WWE Extreme Rules 2016: Results and observations from the show
For as much as the "new era" feels like corporate speak that WWE has drummed out to spew on a weekly basis, those two words have rang true when it comes to the quality of its pay-per-views.
Part of the reason why WWE's pay-per-view business has dwindled as much as it has is because the monthly events had become so hit or miss, weighing more to the side of miss.
But with Payback and now Extreme Rules, WWE has put together very good pay-per-view offerings in consecutive outings.
Before I go into my in-depth analysis on the event, here are the full match results from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.:
- Kickoff match - Baron Corbin def. Dolph Ziggler
- Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows def. The Usos
- WWE United States championship – Rusev def. Kalisto
- WWE Tag Team championship – The New Day (Xavier Woods & Big E) def. The Vaudevillains
- WWE Intercontinental championship – The Miz def. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Cesaro
- Asylum match – Dean Ambrose def. Chris Jericho
- WWE Women's championship (Submission match) – Charlotte def. Natalya
- WWE World Heavyweight championship – Roman Reigns def. AJ Styles
Reigns, Styles tore up the Prudential Center
If someone were to look up the CliffsNotes version of this match, it would read pretty much how most would have expected it go: Styles and Reigns beat each other up, The Club and The Usos interfere and Reigns hits a spear for the win.
However, much like if you actually read the book you're looking up on CliffsNotes, upon viewing this match, I came away with a greater appreciation for how this match played out.
And it was not all Styles either. I know some fans may not want to hear this, but Reigns carried his weight as well. No matter how you feel about his character or his position on the card, you cannot deny his physical talent and that talent was on full display during this match.
There was a lot of action, but there was a prevailing story, and that was just how far Styles and Reigns were willing to go in order to either retain or gain the WWE World Heavyweight championship.
After Sunday night, it was obvious that they were willing to go pretty far. I think WWE told this story wonderfully with Styles, who believe it or not, was put over in some fashion in defeat.
That's because WWE told the story of Styles' real-life back injury and how despite it, he kept fighting. Styles went through multiple announce tables and even got tossed into the LED screen at ringside, but kept on ticking.
However, Reigns' spear apparently trumps all, as Styles fell victim to it once again.
We got our answer pretty quickly after the match as to where Reigns is going from here, but we don't know that quite yet for Styles.
I personally believe he's moving away from Reigns after suffering consecutive defeats, but does that mean he's moving on to something that could be nearly as important as the WWE World Heavyweight title, maybe a feud with a debuting Finn Balor?
Who knows? Let's just hope that Styles remains in a prominent role. I think WWE did a lot of good in showcasing his ability albeit in back-to-back losing efforts, but hopefully WWE doesn't suddenly lose interest like it has with so many others on the roster. Ask Cody Rhodes. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it.
Seth Freakin' Rollins is back!
No, Freakin' is not his real middle, but who gives a hoot. He's back!
Yes, Rollins, the man that was forced to relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight title last November due to injury, has returned to action and did so in a big way at Extreme Rules.
As Reigns was celebrating his victory over Styles, Rollins jumped into the ring from out of nowhere and hit him with the pedigree.
After laying out Reigns, Rollins then held up the WWE World Heavyweight championship — the championship he never lost.
First off, it is awesome to have Rollins back on television. It was a real bummer when he got hurt last year, not only for him but for WWE as well. Secondly, it is nice to see him pick up right where he left off and that is in the WWE title picture.
It only makes sense that he goes right after the title he never lost. Now, whether he wins back that title is a different story.
Rollins was probably going to lose that title to Reigns at Survivor Series anyway and WWE probably isn't looking to take the title off "The Guy" any time soon.
With that said, the television leading up to that eventual match should be a lot of fun. Having a guy the caliber of Rollins back on television is never a bad thing.
So for now, enjoy having Rollins back in the fold.
Intercontinental championship match a classic
What's an easy way to make the Intercontinental title mean a little more than it currently does?
Put four quality wrestlers in the ring with a significant amount of time and give them one directive: Tear the house down.
Consider that mission accomplished as The Miz, Owens, Cesaro and Zayn put on one of the best Intercontinental championship matches in recent memory. This match had it all.
