WWE Extreme Rules 2015 Results: Biggest Highlights and Low Points
The results from WWE's Extreme Rules 2015 pay-per-view are in, so it's time for us to take a look at what transpired.
Following the rousing success of WrestleMania 31, there were two ways this show could have gone: It could either have capitalized on the momentum and have been a lot of fun, or it could have taken a step back in quality.
Normally, this event is packed with stipulations, but this year the build was a little less reliant on hardcore gimmicks and more on rematches from the previous pay-per-view.
Was this just a lame sequel, or did it up the ante and improve upon WrestleMania?
Let's break down both the positives and the negatives of the night, in order of appearance.
Highlight: Neville vs. Bad News Barrett
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To many Daniel Bryan fans, his absence on this card alone would be enough of a disappointment to classify this as a low point. In particular, WWE's method of waiting until the last minute to cancel his match can easily be criticized as a dodgy move to avoid having people tune out, one which could naturally upset fans even more.
However, those points aside, WWE did the best move possible to make up for it by not scrapping the match entirely. Instead, former NXT champion Neville was brought in to replace Bryan against Bad News Barrett.
Together, they had a fast-paced, high-energy match that kicked the show off in a positive way, spinning a bad situation into a good segment.
In fact, considering Bryan's health being in question, it's arguable that this match was better than what would have transpired if the Intercontinental Championship had been properly defended.
Neville continues to impress with not just the Red Arrow he executed beautifully, but he showed off even more moves tonight that stunned the audience.
On top of this, the match was evenly balanced enough with Barrett getting his own offense so as to make sure it didn't end up just a spotfest.
This was not just a means to showcase the new talent, but also continue to establish Barrett as someone who more than belongs in this division and deserves his rightful rematch for the title.
The lack of the title's defense and the absence of one of the biggest stars in the company shouldn't be ignored, but for what it's worth, Neville and Barrett went out there and had a great match; those other factors don't diminish what they did.
Low Point: WWE Can't Follow Through with Gimmicks
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First off, the "Kiss Me Arse" stipulation for the match between Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus was far from worthy of Extreme Rules and would be more fitting for a pay-per-view called Embarrassing Rules.
Secondly, such a gimmick had no impact on the actual match itself, and the entire interest of it was predicated on the result following through with what is promised, which WWE didn't do.
For what's supposed to be a serious brute of a character, there are too many aspects of Sheamus that come off silly, such as the goofy way he's still saying "fella" all the time.
Likewise, this stipulation was more childish than something that has a warrior's edge to it, going against what WWE is trying to do with Sheamus.
The better performer of the two won the match—which is a positive, if only just for how most fans probably didn't see it coming—but it meant absolutely nothing.
In true WWE fashion, the entire point behind this match was rendered moot, as Sheamus just chose not to do what was required of him.
Does it make sense to a point not to have Sheamus do this? Sure. However, if you wanted Ziggler to win and didn't want to have Sheamus go through with the stipulation, you shouldn't have booked the stipulation to begin with!
There is absolutely nothing that forced WWE to make this the gimmick of the match, and it did nothing but continue the trend of the night's failure to deliver.
The first match of the evening was a replacement bout and the second one between Luke Harper and Dean Ambrose didn't get a finish. Then, this one flat-out did the opposite of what was advertised.
The inevitable of Sheamus refusing to do it was dragged out far too long, and in the end, this was all for nothing and could have been completely avoided if WWE had just gone with a different gimmick.
Highlight: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro vs. the New Day
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This match is an example of textbook professional wrestling fun in more ways than one.
The crowd forced The New Day to turn heel and in turn, Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to be the babyface team by default. That energy was kept up and the audience was hot from start to finish, playing along.
Both teams were evenly balanced with Big E and Cesaro providing the strength while Kofi Kingston and Tyson Kidd brought agility to the table.
From the flurry of Cesaro's uppercuts to the surprise finish, this was just entertaining from start to finish.
The New Day may suck to the audience, but this change in character is the best thing the team has done so far and as the new champions, there can be a lot of fun segments to come with the crowd messing around with them.
Highlight: Chicago Street Fight
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Your mileage may vary, but most people would probably say the Chicago Street Fight ended up being one of the most memorable parts of the night.
By no means was this anywhere close to one of the better hardcore matches in WWE history, but on this particular show it was more of a positive than a negative.
Splitting it up in the way WWE did with the two of them driving away in a car for part of the night helped make it appear crazier than it really was.
