WWE Extreme Rules 2012 Results: 6 Things WWE Got Right

With Extreme Rules 2012 having to follow WrestleMania 28, it would have been easy for WWE to give us a blasé show, banking on Brock Lesnar's return to draw money. 

While Brock's beatdown of John Cena certainly delivered, the pay-per-view pleased fans on many other levels.

We weren't subjected to cheap title changes (well, not too many) and the card delivered from top to bottom. 

As with any show, there were some lows, but the highs made Extreme Rules 2012 an event to remember.

Brodus Clay in a Real Match

The Funkosaurus' hilarious routine has been fun to watch, but it felt like WWE was dragging it out too long. Brodus Clay had to be in a non-squash match eventually.

Pairing him with Dolph Ziggler was brilliant.

Ziggler is the current king of making his opponent look better than they are.

Clay's funkiness was finally balanced with him having to shake off some dropkicks and break a sweat. With only a short amount of time to work with, both men put on an impressive show.

Clay and Ziggler's bonus match was a welcome addition to the Extreme Rules card.

Booking Cody Rhodes to Win Back the IC Title

As Intercontinental Champion, Cody Rhodes made the belt matter again. When he lost it to Big Show at WrestleMania 28, the title change elicited real emotion.

Cody Rhodes' immense talent begs to have him be a champion. 

One day he'll likely hold the World Heavyweight Championship or WWE title above his head, but getting the IC belt back on him now is good timing.

So far he and Big Show have produced two quality matches. Their feud could easily continue at least a month or two, ending with a more decisive win in Rhodes' favor.  

Letting the World Heavyweight Championship Match Go on so Long

WrestleMania 28's opener sucked the air out of the event. Aside from the obvious stories, a number of people were talking about the disrespect that booking showed both Sheamus and Daniel Bryan.

WWE more than made up for it by delivering a long, grueling, emotional match.

The match of the night made both men look great. Sheamus showed off some surprising submission skills.

Daniel Bryan continued his ascent to true greatness. 

His transformation from vanilla technical wizard to vicious tweener has been magnificent to watch.

If WWE was going to allow one match extended time, they chose the right one.

Very Little Filler

WrestleMania 28 seemed to follow every great match with some unnecessary backstage segment. 

We saw Flo Rida push Heath Slater, a weird skit about fishing, and two concerts few people cared about. 

Extreme Rules 2012 avoided those pitfalls. 

Every match and segment had a purpose and there were not but a few seconds where I felt comfortable taking a bathroom break. 

Even the Ryback squash match was entertaining.   

Brodus Clay could have been brought out for another dance-heavy waste of time, but instead WWE chose to have him wrestle.

Extreme Rules was booked efficiently, packed with as much wrestling as possible.  

Keeping the WWE Championship on CM Punk

Having Chris Jericho win the WWE title wouldn't have added much to their storyline. 

Jericho and CM Punk's feud isn't about championships. It's a personal, bitter battle.

With Jericho planning on leaving around SummerSlam anyway, it's best to keep CM Punk on top for now. 

Their back and forth, weapon-heavy match ended perfectly.

Chris Jericho was not made to look weak by the loss, and having CM Punk triumph again gives his championship reign more legitimacy. 

A title change here would have been cheap.

Blood!

An Extreme Rules match in the PG Era could have meant a ton of chair shots to the back. 

WWE shocked us with a generous amount of bloodshed in the gritty John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar match. 

Cena was busted open early, and the blood played a significant role in the storyline of the match.

It was a visual representation of Cena's pain and suffering. The refs had to keep stopping the action to tend to the wound.

It worked to make Cena look tougher.

He has always been willing to do anything to sell a story and to please fans.    

Having him gush onto the mat surely helped him win over the Chicago crowd.