It had unique spots, great storytelling and moments where you thought that each of the four men actually had the match won.
The only knock I had on this match was that the finish was a little anticlimactic for my taste. I typically like when matches come to a dramatic conclusion — a climax of sorts.
Abrupt endings to matches can work under the right circumstances, but I didn't feel this was one of them. There were so many moments in this match when the fans were at a fever pitch and for it to end when the fans weren't even fully aware of what was going on was kind of a letdown.
A bad finish can ruin a match, but it would be nearly impossible to ruin a match of this quality.
As for what is next, clearly more is to come from Owens and Zayn. With Money in the Bank on the horizon, I don't see another one-on-one match happening between the two just yet, but that feud clearly isn't over. In fact, it may never end, which is good for everyone.
As far as The Miz and Cesaro, I'm not totally sure. Cesaro was pinned and I don't see another babyface that is ready to challenge The Miz right away. Maybe they'll be inserted into a Money in the Bank match.
Asylum match was meh
I was cautiously optimistic about this match heading in, but it unfortunately didn't knock my socks off by any means.
The biggest problem with this match was that it was very, very long. It felt like it was going way longer than it actually was, which I saw someone say was 27 minutes. I didn't have my stopwatch working, but if that's true, that was way too long.
Another thing this match had going for it was its methodic pace. It was way too methodic pace and it was very noticeable, especially coming right after the break-neck pace of the Intercontinental championship match.
With that said, the ending was fantastic with Jericho going back first into a bed of thumbtacks. I didn't expect that to occur in this PG era, but it did and it was quite graphic by today's standards.
The tacks were not only in Jericho's back, but they were also in his right elbow, which was probably even more painful than his back.
Jericho sold it like a champ, too, which I'm sure was not really selling and more of exaggerating the real pain his body was experiencing at the moment.
Finish aside this match was largely forgettable and felt like something out of World Championship Wrestling.
Women's championship a huge letdown
At least I didn't have super high expectations for the Asylum match. I wish I could say the same thing about the Women's championship match, but I was very much looking forward to it.
Much to my surprise, I was sorely let down by what we got Sunday night. What should have been a technical showcase between two amazing athletes felt rushed and received another wonky finish.
Besides the submission match rules, the other big stipulation was that Charlotte's father Ric Flair was banned from ringside. If he had did so much as to walk to the ring, Charlotte would have been stripped of the WWE Women's championship.
While Natalya had Charlotte in the sharpshooter, Flair's music played, but out walked someone in a bad and unnecessary Flair disguise. The person in the disguise turned out to be Dana Brooke.
Brooke walked to the ring and fumbled her way through a spot with Natalya before Charlotte took advantage of the foolish Natalya, put her in the figure eight and forced her to submit.
What could have been?
The finish did Natalya no favors, as she looked silly falling for another distraction.
Also, it looked like the sole purpose of it was to give Brooke something to do since her usual running mate, Emma, is out with a back injury.
I guess WWE knows that Brooke isn't quite ready to run on her own yet so it figured that putting her with Charlotte would be a way to keep her in the fold. The main reason why Brooke was called up to begin with was because Emma needed something to do as well. It all ties together.
Regardless of any of that, I was disappointed with this mainly because I know Charlotte and Natalya are capable of so much more. Just go back and watch their matches in NXT for evidence of that.
Unfortunately, they fell victim to shoddy WWE booking like so many others. Where NXT gets out of the way and let the wrestlers tell the story, WWE can get in the way by forcing itself to be creative, but in turn become overly creative and create a cluster.
Rusev crushes again!
On May 22, 2016, Rusev defeated Kalisto to win his second United States championship. I thought the match was good and a very cool finish of Kalisto selling his back injury.
The question now is whether or not Rusev will still be the United States champion come May 31, 2016.
That is because John Cena returns to Monday Night Raw May 30 and the theory amongst fans is that he take the United States title away from Rusev (again) on the patriotic holiday of Memorial Day. It certainly sounds like something WWE would do, but I hope that isn't the case.
Who needs that title more: Rusev or Cena? Obviously, it is Rusev so that means the title should stay with him, which means we should hope that Cena isn't booked into a match with Rusev on that night. If so, we know how that will end.