WWE Extreme Rules: Ten Things We Learned

After every WWE pay-per-view event, we’re supposed to be left with a feeling of satisfaction; as if all of our questions and concerns have been answered by the events that unfolded at the pay-per-view.

Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. All too often, we are left with more new questions than answers.

Sunday night’s Extreme Rules was no exception. Following the event there are plenty of important questions to be asked, but there is no doubt we learned plenty of things at the event as well.

Without any further ado, here are the ten things we learned at WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

Jack Swagger is Not a Transitional Champion

Jack Swagger’s Money in the Bank win at Wrestlemania XXVI left plenty of people scratching their heads.

Swagger hadn’t been pushed legitimately in nearly six months and was undoubtedly one of the least deserving participants in the match to walk away with the coveted briefcase.

Swagger proceeded to cash in the briefcase in record time and become World Heavyweight Champion.

He followed that impressive display by jobbing to everyone from Randy Orton to the Undertaker to John Morrison, all the while looking like the weakest World Champion in years since Sheamus.

Those facts notwithstanding, he was given a clean (or as “clean” as you can get in an Extreme Rules match) win over Randy Orton and—despite a post-match RKO—appears poised to carry the “big gold belt” for the foreseeable future.

Kaval/Low-Ki is Ready to Shine

For nearly six months we’ve heard rumors that Kaval (the former Low-Ki) was set to be called up to the main roster and his first big feud was set to be with Rey Mysterio.

Kaval then suffered a leg injury that delayed his arrival on the big-stage. After Extreme Rules, it seems his time is now. Mysterio was in a solid back-and-forth match-up with the best heel in the WWE, CM Punk and appeared to have taken control after the rest of the “Straight Edge Society” was sent to the back by the referee.

Mysterio had the match all but won when a mysterious figure slid a chair into the ring. The chair distracted the referee—you know, because all shiny objects distract referees—and while the man in stripes was dealing with the chair, the mysterious figure attacked Mysterio, dropping him on his head and sealing the victory for Punk.

UPDATE: Many comments are suggesting that it is actually a bald Joey Mercury who was the "mystery man" last night. If that's indeed the case, I'm more than willing to be wrong to see Mercury back in the WWE. I'd have much rather seen Mercury debut with his hair and have CM Punk shave him on live TV, but that's just me.

Sheamus is Going Nowhere

Last Fall, I went on a couple of rants regarding Sheamus and how he was being poorly booked.

Since then he’s still not been legitimately put over by any major WWE Superstars and his stock as a big-time player has plummeted.

At Extreme Rules his buddy Triple H was widely-expected to do a clean job for the Irishman to firmly establish him as a legitimate main event heel.

Granted, Triple H was expected to do the same thing at Wrestlemania and we all saw how that ended.

Instead of a clean victory for Sheamus, we got a beat-down to open the show that culminated in Triple H getting bashed with the dreaded steel pipe.

Throughout the show we were given updates on his condition, eventually leading to the conclusion that he was “too hurt to compete.”

Shockingly—or perhaps the exact opposite of shockingly—Triple H emerged from his locker room ready to wage war, despite being beaten, battered, and apparently quasi-paralyzed in one arm.

In the end, Sheamus got the victory, but it was far from the clean win he needed to firmly entrench himself in the main event picture.

The Hart Dynasty Has Finally Arrived

Throughout the entirety of the dreadfully lackluster Vince McMahon/Bret Hart program leading into Wrestlemania I kept wondering if Bret would help give the fledgling Hart Dynasty a rub at some point.

He finally did, during the cringe-worthy McMahon/Hart “epic encounter” at Wrestlemania. The group suddenly become faces and were thrust into the tag title picture.

Things didn’t really go anywhere until the Bret Hart/Miz showdown a few weeks ago, which—thanks to that whole “volcano thing”—never amounted to much.

At Extreme Rules, however, the groundwork was laid for the Hart Dynasty to take the Unified Tag Titles during the three-hour RAW draft and allow the Miz and Big Show to go their separate ways.

Given that they are the one completely legitimate tag team in the WWE, it’s about damn time.

Firing Mickie James was a Bad Idea

I don’t want to take any cheap shots at the Beth Phoenix/Michelle McCool match itself. The match—well—as good as one could expect. What the match lacked, however, was any real emotion from the crowd.

