WWE Extreme Rules 2015 Results: Re-Booking Full Card from PPV
WWE Extreme Rules was a pay-per-view that seemed to suffer from a lack of exposure in the lead-up to Sunday's event in Chicago.
Following a tremendous WrestleMania 31 event, WWE had little time to hit the reset button and give us stories to care about and feuds to believe. Like many pay-per-views, there were hits and misses this past weekend.
The overwhelming story, however, wasn't who competed, but who didn't: WWE announced earlier in the day that Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan was not medically cleared to wrestle, leaving a hole in the card.
What this means for the IC Title picture remains to be seen, but one wrestler a pay-per-view does not make, so the show went on with a slight adjustment to the schedule filled by up-and-coming former NXT star Neville.
We witnessed a street fight that didn't involve a street, a kissing contest where no one wins (except maybe the WWE's female fans) and a giant trying to stand tall.
Did you know there's still women's wrestling and tag team wrestling in WWE? It's true—the company even put it on during the main show (begrudgingly, of course).
Overall, WWE Extreme Rules did its job—advancing stories heading into the company's next pay-per-view, Payback. But that doesn't mean it was high marks across the board. And in those instances, there's only one thing to do: Re-book the match.
Pre-Show: Bad News Barrett vs. Neville
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After it became official that Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan was out of WWE Extreme Rules, the company put the IC title on the back burner, dropping Bad News Barrett to the pay-per-view pre-show to face up-and-comer Neville.
Barrett displayed a majority of the offense during the bout, hitting the former WWE NXT champion with Winds of Change and Wasteland. Neville kicked out each time, setting up a flurry to finish. Barrett attempts the Bull Hammer not once, but twice, and each time Neville is able to avoid it. A well-timed kick gave Neville the opening he needed to land the Red Arrow, securing the victory.
Re-booking the Match
The WWE took too long to handle its own re-booking of the IC title match. Bryan’s status has been up in the air for weeks, giving the creative team plenty of time to come up with a solution. Instead, it seems they held out hope the bearded one would be able to go.
Luckily, fans got an entertaining match with two wrestlers who seem to be going in opposite directions. In his short time on the main roster, Neville has ascended more quickly than his NXT brethren, putting in quality matches against Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus. Getting the clean win here over Barrett is likely to propel him further up the mid-card.
Barrett is a classic heel with a unique combination of in-ring moves and mic skills, but his recent booking suggests he’s destined to toil as a stepping stone for up-and-comers. It’s a shame, really, since Barrett could be a top heel in the company if given the chance.
Barrett needed this win to keep him relevant, as he’s considered the No. 1 contender for Bryan’s IC title. At the very least, a win via disqualification over Neville would’ve provided more heat for Barrett’s heel-ish aspirations.
Chicago Street Fight: Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
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Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper didn’t wait until the bell sounded to start their Chicago Street Fight, as the Lunatic Fringe took it to the former Wyatt Family member immediately. While there were chairs, kendo sticks and steel steps in play, the match stuck around the ring for a majority of their opening segment.
These two finally took the fight outside of the ring and, apparently, into the streets of Chicago. Harper drove out of the arena with Ambrose hanging out of the passenger window of an SUV, which would be the last we would see of these two for nearly an hour. Upon their return, the two fought for another few minutes before Ambrose hit Harper with Dirty Deeds in the center of the ring for the three count.
Re-booking the Match
Opening Extreme Rules with this match was a gamble: Either Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper would steal the show or the match would never live up to expectations. Unfortunately it was the latter.
Understanding that this is the Reality Era of the WWE, it was safe to assume Ambrose-Harper wouldn’t be a classic street fight of yore. This match, however, lacked both the street and the fight. This was a match we’d expect to see on Monday Night Raw instead of a pay-per-view, much less an Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
Giving Ambrose the win was the right call here, but it’s a shame these two underutilized performers were booked this way, in a match that should have theoretically put them over the top. We saw more physicality from them in WrestleMania 31’s Intercontinental Championship ladder match.
If WWE was going to keep Ambrose and Harper in the ring a majority of the time, it should have been in a straight ladder match. Doing so would have put both performers in a spot they excel in, while also giving their match some continuity from WrestleMania 31.
