WWE Extreme Rules 2012 Results: Winners, Twitter Reaction and Highlights

The build up for a PPV even less than a month after WrestleMania was surprisingly strong, with multiple can’t miss match ups on the slate for Extreme Rules in Chicago.

CM Punk, Sheamus and John Cena were the big winners, as Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar now have some serious questions to answer tomorrow at Monday Night Raw.

While the return of Brock Lesnar was certainly the big story, the creative team behind the scenes did an excellent job of getting fans excited for some of the lesser bouts.

The wrestling was spectacular and the results were shocking…in other words, just another WWE PPV event.

Winners

US Title Match: Santino Marella over The Miz

The Miz was whining about the lack of respect he received before the bout and proceeded to get beat yet again.

After a back-and-forth battle for roughly five minutes, Santino busted out the Cobra and hit him with the big pop for the win. It was a pre-match event for a reason and now the Miz is all but buried

Can you remember the last time Miz actually won? This guy is fading fast after being one of the biggest stars of the sport roughly a year ago.

Falls Count Anywhere: Randy Orton over Kane

The crowd was clearly behind Orton, and they got their wish.

With a suplex from the top rope, and a RKO onto a chair, this fight was very physical for Orton.

The two were out of the ring frequently, and even Zack Ryder made a brief appearance, helping Orton out.

Not a bad table-setter for the night at all.

Bonus Match: Brodus Clay over Dolph Ziggler

Brodus continues to take the WWE by storm with another relatively easy win. Making his PPV debut, the “Funkasaurus” did not disappoint.

The future appears to be bright for this up-and-coming star.

Tables Match for IC Title: Cody Rhodes over Big Show

Rhodes was getting destroyed early, but a Disaster Kick completely turned the match around.

The Big Show was walking on the apron, and Rhodes kicked his legs out from under him to force him through a table for the win.

After the match Big Show threw Rhodes through not one, but two tables. Seems like this feud is far from over.

Two Out of Three Falls Match For World Heavyweight Championship: Sheamus over Daniel Bryan

In what was quite possibly the most exciting match of the night, these two battered and bruised each other for much longer than the 18-second WrestleMania laugher. Sheamus was the first to land a pin fall after Bryan was disqualified for kicking Sheamus’ arm as he got tangled up in the ropes.

Sheamus banged up his shoulder a bit in Round 1, and Bryan took advantage, getting him into a Yes Lock. Sheamus seemed to have passed out and the second fall is awarded to Bryan.

Doctors had to check on the Irishmen with Bryan feeling cocky by screaming “Yes!” while running around the ring before Round 3. Then Sheamus “recovers” by landing a Brogue Kick to begin the intense final battle. After lots of flying fists and kicks, Sheamus hits him with yet another Brogue Kick to put the nail in Bryan’s coffin.

It was a match for the ages and arguably the best we’ve seen in over a year in any WWE event.

Bonus Match: Ryback over Aaron Relic and Jay Hatton

This was such a buzz kill after the last match. Ryback destroyed both of them rather quickly in a very forgettable portion of the evening.

Chicago Street Fight for WWE Championship: CM Punk over Chris Jericho

It wasn’t shocking to see this epic bout live up to expectations, but I’m shocked Punk won.

The two went back and forth with tons of near pin falls. Jericho was executing the Walls of Jericho beautifully, and Punk was countering with elbows from the top rope and anaconda vice’s.

The turning point was when Jericho went for a GTS, but Punk was able to avoid it and hit him with a GTS and landing the pinfall.

Jericho keeps getting pounded by Punk, and his future with the company is now a big question mark. Puk retains his title in front of the hometown crowd.

Divas Title Match: Layla over Nikki Bella

This was a short match and the crowd wasn’t really into it. A neckbreaker won the match for Layla after Bella seemed to be the aggressor.

Yawn.

Main Event: John Cena over Brock Lesnar

The crowd was pro Lesnar, and he bloodied Cena right off the bat with a vicious elbow. The match was stopped and Cena was attended to, much to the dismay of a booing crowd.

