WWE Extreme Rules 2015 Results: Power Ranking Every Match at PPV
WWE's Extreme Rules pay-per-view has a reputation for being one of the better events of the year thanks to the creative freedom the stipulations allow the competitors involved.
On Sunday night, WWE Superstars and Divas followed up an outstanding WrestleMania 31 event with a very good Extreme Rules that witnessed Roman Reigns stun the world with another superb performance, Seth Rollins and Randy Orton wage war inside a steel cage and Neville make a splash in what was his first major opportunity on the grand stage.
With eight matches in total, the show more than delivered from an in-ring perspective.
Some matches succeeded from a quality standpoint more than others.
On a night when Divas outperformed Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, John Cena and Rusev, the show lived up to its promise of "anything goes."
Who competed in the night's best match? Which contests disappointed? Which bout stood head and shoulders above the others as the undisputed match of the night?
These are the match rankings for Extreme Rules, determined by overall quality, as well as the individual performances of the Superstars therein.
8. Chicago Street Fight: Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
1 of 8
Sunday's Chicago Street Fight between Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper should have been so much more than it actually was.
With two Superstars so incredibly talented, the pieces were in place for a show-stealing performance. Instead, overbooking plagued the match and kept it from ever reaching its potential. That Ambrose and Harper wandered around the ringside area hitting each other with weapons but never constructed a match with any rhyme or reason only further hampered the contest.
The moment that set it apart from the rest of the card also proved to be its greatest detriment.
Ambrose and Harper driving out of the arena and supposedly continuing their fight on the streets of Chicago may have made for unique booking, but it also proved far too ridiculous to be believable.
The pro wrestling industry regularly asks its audience to suspend disbelief, but there are times when that is impossible. To suggest that Ambrose and Harper drove out of the arena fighting without causing an accident before battling on the streets and driving back to the arena without getting arrested is too absurd even for the over-the-top nature of the company.
That Ambrose won was nice, given his long pay-per-view losing streak, but it came in a disjointed, ugly match that was nowhere near as good as it should have been.
7. Russian Chain Match for the United States Championship: John Cena vs. Rusev
2 of 8
When the Russian Chain match was first announced, the idea of Rusev and John Cena beating each other senseless for the right to wear the United States Championship sounded appealing.
However, the stipulation requiring the competitors to touch all four corners in succession to win was added. With that, any hopes of a brutal, violent match in the same vein as Roddy Piper versus Greg Valentine or Bruno Sammartino versus Ivan Koloff evaporated.
Instead, fans were subjected to Cena and Rusev playing tug-of-war with the chain in an attempt to light up each corner in their favor.
It led to a monotonous match that failed to live up to the quality of their previous two bouts.
The finish saw Cena deliver yet another Attitude Adjustment to his opponent before nonchalantly tapping the fourth corner and picking up the victory.
The subsequent revelation that there would be one last bout between the two, an I Quit match at Payback, was very welcome because this was hardly the way to end such a quality feud.
6. Divas Championship Match: Nikki Bella vs. Naomi
3 of 8
The Divas Championship match at Extreme Rules was much better than anyone could have imagined.
Naomi, determined to prove that she belongs in the hunt for the Divas title, turned in a much better performance as a heel than she has as a babyface of late, while Nikki Bella was really the glue that held the bout together.
There were strong near-falls late in the match, including one following a springboard kick from Bella that surprised even this viewer, while Naomi's heel mannerisms really turned the passionate Chicago audience against her.
The challenger's unnecessary attack on Brie Bella at ringside ultimately proved her undoing, as Brie got involved late, planting a kick to the head of Naomi and setting her up for the Rack Attack from Nikki for the pinfall win.
A solid Divas title bout that went some seven minutes.
5. Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship: Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
4 of 8
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins would have been much better without the banning of the RKO handcuffing the competitors.
It felt as though the performers were held back by everything surrounding the bout numerous times throughout the contest, including that stipulation and the presence of Kane at ringside.
