Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, from top to bottom
Watch It All – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety
Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 2-3 great matches, but lots of filler
High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, 1-2 thrillers
DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities
Extreme Rules 2014 - May 2014
East Rutherford, New Jersey
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Daniel Bryan is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Dean Ambrose holds the United States title, Big E is the Intercontinental Champion, and Paige is the WWE Divas Champion. The Tag Team Titles are held by the Uso Brothers.
COMMENTARY: JBL, Michael Cole, and Jerry Lawler
Kicking things off on the pre-show was the WeeLC Match pitting El Torito (with Los Matadores) against on Hornswoggle (with 3MB). While this match had absolutely no psychology and 3MB came out of this looking completely impotent, you have to give credit to them for delivering a match way more entertaining than one might’ve expected. This was “PG” like a Road Runner cartoon sense, with several high-risk spots, arguably too high for the 3MB members to take considering they were bumping for a 4-foot bull man. Super entertaining to the point of probably being the best "little persons" match that the WWE has ever produced. An excellent crowd-warmer. (3.5/5)
Next up was an elimination triangle bout between Jack Swagger, Rob Van Dam, and Cesaro. On his blog, Jim Ross praised the layout of this match and the performance of its competitors, and while I’d agree with the general sentiment, I’m not going to call this a "Match of the Night" contender (on this card or most cards). RVD has lost a step. Swagger is still more “rough” than “diamond.” Cesaro was his typical self (fantastic) and has undeniable chemistry with both opponents. Good match, not great match. (3/5)
Rusev vs. Xavier Woods & R-Truth was next. Before the match, Lana dedicated Rusev’s inevitable victory to Vladimir Putin. This was a plenty insensitive move, but it’s wrestling and it’s hardly the first time the WWE has blatantly used a real world situation with real world victims to get a character over. As for the match, it was a squash, did have some good work out of R-Truth in it. Little to see here, move along. (2/5)
Big E vs. Bad New Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship was next. Langston’s spears are arguably the best-delivered ones of any current WWE superstar in a time when nearly everyone over 250 lbs. does one. While I enjoyed the match and Barrett is a solid worker, he’s not over the way a heel should be and he’s still a ways away from deserving a “ring general” rep. Barrett didn’t do enough underhanded tactics in this match or in any matches in the Number One Contender Tournament to cement his role. Why not pull the tights every now and then? Or cause more distractions to the ref? If the long-term plan is to keep Barrett heel, they need to amp up more than his smugness – they need to have him “show ass” a bit more (look it up) or screw over a babyface that has his number. There was nothing wrong with this bout, in fact, there were more than a couple good spots, but like our triangle match, this hovered in the only-slightly-above-average territory. It certainly didn’t progress either guy’s character (unless Barrett is headed for a face turn) or add prestige to the title because, if the heel isn’t going to take every cheap opportunity to secure the thing, I’m left wondering how much he really wants it. (3/5)
And so we come to our 6-man tag between The Shield and Evolution, a match that many presumed would be the main event (myself included). This one was phenomenal, but just one notch below “Match of the Year” consideration, especially compared to the excellent Shield/Wyatts match in February. Seth Rollins stole the show, not only with the finishing spot but also an absolutely wicked plancha into the barricade. Triple H was the most impressive worker on the heel side, but Batista got the most heat. If you ask me, the WWE has not effectively tapped into the heat that Batista gets, especially with the way things ended in this match. Right now, the ‘E is giving us heels that don’t get heat winning matches and heels that do get heat losing matches - look no further than the triangle match and IC title match from tonight's show. Complaints about the booking aside, though, what we saw in the ring and outside of it was a “can’t-turn-away” car wreck that lived up to the “Extreme Rules” moniker without getting corny. Definitely worth revisiting. (4.5/5)