If one were to edit out everything but the action itself, it could be underwhelming on its own.
One important thing that happened is that Dean Ambrose finally won, something he hasn't done in months.
The Lunatic Fringe was desperately in need of a victory after spending the better part of last year coming up short time and time again, so seeing him pull it off in his natural environment was a plus.
He put on a good show here—as did Harper—as they battled all throughout the arena's backstage area, incorporating as many weapons into the fray as possible.
It's always interesting to see a dozen or so chairs tossed into the ring, knowing that someone is about to land on them in a nasty way very soon.
This was used to finish the match in a believable fashion as Ambrose hit his finisher, Dirty Deeds, on a chair to add more impact to it.
In a different era, this match would have been far more impressive and entertaining, as the danger factor would have been upgraded significantly, but in 2015 this is about as good as everyone can expect.
That's sad, but it's something everyone needs to accept. In WWE's eyes, this match was vicious, and everyone should have gone nuts over it. Though it may have its detractors, this was an overall success.
Low Point: United States Championship Russian Chain Match
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Matches with this kind of stipulation are all basically the same and limited in what can be done. If you're fond of watching a tug of war, you probably were highly entertained.
On the other hand, if watching two people pull each other around the ring with a chain sounds pretty dull, you'll be in the camp that thinks this was boring.
There isn't all that much room to play around with a Strap Match or in this case—a Russian Chain Match—even if this was given that significant upgrade by making it somehow more Russian than a regular chain.
Rusev's character had the power, and Cena's character remains that of the guy who gets beaten down but never gives up, so this wasn't breaking new ground. In fact, the most interesting part of the whole segment was Rusev sending Lana to the back, but seeing as how popular she is, that just resulted in boos.
This was as predictable as possible and did nothing but reiterate Cena's dominance over Rusev, which has been established all the way back to his loss at Fastlane, which says a lot in a negative light.
Highlight: Nikki Bella vs. Naomi
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Naomi has had a big upgrade with new theme music, new ring gear (even if it is a bit odd) and now losing this match due to a technicality on interference.
Nikki Bella has avoided taking a step down by retaining her title and being equally responsible for what is a better Divas Championship match than many will probably be willing to admit.
Although it won't be nominated for Match of the Year, this is another step in the right direction for the division.
This segment succeeded in supporting a solid bout with a change in the storyline that can lead into a Triple Threat once Paige comes back, as she will be looking to get her rightful title shot.
Now that Brie helped Nikki win, does that mean Naomi will be entitled to a rematch by default or does she have to earn it?
For that matter, the recent babyface style that the Bellas have been portraying could be in jeopardy, as what they pulled tonight felt more like something heels would do. Does that get acknowledged or ignored?
A few weeks back, it would have made sense to be worried about the state of women's wrestling without AJ Lee, but Naomi and Nikki Bella helped prove that things still can improve going forward.
Giving credit where it is due, these two women should not be overlooked in typical Divas fashion and if a rematch were to happen, it would likely be just as good if not better than what went down in the ring here.
Highlight: Last Man Standing Match
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Similar to the Russian Chain Match, a Last Man Standing Match is usually problematic in that it dictates a lot of down time and false finishes.
Thankfully, this match made up for it by having enough spots throughout to hold the fans over for the next few seconds while the referee counted. Some particular highlights were the chokeslam onto two tables on the outside and the spear from Roman Reigns onto Big Show through the Spanish commentary table.
This might not have helped how fans treat Reigns going forward, but it could have improved the situation. Reigns came out looking strong, and Big Show put up a good fight as well, legitimizing this win in a lot of ways.
Another match between these two would probably not be the best course of action. But this could have been a train wreck; instead, it ended up being rather fun.
Highlight: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match
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All you can really ask for in the main event of a free pay-per-view is for the match to be entertaining, the story to continue to build or officially end, some surprises to happen and for some sort of feeling that you want to watch what comes next.
This title defense for Seth Rollins accomplished all of those things by doing exactly what most people had expected but adding a couple of nice twists in the process.
One of those was the use of different finishers, as Randy Orton pulled out a Pedigree and Rollins won with an RKO, of all things.
The story between Kane and Rollins is far from over, and one can assume Orton is not through with the champion either, so it should be interesting to see how things develop on Raw.
Overall, this was an entertaining match and didn't fall short on delivering what it promised.
What were your favorite and least favorite parts of the show? Do you think the pay-per-view was great or horrible in general?
Tell us what you're thinking in the comments below!
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
