WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

The annual Extreme Rules pay-per-view usually has several matches that include various stipulations, but WWE opted not to go that route this year.

The only bout contested under actual Extreme Rules was the Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Finn Balor. 

The United States title bout was a Triple Threat so count-outs and disqualifications didn't count, but every other match was a standard contest with regular rules.

With five championships on the line, Liv Morgan and Carmella had the sole non-title bout on the card. It also gave the women's division an even split with the men's division with three matches each.

Let's take a look at everything that happened at Sunday's pay-per-view.

Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan was the first to enter the ring for her grudge match against Carmella, who grabbed a mic on her arrival and gave a quick promo about how attractive she is. 

Morgan attacked her before the ref could call for the bell. When the match got underway, Mella was able to hit a kick to the ribs to take control for a moment. 

She drilled Morgan with a superkick for a two-count. Carmella continued to dominate the match for quite some time. She slammed Morgan's face into the mat and put her in a chinlock. 

The Princess of Staten Island hit an X-Factor for another near-fall. Morgan hit an enziguiri before she stomped Mella's face into the mat for a two-count. 

She hit a double knee to the face, but Mella managed to kick out. However, Morgan was able to hit her finisher to secure the win. 

Grade: B

Analysis

The broadcast had some technical issues, so the Spanish and English commentary tracks could be heard overlapping each other. It made it hard to focus on anything else.

The match was competitive, though, and both women made everything they did look smooth. Morgan sold well when she was on defense and had great energy when she was on offense.

Carmella doesn't get enough credit for how good she is. A lot of people still judge her based on her early work but she has improved by leaps and bounds over the years.

This was a fun way to kick off the show. 

The New Day vs. Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles and Omos

During the Kickoff, a huge brawl broke out backstage and WWE booked all of those involved in this six-man tag match. 

AJ Styles and Xavier Woods started the bout. The Phenomenal One tried to take control, but Woods was able to counter a suplex. Styles quickly locked in the Calf Crusher before Woods grabbed the bottom rope. 

Kofi Kingston tagged in but after Styles outwrestled him, Big E decided to take his shot. He ran The Phenomenal One over with a clothesline and threw him to the corner so Lashley could tag in. The All Mighty obliged, and the two powerhouses started throwing hands. 

The New Day hit him with the Unicorn Stampede until Lashley rolled out of the ring. He overpowered Kingston and tossed him across the squared circle. Omos came in and continued to destroy the former WWE champion. 

The heels kept Kingston down for a few minutes before he countered Lashley's finisher. Woods came in off the hot tag and went to work on The All Mighty.

After everyone had a chance to almost get the win, Big E pinned Lashley to get the victory. 

Grade: B

Analysis

This match had some good action and made sense for the story WWE was trying to tell, but it could have been better.

We've seen what all of these guys are capable of on multiple occasions, so seeing them appear to hold back a bit until the final moments kept this bout from being as good as it could have been. It definitely included a couple of close botches, but the closing minutes were a lot of fun. 

The New Day is still as over with the crowd as ever. It would have been nice if WWE booked this match on Raw and hyped it up, but it was nice to see all of them end up on the card one way or another. 

The Usos vs. Street Profits (SmackDown Tag Titles)

The SmackDown tag team title bout was up next, as Jimmy and Jey Uso defended the belts against Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. After the attack he suffered on Friday, Ford had his ribs taped up. 

Jimmy and Dawkins locked up and fought to the corner. The latter hit a shoulder tackle and talked some trash to the men who beat up his partner on SmackDown. 

Jimmy and Jey teamed up on Ford once he tagged in and took advantage of his injury. They focused on his midsection for a long time while keeping the pace slow. 

Dawkins came in hot off the tag and hit both Usos with a series of big moves. Jimmy hit a kick to the head to knock him off the apron but Dawkins caught his suicide dive and hit a slam on the floor. He blocked Jey's dive and ran him into the barricade. 