Speaking of things getting corny…Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena in a steel cage is next. I actually watched this one with a few of my 8th grade students after school and they were mesmerized, though, I do think that being 13 years old might’ve helped. One student posed the interesting question, "Why are there so many ways to win a steel cage match?" Hmm...Wyatt made several pinfall attempts, Cena attempted to get a submission victory, they both tried to use the door, and Cena was kept from climbing out several times. This match was a perfect example of "SuperCena booking," with "Da Champ" overcoming all odds until kryptonite (in the form of a mysterious elementary schooler) put him down for the count. I enjoyed their WrestleMania XXX match more as I remember it being more physical with way fewer ludicrous spots (for example, Cena using his "SuperStrength" to try to open the cell door while Harper and Rowan push it closed). Still, the crowd was hot for this and I'm not going to deny that even if the action was ridiculous, it was still suspenseful and considerably above the typical match you'd see on RAW or Smackdown. (3.5/5)
Moving on to Paige vs. Tamina for the Divas Championship. I thought this was a pretty nice bout, with a good amount of action and bumps, hindered by a handful of miscues, most notably the accidental 3-count that occurred towards the end. In that particular spot, I think what we saw was Paige delivering a powerbomb from the corner that Tamina took awkwardly, possibly knocking the wind out of her and resulting in her kicking out a hair late to the ref’s count. JBL tried to rescue things via commentary, but it was a noticeable gaffe. I wouldn’t mind seeing these two mix it up again as there was obvious chemistry, but I’m still on the fence regarding Paige as someone to build the division around more than AJ Lee or Emma. This isn’t a knock against Paige’s obvious talents or me saying that those other two are better workers – it’s more a condemnation of the rest of the Divas division and the past couple of years the division has had. Imagine how well rounded things would look if Beth Pheonix, Awesome Kong, Gail Kim, or Tara (Victoria) were still around, or if indie stars like Portia Perez and Mercedes Martinez had landed on the roster. Then again, one could’ve made this same complaint at nearly any time in the past decade. The WWE Divas Division has almost always been built around 1-2 “aces” rounded out by 7-8 bikini models. This wasn’t a bad match, in fact, it was a significant step-up from the average divas match, but still necessarily worth watching to anyone but the biggest Paige fans. (3/5)
It’s main event time and, shockingly, Daniel Bryan is wrestling in it! His opponent this evening is Kane in an Extreme Rules match and, like the Wyatt/Cena battle, this one did more than just traipse cartoon/ridiculousness territory, it boldly danced all over it. There was windshield smashing, flaming tables, and a forklift with something approaching 50 kendo stick hits thrown in for “extreme” measure. To some degree, this sort of “kitchen sink” hardcore match was the only place these two could go when you consider the spots/stunts that were featured in the WeeLC, 6-man tag, and cage match. I give credit to whoever produced this, and to its performers, for pulling the audience’s attention back in after the backstage brawl/forklift sequence definitely dulled the crowd. Also, no matter how many Chicken Littles tell you that Bryan’s title run is doomed, the crowd continues to root for the guy, especially the “smart” crowds which, if you look at the PPV schedule, are hosting most of the upcoming major shows. While Shield/Evolution was the match of the night, this one was highly entertaining, with good enough live crowd responses to not disappoint as the final match of the evening. If their expected Buried Alive match at Payback keeps my attention as well as this one did, I’d be surprised. (4/5)
This show, for most fans in the US, cost $10. While WrestleMania XXX will always be known as the first “Special Event” of the Network Era, it is Extreme Rules that might’ve set the tone for what we can expect in the future – a show with value, but not necessarily designed to set attendance records or land mainstream press coverage. If this is what future “Special Events” like Payback and Night of Champions will be, Network subscription is the best money a wrestling fan can spend.
Despite its lows, in terms of sheer entertainment, I’m not sure how one could be bored with anything on this card. Even the Rusev squash was kept under 4 minutes. Better booking leading into the Intercontinental Title match would’ve given it a more “big match” feel, but there were enough good things happening to keep my attention from bell-to-bell. While the cage match and main event borrowed one-too-many elements from WCW’s WrestleCrap Playbook (the kind of ridiculousness that brings to mind the Dungeon of Doom or the Sting/Vampiro feud), the 6-man tag was a thrilling, nearly flawless brawl. With an average match rating of 3.31-out-of-5, Extreme Rules 2014 delivered the goods consistently. With no match tanking and at least one likely to land on many fans’ “Best Of 2014” list, I’m optimistic about “Special Events” to come and glad I took the time to see everything presented Sunday.
FINAL RATING - Watch It…With A Remote in Hand
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