WWE Extreme Rules 2012: Why This Was a Great Follow Up to WrestleMania 28

For the second straight year, WWE Extreme Rules served as a fantastic follow-up pay-per-view for WrestleMania. From top to bottom, and especially in the three big matches, the show really delivered.

First, after about 13 months of waiting, we finally got to see Sheamus and Daniel Bryan get the main event PPV match they deserve. And boy did they take advantage of the opportunity.

Sheamus ended up retaining the World Heavyweight Championship in this two-of-three Falls bout and looked incredibly strong in doing so. Bryan, who wrestled a very strategic match, also looked good coming out of this match.

CM Punk and Chris Jericho put on another phenomenal match. Their match at WrestleMania 28 was built around who can truly lay claim to the title "Best in the World." Since then, their feud has evolved and become more personal.

Jericho has targeted Punk's straightedge way of life. At Extreme Rules in the Allstate Arena in his hometown of Chicago, Punk finally got his hands on Y2J in a Chicago Street Fight. As opposed to the very technical match we saw between them at WrestleMania, this match was much more hard-hitting and brutal. This match was amazing in its own right.

The main event saw John Cena barely muster a win over the returning Brock Lesnar. This match was a straight-up brawl and, for Cena, quite a bloodbath. Lesnar channeled his experience as a UFC fighter as he drew blood from Cena and injured him with an armbar.

Somehow, Cena was able to hit Lesnar with an Attitude Adjustment on the steel ring steps, allowing him to pick up the pinfall victory. While this booking was questionable, Lesnar looked like a monster by dominating Cena throughout most of the 20-minute contest.

Even the undercard was newsworthy. Randy Orton and Kane had a good brawl in their Falls Count Anywhere match, making for a good opening match. In a fluke victory, Cody Rhodes defeated Big Show to win back the Intercontinental Championship. Layla also returned to defeat Nikki Bella to win the WWE Diva's Championship. Even Brodus Clay delivered in his first non-squash match. Clay defeated Dolph Ziggler in good five minute match.

The WWE is on quite the hot streak with PPVs. WrestleMania 28 was one of the best shows in recent memory and the numbers show it. Let's hope this year's Extreme Rules drew good numbers, too. If the WWE can continue to deliver compelling PPVs on a regular basis, an increase in their buyrates would only be natural.

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.