Dawkins hit a superplex into a twisting neckbreaker for a close two-count. Ford tagged in and Jey blocked a huge frog splash with his knees. Dawkins tagged back in and barely kicked out after an Uso Splash from Jimmy. 

Ford took out both Usos with a huge dive over the ring post and hit Jey with a frog splash. Jimmy barely managed to break up the pin in time.

However, The Usos finally got the win with a double Uso Splash to Ford. 

Grade: A

Analysis

Friday night, Ford got to shine against Roman Reigns. On Sunday, Ford sold his injuries while Dawkins had the majority of offense for the team. It allowed the big man to be the focal point and he rose to the occasion.

With two teams like these, having a bad match is almost impossible. It will either be good or great, and this bout qualifies as great. 

All four guys looked awesome, but Ford and Dawkins might have had the better performance. Both men made the most of every second they had in the ring. It was solid work from top to bottom. 

Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss (Raw Women's Championship)

The crowd at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio was behind hometown hero Alexa Bliss as she prepared to battle Charlotte Flair for the Raw women's title. 

The Queen scored the first takedown but Bliss came right back at her and almost hit a DDT. She knocked Charlotte off of the apron and hit a senton to the floor. 

The champion caught The Goddess and hit a backbreaker before dropping her to the mat. She slammed Bliss' face into the canvas a few times before choking her against the middle rope. 

The Queen picked Bliss up on her back for a standing submission. The challenger countered into a hurricanrana to send her into the bottom turnbuckle. Charlotte pulled her out of the ring and swung her head into the barricade. 

The champ hit a double moonsault, just like Andrade, for a two-count. Bliss countered Natural Selection but couldn't avoid the powerbomb that almost pinned her. The Queen avoided Twisted Bliss and went for the Figure Eight, but The Goddess countered and hit a DDT for a near-fall. 

After a few more close calls, Charlotte scored the win. She tore up Lilly and decimated Bliss after the match was over. 

Grade: A-

Analysis

This match both told a story and had some great wrestling. Anyone who doubted their ability to have a good match was left eating crow after this performance.

One of Bliss' strengths is her facial expressions. She is so good at making it clear exactly how her character feels at any given moment. 

The false finishes were some of the biggest highlights, as it seemed like either woman could win at any point. The stuff with Lilly the doll was the only thing one could really complain about. 

Damian Priest vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus (U.S. Title)

Sheamus kicked Jeff Hardy out of the ring as soon as the ref called for the bell. Damian Priest went after him and slammed his face on the top turnbuckle. He took The Celtic Warrior out of the ring and ran him into the barricade. 

Hardy made a comeback and took out Sheamus with a dive from the apron. Priest took out both men with a flip over the top rope. He hit The Charismatic Enigma with a Broken Arrow for a two-count. 

Sheamus caught Priest at ringside and sent his head into the post before he hit Hardy with an Irish Curse Backbreaker. He grabbed The Archer of Infamy for the 10 Beats of the Bodhran, but Priest countered. 

The Charismatic Enigma started to build some momentum, but Priest stopped him from getting the pin on Sheamus. He climbed up and hit Whisper in the Wind to both men at the same time. 

The Irishman applied a cloverleaf on Hardy until Priest broke it up by ripping at Sheamus' mask. Hardy took out The Celtic Warrior with a Twist of Fate before hitting Priest with the same thing. Sheamus prevented him from hitting a Swanton before he hit a flying knee drop to the champ for a near-fall. 

Hardy hit both men with a Swanton but wasn't able to follow up with a pin attempt. After a few more close calls, Priest was able to get the pin to retain his title. 

Grade: B+

Analysis

All three men contributed to an exciting match that had a lot of great false finishes and awesome crowd interactions. The fans were firmly behind Hardy the whole time.

Sheamus was especially entertaining with some of his antics, especially when he mocked The Charismatic Enigma from the top rope with his own dance moves. 

There's not much more to say. This bout continued the show's trend of matches outperforming the buildup. 

Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair (SmackDown Women's Title)

Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair met for their rematch on Sunday after The Man defeated The EST of WWE in 26 seconds at SummerSlam to win the SmackDown women's title. 

Lynch tried to offer a handshake but Belair wasn't about to fall for it again. The EST almost hit the KOD before her opponent rolled out of the ring to regroup.

Belair avoided the DisArmHer and whipped Lynch from corner to corner before hitting a bodyslam and a splash for a two-count. The EST backflipped over her in the corner and hit a dropkick to send her out of the ring again. 

The crowd chanted for both women as Lynch stomped Belair in the corner. The Man nailed her with a running leg drop but missed the second one. The EST picked her up and powered out of a headlock to hit an impressive suplex. 

Lynch got her trademark submission applied, but Belair was able to reach the ropes to force a break. They fought outside the ring where the champion drove her opponent into the steel steps. A top rope leg drop got her a close two-count. 

They traded strikes, slams and near-falls several times before the match finally ended with Sasha Banks running down to the ring and attacking Belair to cause a disqualification. She destroyed The EST before taking Lynch down, too. 

Grade: A-

Analysis

This match told the story of a successful veteran who thinks she is better than her less-experienced opponent only to find out how tough she is. 

Even though the crowd was behind both women, Lynch did a great job playing up her heel characteristics. Whenever she could, he tried to get an unfair advantage. 

Belair's power and agility were highlighted several times. The story was good, but the action was even better. Both Superstars came to play and proved they can follow all of the other matches we had seen up to this point. 

DQ finishes are rarely ideal, but if Belair wasn't going to win the belt back, this was the best way to protect her and still give us a fantastic match. 

Roman Reigns vs. 'The Demon' Finn Balor

Roman Reigns and Finn Balor met in the main event in the only Extreme Rules match on the card to see who would go into Crown Jewel as the universal champion. 

They locked up and The Tribal Chief pushed The Demon down. He stood back up immediately and they locked up again. Balor unleashed a few kicks to the leg before Reigns nailed him with a forearm. 

The champ hit a Samoan drop for the first two-count of the match. He grabbed a kendo stick but he turned around to see Balor holding several kendo sticks tied together. He beat The Tribal Chief down, but he recovered quickly and cornered the Irishman for some clotheslines against the turnbuckles. 

The crowd chanted for tables as Reigns grabbed a chair and used it against The Demon. Balor tried to grab a table but the titleholder hit the drive-by dropkick to send his head into the ring post. 

They fought into the crowd and ended up by the desk used by the Kickoff crew. Reigns slammed The Demon onto it, but he recovered and put The Tribal Chief through a table with a flying crossbody. 

When they got back to the ring, Reigns put Balor through a table for a near-fall. They traded shots until the champ hit the Superman Punch for another two-count. The Demon countered a Spear and hit a sling blade. Reigns fired back with a Spear, but Balor kicked out and hit a low blow at the same time. 

Balor started to build up a head of steam and hit the Coup de Grace, but The Usos pulled him out of the ring to break up the pin and beat him down at ringside. The Demon managed to take them out and put Jey through a table right before Reigns Speared him through the barricade. 

Balor's music began to play and he popped up to his feet. He beat the life out of Reigns with a chair and put him through a table with a running dropkick.

As he prepared for the Coup de Grace, though, the top rope broke and he fell to the mat. Reigns finished him off with a Spear for the win. 

Grade: A-

Analysis

Reigns putting on a mask as he and Balor fought into the crowd was a nice touch and a great reminder that we are not out of the woods yet where the pandemic is concerned. 

The stuff with Balor at the end was a little weird, but everything leading up to it was exactly what it should have been. The Demon looked like a dangerous challenger but one moment led to his demise.

The way this ended is going to upset a lot of fans, but nobody can deny how good these two were together. This was a stellar match to cap off one of the best PPVs of the year in terms of in-ring action.