WWE Extreme Rules 2012: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Extreme Rules 2012 gave the WWE Universe some of the highest level of intensity in recent pro-wrestling history. Similar to the events from years past, the Extreme Rules pay-per-view should indeed be a mainstay on the WWE's list every year.

With all the chaos that happened at the event, overall it had some good, bad and ugly moments.

Good

• Kane vs. Orton - This was a good match that started the pay-per-view. Although Kane jobbing to Orton makes his return in the mask even more pointless, it does propel Orton to the World Heavyweight Championship picture, which could be a good thing.
• Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus - Although the turnout wasn't what many wanted, the overall quality of the match was good. It gelled, and many parts of the match as a whole made the outcome unpredictable. Of course, it was exponentially better than the WM 28 match, but even if it was more than 18 seconds, this match could have competed with it as far as which one was better.
• Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk - Like I expected, this match surpassed the one they had at WM 28, and it was easily the match of the night. Although it continues to make no sense why Jericho keeps putting CM Punk over (he has not won a single pay-per-view since he returned, by the way), Punk winning in front of his hometown crowd was good damage control.

Bad

• Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler - I like Brodus Clay; no disrespect to him. However, how Dolph Ziggler is being booked is utterly ridiculous. What's next? Him jobbing to Hornswoggle at Over the Limit? He deserves better. Much better.
• Ryback defeats 2 jobbers - Really? At a pay-per-view? Matches like these are why I can continue to reason with the argument of having fewer pay-per-views. We should not have seen a jobber squash match on a pay-per-view. No excuses for that. And yes, the crowd was bored. We heard "Goldberg" chants.
• Nikki Bella vs. Layla - Out of all the worst possible ways that Layla could have returned, this was one of the top options on the list. Most of the WWE Universe—and especially the crowd in attendance—was expecting Kharma, even when the Bellas attempted to swerve the idea. So we all wait for the mystery...just to see Layla. As expected, the crowd was flat. Layla deserved a better return than to fill the shoes of a Kharma expectation. Her win was forgettable, and it makes no sense for a babyface to have the title with Kharma returning soon.

Ugly

• Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes - Wait...did we see a "double turn" the likes of Demolition/Powers of Pain or Luger/Windham? Big Show was getting booed out the building! That was painful to watch. One of SmackDown's top babyfaces got some of the biggest heel heat of the night because he assaulted one of the top heels post-match? Yeah, I don't get it either. We'll just have to wait and see if this heel heat becomes a full turn for the Big Show.
• Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena - This match was brutal in every possible way. The intensity was at a fever pitch, but I was confused the entire match. Overall, this match made both the WWE and John Cena look weak. Lesnar pulverized Cena, and a chain became the Achilles' heel for Lesnar. The shoot-style elbow shots to the head, which caused legitimate bleeding, were quite embarrassing to the WWE product. The question for all to ponder is: Who in the WWE could actually compete with Lesnar? No other match we will see him in for the rest of the year will be Extreme Rules, and we've already seen how dominant Lesnar is after watching Cena look like an amateur during most of the match. The WWE has a difficult task toning down the MMA-like exhibition we saw at Extreme Rules to cater to a pro-wrestling style.

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We'll be discussing the pay-per-view live on the Pancakes and Powerslams wrestling talk show Tuesday at 11 p.m. EST. Call in to get on air, or participate in the live chat to get a comment read on air. Click here for show link.