Rather than a strong match—which fans know they can have, as evidenced by their WrestleMania 31 contest—they had to play into the storyline, which hurt tremendously.
There was a lack of urgency or excitement, something that was easy to tell from the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the otherwise-electric Chicago crowd.
Kane got involved, introducing overbooked shenanigans into the bout, and Rollins hit the RKO on Orton to create controversy surrounding the outcome.
Neither of those elements helped overcome what was a mediocre match, however.
4. Kickoff Match: Neville vs. Bad News Barrett
5 of 8
The first match of the evening really got things off on the right foot, with Neville making his pay-per-view debut against Bad News Barrett on the Extreme Rules Kickoff show.
Neville frustrated the former intercontinental champion early but soon found himself pounded to the mat as Barrett attempted to keep him grounded. The Man Who Gravity Forgot fought back, though, flying through the air with a dive that only intensified the crowd's love for him.
When he climbed the ropes for his Red Arrow finisher and Barrett broke up the attempt, the fans greeted the heel with tremendous jeers. Seconds later, when Neville blasted Barrett with a kick to the face before delivering his jaw-dropping finisher for the win, the crowd again greeted him with a thunderous ovation.
It was a very solid wrestling match that introduced Neville to the big stage and resulted in the biggest win of his young career.
3. Kiss Me Arse Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus
6 of 8
The match between Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus may have had a ridiculous stipulation attached to it, but the former heavyweight champions refused to allow that to prevent them from having a great wrestling bout.
The competitors have shared the ring with each other countless times in the past and probably could have wrestled the contest blindfolded, proving just how in sync with each other's strengths and weaknesses, not to mention skill sets, the two are.
Sheamus played the role of bully to perfection, pummeling Ziggler relentlessly; the Showoff was the underdog, fighting from underneath and doing just enough to stay alive.
By the time he caught the Celtic Warrior with a cradle for the surprise pinfall win, the crowd erupted, elated that Ziggler had finally triumphed in a high-profile pay-per-view bout.
The post-match antics of Sheamus made him a much more despicable heel while creating more sympathy for Ziggler, making every facet of this match a success.
2. WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro vs. the New Day
7 of 8
Given the talent of the four Superstars involved, it should have been a surprise to no one that the WWE Tag Team Championship match between Cesaro and Kidd and the New Day would be outstanding.
Few could have expected it to be as good as it was, given the short amount of time the competitors had to deliver.
With just under 10 minutes of ring time, both champions and challengers packed a ton of work into a short window, never slowing down or allowing fans to catch their breath.
Cesaro wowed the audience with his power-based offense, then thrilled them with the Big Swing, while Kidd bumped like crazy to put the offense of the challengers over.
The false finishes late on, including the Sharpshooter from Kidd to Kofi Kingston that nearly ended the contest, really added drama and intensified the excitement of the audience.
In the end, the hated New Day scored the win and the titles, leaving fans hoping that this was not the last time they see these two teams square off in a pay-per-view setting.
1. Last Man Standing Match: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show
8 of 8
There was no reason to believe that Roman Reigns against Big Show would be anything resembling a good match.
As great as Reigns has been of late, there were still questions about his work, while Big Show has been on a cold streak in terms of great in-ring performance for the last year. So when WWE announced a Last Man Standing match between the two for Extreme Rules, there was reason to doubt anything good would come of it.
Reigns and Big Show blew away expectations Sunday night, delivering a brutal match that saw the babyface take another tremendous beating, including a Knockout Punch and chokeslam from inside the squared circle through two tables at ringside.
But as was the case at WrestleMania, he never gave up, fighting through the pain and punishment to unleash a series of Superman Punches on Big Show and spear him through the Spanish announce table before he won.
The contest embodied what Extreme Rules should be about: It was hard-fought, brutal, violent and featured one Superstar shaking off all of the suffering he endured to emerge victorious.
It was the match of the night and further evidence that Reigns has what it takes to consistently perform at the high level demanded of main eventers.
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