Sheamus, Cesaro Beat Hardy Boyz to Win Raw Tag Team Title at WWE Extreme Rules

Sheamus and Cesaro prevailed in a steel cage match over The Hardy Boyz on Sunday at Extreme Rules to become Raw Tag Team champions for the second time.

Jeff was the first to exit the cage, but he needed his brother to join him in order to retain their tag titles. After Matt received a beating at the hands of Sheamus and Cesaro, Jeff scaled the cage to hit the challengers with Whisper in the Wind.

The move took a lot out of all four wrestlers. After regaining their bearings, Sheamus and Cesaro began climbing out of the cage, while Matt and Jeff went to exit out the cage door.

In what was a photo finish, Sheamus and Cesaro hit the floor first. WWE showed the team with their newly won belts:

PWTorch's Greg Parks and WWE Creative Humor highlighted one of the inconsistencies with the structure of the match:

"

Why wouldn't Matt let Sheamus escape, then just climb the cage to win? Jeez this is stupid. #ExtremeRules

— Greg Parks (@gregmparks) June 5, 2017"

The Hardys are arguably the most extreme tag team in WWE history, and they used their experience in that regard to potentially give themselves an upper hand.

Matt Hardy faced Sheamus in a singles match on Raw, and it was announced that the winner would get to pick the stipulation for Extreme Rules.

Hardy was victorious and decided to do battle within the confines of a steel cage.

Many likely expected The Hardy Boyz to choose a ladder or Tables, Ladders & Chairs match due to their expertise on that front, but they went in a different direction that made for an intriguing dynamic.

Sheamus and Cesaro are two of the toughest Superstars in WWE, and Sheamus felt as though the Hardys were doing them a favor:

Over the past several weeks, Sheamus and Cesaro have undergone a character transformation. After failing to recapture the Raw Tag Team Championships in a ladder match at WrestleMania that saw the Hardys surprisingly return and win, they engaged in a feud with Team Xtreme.

There appeared to be a great deal of respect between the two sides at first, but that changed after the Hardys beat Sheamus and Cesaro at Payback.

Rather than congratulating the veterans on their triumph, The Celtic Warrior and the Swiss Superman turned heel by snapping and attacking the champs.

The change in attitude seemed to help Sheamus and Cesaro, as they went on to run the table in a tag team gauntlet match to become No. 1 contenders once again.

With a newfound aggressiveness fueling them, Sheamus and Cesaro became major threats to the Hardys' reign.

While Sheamus and Cesaro were initially reluctant partners put together by former Raw general manager Mick Foley, they have developed into one of WWE's top tag teams.

They were the ones who ended New Day's record-breaking title run, and they aimed to put a stop to The Hardy Boyz as well.

Sheamus and Cesaro labeled the Hardys as a nostalgia act past its prime and undeserving of the titles, but Extreme Rules represented another opportunity for The Hardy Boyz to prove them wrong.

While the Hardys were seemingly unstoppable since making their long-awaited return to WWE, Sheamus and Cesaro finally got the better of them.

Although Sheamus and Cesaro reclaimed their place atop Raw's tag team division, The Hardy Boyz are unlikely to go quietly despite the loss.

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