WWE Extreme Rules: 10 Greatest Championship Matches in Extreme Rules History

On Sunday, April 29, the WWE will hold the fourth annual Extreme Rules pay-per-view. The show has traditionally featured more "extreme" matches. For example, matches generally have stipulations that allow for the use of weapons.

Championships can be defended in Last Man Standing matches, inside a steel cage, in a Ladder match or in a No Holds Barred match, just to name a few. In its short history, this event has produced quite a few memorable championship matches.

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho in a Street Fight for the WWE Championship and Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus in a 2 out of 3 Falls match will likely add to the list of great Extreme Rules championship matches.

For now, though, let's take a look at the 10 best championship matches in Extreme Rules' three-year history.

10. Big Show and Kane vs. the Corre (2011)

Did the Corre ever stand a chance against Big Show and Kane? Did the Corre ever stand a chance at becoming a long-term, powerful force in the WWE? The answer to both of those questions is no.

Going into this match, Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Ezekiel Jackson had managed to one-up the dominant WWE Tag Team Champions once. It was on an episode of Smackdown that the four of them managed to beat down the champions. One four-on-two beatdown was hardly enough to make the Corre convincing challengers.

This Lumberjack match for the WWE Tag Team Championships ended up lasting just over four minutes, with Big Show and Kane retaining their titles. This was an all-around underwhelming match. The Lumberjack stipulation hardly fit the Extreme Rules motif. In the end, this tag team bout was nothing more than a buffer match before the main event.

9. Jack Swagger vs. Randy Orton (2010)

This match should actually be ranked a bit higher on this list. Randy Orton and Jack Swagger went for about 14 minutes and wrestled a solid PPV match. The Extreme Rules stipulation proved to be a nice touch. In addition, the very matchup itself was fresh.

However, the way Swagger's title reign was booked took a lot of the heat off of this match. Jack Swagger was made to look exceptionally weak during his short run as World Heavyweight Champion. This match was one of the few instances where he scored a clean pinfall.

In the end, it was the fact that, going into the match, Orton was such a strong character while Swagger was made to look pretty vulnerable that made the match rather forgettable.

8. Kofi Kingston vs. MVP vs. William Regal vs. Matt Hardy (2009)

So much potential in this match. It ended up making a solid opening match for the inaugural Extreme Rules PPV. However, it would have benefited greatly from another five minutes of time.

The match didn't even go for seven minutes. It came off sort of sloppy because they were trying to cram all of the spots into such a small amount of time.

At least the fans in attendance still reacted to all the spots and seemed to enjoy Kingston retaining the title. 

7. Batista vs. Randy Orton (2009)

For a main event WWE Championship match, this was relatively underwhelming. Randy Orton and Batista fought a short, seven-minute battle inside a steel cage. In the end, Batista hit the Batista Bomb for the clean pin to win the WWE Championship.

There was good action and a handful of interesting counters near the end. All in all, the match felt rushed. They also didn't follow up on Batista's promo in which he said that he wanted to end Orton's legacy.

6. Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian vs. Jack Swagger (2009)

This is a rather underrated match, in my opinion. Jack Swagger was a phenomenal heel on ECW, Christian is simply amazing in general and Tommy Dreamer added the classic ECW touch to this Extreme Rules match.

The story behind the match was that Dreamer would retire if he didn't win the ECW Championship. After a near 10-minute battle, Dreamer hit a DDT on Swagger to pick up the win and the title.

While the match was fun to watch, seeing Dreamer celebrate with the ECW Championship again made it truly memorable. Definitely a highlight from the first Extreme Rules show.

5. Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus (2011)

Kofi Kingston and Sheamus worked extremely well together. Kingston's high-flying style meshed especially well with Sheamus' strong and brutal style. This chemistry was only compounded by the Table match stipulation.

While fans didn't seem to care much about Kingston winning the United States Championship and taking it to Raw, they loved the Boom Drop through the Table. This finishing spot was one of the most memorable moments of last year's Extreme Rules show.

4. John Cena vs. Miz vs. John Morrison (2011)

Miz defended his WWE Championship against John Morrison and John Cena in a spectacular 20-minute main event steel cage match. It wasn't the best match on the 2011 card, but it was a close second.

Miz and Cena obviously had great chemistry. It was the addition of John Morrison that made for an interesting dynamic. The "Prince of Parkour" added a whole new level of excitement to this match.

R-Truth's interference in the match was effective because it took Morrison out of the equation and advanced the story between the two of them. My only gripe about that was that steel cage matches are generally used to keep the competitors inside the cage and all others out.

John Cena winning the match seemed to have come out of the blue, which kind of took away from the match. In the end, it didn't do any damage to the overall match and sent the live crowd home happy.

3. Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio (2009)

Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio's feud was one of the best feuds in the past five years. They had unbelievable chemistry and put on many stellar matches. This match was no exception.

This No Holds Barred match for Mysterio's Intercontinental Championship was a nice change of pace from the matches they had been having. It allowed them to stray a little bit from the wrestling and let them brawl.

In the end, Jericho ripped off Mysterio's mask as a counter for the 619. He then covered him and picked up the pinfall victory. This proved to be a creative finish to a very fun match between these two future Hall of Famers.

2. Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio (2011)

Edge retired after WrestleMania 27, thus vacating the World Heavyweight Championship. Alberto del Rio and Christian fought for the vacant title in a Ladder Match at the 2011 installment of Extreme Rules.

The match itself was great. There were many instances in which both Christian and del Rio came close to pulling down the belt. Heck, we even saw Brodus Clay and Ricardo Rodriguez pay for their involvement in the match.

In the final stretch of the match, Alberto del Rio had locked the Cross Arm Breaker on Christian and was closing in on an opportunity to win the championship. Edge ended up providing the distraction necessary for Christian to recover and win the title.

Seeing Christian stand atop the ladder, holding up the World Heavyweight Championship, was the highlight of the 2011 Extreme Rules. Christian's emotion alone was enough to make this a memorable moment for any wrestling fan.

1. Jeff Hardy vs. Edge (2009)

Edge and Jeff Hardy, two of the greatest Ladder match competitors in WWE history, highlighted the inaugural Extreme Rules show by wrestling for the World Heavyweight Championship in a 20-minute Ladder match.

Not only was Edge one of the best heels in the WWE at the time, but Jeff Hardy was among the biggest babyfaces. There was an interesting dynamic between them and they had all the chemistry in the world. They truly pulled out all the stops and delivered an amazing main event for the first installment of the Extreme Rules PPV.

The finish saw Jeff Hardy pull down the title while Edge was trapped in the ladder. Just as Hardy was celebrating, CM Punk made his way to the ring to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Less than two minutes later, Punk was the new World Heavyweight Champion.

This match deserves the top spot not just because it was a true 5-star match, but also because of the fact that it sparked the feud between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. This feud would go on to be the highlight of the WWE in the summer of 2009.

Conclusion

There you have it. In its short three-year history, the Extreme Rules PPV has already yielded quite a few impressive championship matches

As of now, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship, Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship and Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship are already slated for the show.

The 2012 installment of Extreme Rules is shaping up to be an excellent show. Which matches will deliver and warrant a spot on this list? We'll have to wait until Sunday to find out!

Thanks for reading. As always, I appreciate any feedback on my writing. Feel free to spark a conversation with me regarding what was discussed in this column by commenting or reaching out to me on Twitter @MikePW247. Also, be sure to tune in to This Very Ring every Sunday night at 11 p.m. ET to listen to myself and Stan Grubb discuss all things pro wrestling.