Beth Phoenix is suddenly expected to be the top female babyface on the Smackdown roster after spending her entire career as a malicious heel? It just seems too forced and the crowd didn’t appear to be buying it either.

Letting Mickie James go was a major blow for an already very depleted roster of female wrestlers.

Phoenix may be great in the ring, but she doesn’t elicit the same type of response that James or Melina or Kelly Kelly do and being thrust into that type of role doesn’t bode well for the Glamazon.

Cryme Tyme Deserves Better

JTG and Shad Gaspard are both very good in the ring. This has been the case for—well—the entirety of their WWE tenures. Unfortunately, they were stuck with an awful gimmick and never given a legit chance to shine.

They finally had a long-overdue breakup in recent weeks culminating in a rare strap match at Extreme Rules. Unfortunately, strap matches generally don’t lend themselves to “show stealing” performances.

These two, however, made the most of the situation and of the small window of time they were given. JTG eventually picked up the victory and—unfortunately—that is likely it for the feud with the draft looming on the horizon.

JTG figures to become mid-card fodder and Shad should get at least a decent short-term push because of his size, but neither fits the—ahem—“prototypical profile” of a future WWE champion.

This figures to limit both of their futures, which is a shame because they both have limitless potential.

Edge vs. Jericho Simply Isn’t that Good

Don’t get me wrong, on the mic and in the build-up, these two are great. The problem comes in the payoff.

I was personally disappointed in their Wrestlemania encounter, finding it too slow and plodding and I felt the same way about their cage match at Extreme Rules.

The entire match seemed too formulaic and it felt like nearly every other cage match we’ve seen in the past decade or so. Aside from a few bright spots—springboard Code-Breaker, FTW—it was a pretty dull match.

Jericho and Edge are two of my favorites and they are undoubtedly two of the best performers in the business today, but in the ring together they just don’t seem to mesh. Their matches are good, but not great. Entertaining, but not exhilarating.

I think the best thing would be for Jericho or Edge (most likely Edge) to move to RAW in the draft and bring the feud to a swift end.

Batista is a Company Man

The big rumor right now is that Batista is done with the WWE following tonight’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

If that is, in fact, the case Batista proved himself to be a company man by losing—in rather embarrassing fashion—to John Cena in a “Last Man Standing” match for the WWE Championship.

Batista essentially rekindled his otherwise sputtering career with a heel turn last fall. That turn culminated in a WWE Title win over Cena at Elimination Chamber and a spot in the main event at Wrestlemania XXVI.

Batista has been one of the company’s most entertaining heels in recent months and has probably been better both on the mic and in the ring than at any other point in his career, if he truly is leaving it is a shame that he’s choosing this particular time to do so.

It is, however, very admirably that he was willing to take the loss to Cena in a rather embarrassing fashion, having his legs duct-taped together around the ring post rendering him unable to answer the ten count, all whilst Cena mocked him.

Matt Striker is the Best Announcer in the WWE

It may sound like blasphemy, but let’s be real here folks, Jim Ross is gone and doesn’t appear likely to return anytime soon. Jerry Lawler is a great color commentator, but doesn’t offer much in the way of in-ring play-by-play.

Michael Cole is—well—Michael Cole and the rest of the announce crew members are good, but not great.

Matt Striker on the other hand, gets it.

He is completely educated on every wrestler in every match, whether they are on his brand or not.

He is constantly doing his best to play a pseudo-heel role without overdoing it. He is always on top of the story being told in the match and constantly brings the story back into focus.

Striker may be unbearable in some of his commentary, but when put with Cole and Lawler, he seems light years ahead of the pack.

The Wrestlemania Hangover Ends Tonight

Every year the WWE builds toward Wrestlemania and for the next month or so afterward, things generally revolve around those same feuds.

Tonight’s edition of the annual WWE Draft, however, figures to stir things up considerably. We saw what should be the end of numerous feuds last night at Extreme Rules and that, along with the re-arranging of talent, should lead to numerous fresh storylines.

Last year’s draft led to major career changes for CM Punk, the Miz, Chris Jericho, and a handful of others.

This year’s draft figures to offer the same intrigue and potential for greatness.

Let the games begin…