Kiss Me Arse Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus
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Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus have plenty of history, and the duo showed they can work a match well, even one as asinine as this (pun completely intended).
Sheamus’ new-old attitude is what his career path sorely needed. Throughout the match, he played the bully heel to perfection, pounding Ziggler both physically and verbally. He also showed his wrestling chops with a great sit-up powerbomb and Cloverleaf. Ziggler took the punishment as only he can and finally delivered a roll-up to secure the victory.
The ensuing post-match arse-kissing sequence—with Sheamus reluctant to comply with his own stipulation—was too long, but it helped to advance the story thanks to a low blow and arse-kissing reversal.
Re-booking the Match
Like the Chicago Street Fight before it, this stipulation just isn’t the same in the PG-rated Reality Era. The street fight, however, remains an interesting concept. This one does not. These two could have easily pulled off a 2-out-of-3 Falls match, which would have been much more entertaining than this silly stipulation.
As for the outcome and the performers themselves, it makes sense to portray Sheamus as the uber-heel, which WWE did so tremendously. He can pound with the best of them, and allowing him to play off Ziggler’s resiliency is a perfect foil.
This feud should continue through Payback. After that, it will be interesting to see if the WWE keeps both in the IC title picture, or if Sheamus is guided toward the title he held prior to his injury, giving fans a Sheamus-John Cena feud at SummerSlam.
Tag Team Championship: New Day vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro
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If it weren’t for Daniel Bryan’s injury, this match would have been relegated to Extreme Rules pre-show fodder. Fortunately, the WWE treated us to the most entertaining tag team match in recent memory.
Cesaro showed why he may be the most underrated Superstar in the WWE, dishing out power moves swiftly and furiously. Tyson Kidd matched Kofi Kingston move-for-move and took the biggest bump of the match when he received a spear through the ropes from Big E.
In the match’s final minute, a flurry of moves: a swinging kick from the champions on Kingston; Cesaro tossing Big E over the top rope; interference from Xavier Wood and a subsequent slap from Natalya; and a roll-up from nowhere with a handful of tights made New Day your new WWE Tag Team Champions.
Re-booking the Match
Considering the quality of tag team matches the WWE has put in front of its fans recently, there wasn’t much to anticipate, especially when this one wasn’t supposed to be on the main show the begin with.
Kidd, Cesaro, Kingston and Langston showed everyone that when you #GiveTagTeamsAChance (can we start that trending?) they can pleasantly surprise.
There’s nothing to re-book here. Move along.
Russian Chain Match: John Cena vs. Rusev for the United States Championship
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No pinfalls, no submissions, no disqualifications. The goal: Touch all four ring posts in succession without having your momentum stopped by your opponent. Touch the posts, win the match. After some individual spots and a few two-post touches, this match really picked up after Rusev banished his handler, Lana, for acknowledging the crowd in Chicago.
From that point, the pacing between Rusev and John Cena picked up, with each man touching three posts. A tug-of-war ensued, followed by Cena hitting an Attitude Adjustment to drop the challenger, allowing him to touch the final ring post for the victory.
Re-booking the Match
Where, oh where, do we begin with this match? Let’s begin with the plodding pace of the match. Usually a strap match’s sheer physicality overshadows such a point, but in the PG Reality Era—where a kayfabe move like the curb stomp is deemed too violent—this type of stipulation just bogs down its competitors.
Combine that with the fact we’ve seen these two go at it for the last two pay-per-views and countless TV appearances and it was a recipe for disaster. This should have been the penultimate match to end this feud. Instead, this was a rest stop on the way to a fourth straight Cena-Rusev pay-per-view. Depending on that outcome, I can see a fifth at Money in the Bank ahead.
One final re-booking note: One of the most enjoyable traits about Lana is her dedication to kayfabe. Whether on television or social media, she keeps character as well as anyone in the business. To see her pander to the Chicago crowd was a bit disappointing.
Divas Title Match: Nikki Bella vs. Naomi
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Divas champion Nikki Bella and Naomi have gone at it over the last few weeks, and the challenger has looked good in defeating the champ. With No. 1 contender Paige unable to compete thanks to Naomi, the new-look, new-attitude Diva got her shot at Extreme Rules.