After another stoppage in the action, Lesnar continues to pound Cena as he uses a kimura to throw Cena into a barricade.

Lesnar ties up Cena upside down on the turnbuckle, and it seems like this fight is all but over. Yet Cena doesn’t give up as he climbs onto the apron. Lesnar is prepared and hits him with a running elbow as he jumps off the steel steps. It seemed like a mistake on Lesnar’s part and he appeared to hurt his knee.

Lesnar tries to do the move again and is greeted with a vicious punch with a chain. Lesnar begins bleeding and one Cena Attitude Adjustment later on the steel steps and this match is over.

After the match a woozy Cena talks about how he needs a vacation.

Tweets of the Night:

The event was fantastic and WrestlingNewsSource sums it up beautifully: 

"

You Have To Congratulate Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, John Cena. Epic Moments Tonight. #extremerules #fb

— WrestlingNewsSource (@WNSource) April 30, 2012"

Can't argue with Andrew Goldstein's point on how WWE was able to brilliantly follow up a 18-second WrestleMania bout with a classic one month later:

"

Best thing about the 18-second match at Mania, we get a 45-minute classic w Bryan and Sheamus a month later. #ExtremeRules #WWE

— Andrew Goldstein (@AngeGold) April 30, 2012"

The debate over what the best match of the night was rages on, and reality TV star Jonny Fairplay believes it was Jericho-Punk:

"

Wow Jericho vs @CMPunk was even better than @WrestleMania loved it! Best streetfight match I've seen in years!

— Jonny Fairplay (@JonnyFairplay) April 30, 2012"

Joe Reedy may be the Cincinnati Enquirer Bengals beat writer, but he loves WWE as well and made this interesting observation about the Cena-Lesnar match:

"

Damn, that had some old school ECW feel to it

— Joe Reedy (@joereedy) April 30, 2012"

Black Sports Online’s Robert Littal believes Lesnar needs to get some help via steroids to ensure his comeback isn’t a failure:

"

Brock looking like George Foreman, someone tell Rodney Harrison to send him some roids

— Robert Littal (@BlkSportsOnline) April 30, 2012"

Highlights:

The Miz is Done

His time as a WWE super-star is over and Extreme Rules was the biggest reminder yet.

Randy Orton is Still a Star

I wasn’t sure if he was with the way WWE has treated him of late, but the big win over Kane confirmed that he is still one of the top dogs of the WWE universe.

Sheamus Brogue Kick in Round 3

This match was 50/50 from the jump and all of the momentum swung in Sheamus’ favor when he landed that kick. This fight more than lived up to the hype.

CM Punk’s Flying Elbow Through a Table

Jericho was beating him pretty badly, and it looked like a loss in front of the home crowd was inevitable. Instead, the elbow really threw off Jericho and he wasn’t the same wrestler afterward.

An Anaconda Vice and GTS later and Punk is still the champ. This is my pick for the highlight of the night.

Cena’s Blood

Stopping the match twice to deal with Cena’s blood? Really Brock?

Clearly the former UFC fighter is still shaking the rust off an eight-year hiatus and messed up multiple spots.

No wonder Cena needs a break…

Cena Announces Break From WWE

It makes sense. He has been the main attraction for quite some time and allowing another super-duper star like Punk take over the limelight for a few months sounds about right.

Cena earned this break after one of the most brutal matches WWE has given us in years.

What’s Next?

Monday Night Raw has plenty of questions to answer for fans. What did Cena mean when he said he needed a vacation?

Is Cena going to go on hiatus? After the way Lesnar bloodied him so bad I don’t blame him. What about Lesnar? Is he going to be around for a while or was this a one-time thing?

Will Sheamus take the next step up the ladder of WWE stardom? Will the WWE just axe the Diva’s division completely? (One could only hope.)

What about Jericho? He is still without a win in PPV matches since returning to the ring and with his contract set to expire in the summer, time is running out to build him back up. Is the feud with Punk over with?

Fans better tune in; there are tons of issues and questions to address. 

Follow Eric Ball on Twitter.