediately with his Helluva Kick. Really changes expectations immediately and then Cesaro levels Miz to the floor. Cesaro vs Zayn is always great. We get magic between the two as is expected of course. Lots of expectations here and that's good for the IC title. Miz returns right when things heat up and falls right in line with their narrative. Zayn dives on both men and shockingly Miz catches him fine. Good, the last thing we need is a stupid injury. Miz is a master at the chicken shit heel schtick. Owens shows up to break up a tower of doom spot and neutralizes Zayn. This is awesome stuff. Hate filled spine kick by Owens to Zayn. We finally get a tower of doom spot that is fantastic. Each guys is showcased in how this match is structured because rarely are all four guys in a mass together. Too often you see a multi-man match shit the bed because of awful blocking but this match does things greatly. Suicidal double suplex spot sees Miz cradle Zayn in a fucking tazplex while Cesaro tosses them with a German Suplex. Somehow no one dies. Amazing false finish with Miz hitting his finish on Cesaro with everyone down that has the crowd die. This is an easy MOTN and a MOTY contender at the low end for me. I won't lie I despise that Miz is getting this IC run, I feel as though the title is better served with the other three guys involved. With that said, for me to be genuinely pissed off that a match ended a certain way tells you how spectacular this match was and this run for Miz has been magic. ****

Chris Jericho vs Dean Ambrose, Asylum Match WWE Extreme Rules 2016

The build for this match has been the typical drivel that you expect from WWE creative these days. We get a barbaric match that you'd think is reserved for an intense, realistic angle right? Wrong. This is all over a talk show segment. That's the reasoning for creating a whole new match apparently in WWE world. Ambrose is grossly misused and should be a serious main event player but he's done well with the silly bullshit he's been given as of late. Jericho is not what he used to be but is very useful in a way to put younger guys over. Ambrose still gets a nice pop when he comes out so he's not completely dead in the water that is good news. Jericho acts like a pussy early trying to get out but alas, Ambrose takes control since there's “no way out” despite there being no top. I very much felt like this was a farce and the commentators didn't help matters by chuckling the whole match at everything. It's a shame that a match between a former world champion and a bright new star is mixed in with this shit. Even Ambrose doing a nutty cage jump didn't get this crowd going. Tacks, that's what it took to make the crowd care and Jericho's face when they were revealed was godly. Had the tacks been part of the match early I think the match would have improved dramatically but alas, we got a very boring match with an ok ending sequence. *1/2

Noelle Foley and Frank the WWE Clown...man I love life for that kind of connection.

Natalya vs Charlotte, Submission Match for the WWE Women's Title WWE Extreme Rules 2016

Natalya's latest push has been a bit of a head scratcher and not because of her talent. I think it is pretty well known that she's one of the better in-ring talents in all of women's wrestling and has been for some time but she's so rarely been featured. Charlotte has been force fed to us as the future of women's wrestling despite Sasha Banks being absolutely incomparable. Either way I felt like the matches these two have had have been decent so I feel good about this going in. Early this felt clunky with both women missing a step or two here and there. The ref counting when both were on the floor annoys me a lot and reminds me of when WCW would completely ignore stipulations. Charlotte puts on a decent looking Indian Deathlock modification at some point. Dana Brooke comes out for literally no reason at all and fucks with Natalya. Charlotte takes advantage. Not even close to their best match and I'm not thrilled about Dana Brooke's increased presence going forward. *

AJ Styles vs Roman Reigns, Extreme Rules match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title WWE Extreme Rules 2016

I felt like last month's match was really good but overbooked and here I'm expecting a lot of the same. The angle involved has been good though and there's a lot of line blurring between both guys. Early we get a good brawl. Both guys logically look solid early until they get to the floor and AJ takes control after Roman misses a chair shot to the steps that stuns him. We then get ECW crowd fighting deep in the arena. They fight over at the pre-show stage with Roman slinging AJ onto what look s like a stiff as hell plexiglass table. AJ hits a sick looking flying forearm off of it on Reigns! Hell yes. More WWE type brawling persist in this match and it is done pretty well. AJ takes a backdrop through the announce table in a nice spot. Splash Mountain Powerbomb by Roman for a near fall! AJ will not die despite his size which is a great story against the golden boy Roman. Superman Punch is countered with a beautiful chop block. AJ fucks up and goes for a hurricanrana but Roman catches him and launches him through another announce table with a powerbomb. Roman kills himself with a spear miss through part of the barricade. Ok it's obviously a spot. AJ wastes too much time though and gets picked out of the air with a Superman Punch that sends AJ down to the floor again. Spear over the steps on AJ but no cover. We get Gallows and Anderson running in to hit their finish for a near fall. Aaand of course The Usos have to show up and fuck up a good thing. They actually lay out AJ so Roman can get the cheap cover! Near fall though. First time we get a kick out of the Styles Clash. Go figure. Terrible reversal when AJ goes for it again. Quickly we get a badass enzugiri reversal of the Superman Punch into another Styles Clash but one of the dickhead Usos ruin it and ROMAN KICKS OUT AGAIN MOTHERFUCKER. Unbelievable how you shit on a move you've protected so fast. AJ decides to snap and kill everyone with a chair. Cool, except you're jobbin'. And my prophecy comes to live when AJ goes for the Springboard Forearm and gets creamed with a spear for the win. Good match but I'm concerned with where you go from here. UNTIL SETH ROLLINS SHOWS US THE WAY. I'm so pumped with this revelation after the match with Rollins fucking Roman's life up and posing with his strap. ***