Naomi held the upper hand for most of the match, even getting a shot in on Brie Bella, who was at ringside. In the end, the Bellas do what they do best (see: cheat) as Brie got a roundhouse kick on Naomi, allowing her sister to hit the Rack Attack on the challenger to steal the win.
Re-booking the Match
While this match wasn’t pay-per-view material—Naomi in particular missed a couple of spots during the short seven minutes of action—the story they were telling was better than other matches at Extreme Rules (see: Ambrose-Harper). I think a non-stipulation match here was the right call; anything they would’ve done more harm than good for women wrestlers in the company.
It’s a little disappointing WWE won’t allow two strong heels to duke it out for the title. The Bella Twins are being given the babyface treatment by WWE, which isn’t their strong suit. They are heels, pure and simple. Let them be, WWE. They’re more fun that way.
Last Man Standing Match: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show
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After heavy offense from Big Show, Roman Reigns tried to take the match to its no disqualification roots by pulling tables, chairs and even a kendo stick out to put down the Big Show. Each time he did, Show stopped him and tossed the items aside, seemingly making the giant angrier.
Finally both men got into the mood of the match. A chokeslam through two tables? Check. A self-inflicted spear through a corner table? Check. A spear through the barricade outside the ring? Check. A running spear atop the announce tables? Check.
Big Show and Reigns did damage throughout the match, but it was finally over when Show couldn’t get up for a 10-count, albeit because Reigns tossed the Spanish announce table on top of him.
Re-booking the Match
After WrestleMania 31, many thought Roman Reigns would’ve immediately been given his revenge on Seth Rollins, especially after former champion Brock Lesnar’s removal from competition. Instead, Big Show was his chosen opponent, and the wrestling world let out a collective sigh.
Good news for viewers: The wrestlers didn’t take fans’ apathy to heart and laid everything out in the ring. Big Show and Reigns put on the match of the night in this one. While Reigns deserves plenty of credit for being able to sell his resiliency in a match like this, Big Show was the hero. For a man who’s heard repeated retirement chants from the crowds in recent weeks, he did everything he was asked and more.
Did anyone see Big Show trying top-rope offense before this match? You saw it. How about turning the tables on Reigns and hitting him with a spear? He did that too. While it’s time to give Reigns his due—this is his third straight show-stealing match at a pay-per-view—we should all applaud Big Show for the work he did, too.
Steel Cage Match: Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title
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With a steel cage separating the Authority from the action, it seemed like Randy Orton has Seth Rollins right where he wanted him, even without the use of the RKO. From the start, Rollins did everything he could to get out of the cage, but Orton stopped him each time.
After some back-and-forth, Orton made his way toward the cage door, only to be turned away by the Authority-appointed gatekeeper, Kane. Rollins’ attempt to stop Orton resulted in knocking the door into Kane, which set off the Director of Operations. Kane went berserk, laying out Orton, Rollins and J&J Security.
That led to a flurry that saw Orton hit Kane with an RKO before Rollins nailed Orton with a self-described SKO, allowing the champion to get out of the cage and secure the victory.
Re-booking the Match
This seemed to be a perfect storm for a WWE pay-per-view main event: Two wrestlers who know how to work together, a great stipulation for each, and genuine heat for both competitors. For whatever reason, the storm turned out to be more of a shower.
Maybe it was the fact that these two put on a great match at WrestleMania 31 just weeks earlier. Maybe it was the lack of fluidity due to the steel cage's limited mobility. Maybe it was just simply an off-night for two of the company’s best in-ring storytellers. The main event wasn’t a dud, but it wasn’t a great send-off either.
To rebook this match, start with Orton’s stipulations. Instead of a steel cage, make it a no-interference match. If anyone from the Authority affects the match, Rollins loses his title. That would have put the focus of the match back on the competitors instead of on Kane, which was built for weeks to no conclusion.
Like the RKO at Extreme Rules, the interference would have happened at some point. The fun would have been seeing when and how The Authority would get away with it.
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