WWE Extreme Rules 2021

WWE Extreme Rules 2021

Columbus, OH - September 2021

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was Big E, the World Heavyweight Champion was Roman Reigns, the Intercontinental Champion was "King" Shinsuke Nakamura, the United States Champion was Damian Priest, the RAW Tag Team Champions were RK-Bro, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions were The Usos, the RAW Women's Champion was Charlotte Flair, and the SmackDown Women's Champion was Becky Lynch.

The Columbus crowd was psyched for the opening contest - The New Day vs. Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, and Omos. This match got plenty of time and Big E was made to look strong, but as we'd see in the next match, this one seemed to go from being just a "hot opener" to a match that seemed to run a bit too long, with too many false finishes. The live crowd was with them, though, so this match can't be seen as anything below "good," plus there were sprinklings of future rivalries in AJ/Big E and even a potential split between Styles and Omos if they are drafted separately this Friday. A good, solid opener, if a bit overcooked. (3/5)

Street Profits challenged The Usos next for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. To me, the err in this match came down to show layout. After a lengthy 6-man tag, it felt like "more of the same" with another tag match placed immediately after. Though the crowd was hot at the start, it seemed to cool considerably and, at one point, voiced a demand for tables. Considering this show was called "Extreme Rules," that shouldn't have been a surprise. Fortunately, Montez Ford's aerial skills were enough to recharge the audience, but like the opener, the match went a touch too long and featured a few too many false finishes for me. By the time they got to the end, the Usos' offense looked particularly sloppy too as they barely connected on a double superkick or their double splash finish. I'm not sure where this feud goes from here as the Profits have now lost decisively and were already on Raw not too long ago so I doubt they'll be re-drafted. Could they be getting split? If so, pray for Dawson as he seems like Jannetty of the duo. (2.5/5)

Charlotte Flair defended the RAW Women's Championship against hometown gal Alexa Bliss next. I'm a bigger fan of Bliss than most, though even I've been turned off by her new gimmick (and how long it's been running, even after the departure of Bray Wyatt). I'm not a fan of "hocus pocus" in my wrestling, but I also hate inconsistency, so this match was a bit "Damned If You Do/Damned If You Don't" for me. On one hand, I like both Flair and Bliss as in-ring performers so the fact that this was basically a straight-up match meant that I got to see them do the things that I like about them. On the other hand, its wildly inconsistent for Bliss to have special powers some weeks and no special powers the next. It also didn't help that Bliss, like so many babyfaces (and she was the clear babyface here), had to do the clean job in front of her hometown, a move that obviously deflated the audience and then was made doubly bad by having her thrown some sort of weird post-match tantrum involving what I believe was a faulty throat lozenge meant to turn into foam. Overall, a not bad match that was really tainted with a bad post-match angle and an abandonment of what the "new Alexa Bliss" character was supposed to be. (1.5/5)

The United States Championship was on the line next as Damien Priest defended against both Jeff Hardy and Sheamus. In terms of beginning-to-end action, smart booking, satisfactory finishes, and having just the right amount of time, this match delivered and it certainly was the best match of the night up till this point. Jeff Hardy remains immensely popular, almost to the point of being underrated in terms of the energy and excitement he can bring to a PPV show just by being there, and here was a match where his involvement definitely helped keep the crowd's energy level up when there is still some question as to how over Damien Priest really is. Speaking of Damien Priest, he's probably the biggest success story that NXT has had in years (along with Bianca and the Street Profits), and unsurprisingly, its because he's been treated like a big deal since his debut, immediately booked into a strong position and a major storyline (as Bad Bunny's buddy) rather than just being saddled with guys that the audience doesn't regard as serious players (for example, Dolph Ziggler). Which brings us to Sheamus, another guy who I'd argue is a bit underrated in an entirely different way than Hardy. While Hardy is the eternally popular "fuck up," Sheamus is the consummate heel pro, reliable for a hard-hitting match at any time and very skilled at making his opponents look great without ever sacrificing his own credibility. I'm not sure there's another major title run in Sheamus' career and he definitely suffers a bit from his longevity and the fact that he's already fought and feuded with nearly everybody, but as a gatekeeper, he's in the conversation as being one of the best the WWE has ever had at that position. (3/5)

Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch for Lynch's SmackDown Women's Championship was next. Despite being the heel, Lynch had at least 50% of Columbus rooting for her. I think part of that comes from the fact that PPV crowds tend to contain a fair number of fans that don't necessarily follow the storylines week-to-week and may not know that Lynch has been a not-so-subtle villain since SummerSlam. With the crowd 50/50, Belair and Lynch put on a strong match that felt competitive and serious, a match that showcased everything it needed to by re-establishing what Becky Lynch does in the ring (which is a little bit of everything but mostly she carries herself as tough, resilient, and crafty) and that Belair is every bit a"top tier" wrestler, powerful and quick and agile, someone who does seem like they're on the same level as the rest of the "4 Horsewomen." Belair and Lynch made up for the time they didn't get at SummerSlam, working a lengthy match with some really cool moments, including Belair countering a Disarmher by lifting Lynch off the ground (quite a feat after working hard for close to 20 minutes). Some fans really disliked the finish and joked about how a show called "Extreme Rules" having a match end in a DQ is lame, but the only real Extreme Rules match on the show was the main event and I personally like the continuity of not only Sasha Banks wanting to be the one to win her title back from Bianca, but also attacking Lynch, which does seem like a reasonable way to possibly nudge Lynch back into the tweener/"gray area" cocky babyface role that made her so popular to begin with. The only way it could've been better, at least to me, would've been if Bayley was at her side, though I guess one would have to forget that Bayley and Sasha had their own huge split and probably shouldn't be booked as best buddies again after how huge that feud was. Regardless, this was a really good match, though just a hair short of being "must see" to me. (3.5/5)

Main event time - "The Demon" Finn Balor challenging Roman Reigns for Reigns' Universal Championship in an Extreme Rules contest. The hype for this match was all about Balor wrestling as the "undefeated" "Demon" (even though the Demon was defeated in NXT). They started things off with some actual wrestling, Finn's makeup looking a bit like the Boogeyman of 15 years ago. Within the first minute, the fact that they referred to "The Demon" as "The Demon" and didn't interchange it with "Finn" or "Balor" or "Finn Balor" got super annoying. Reigns went to the outside early and grabbed a kendo stick, but Balor surprised him with a super kendo stick that combined 3-4 different sticks. Reigns' facial expression when he saw it was priceless and kudos to him for taking some shots from it. Balor dropped it quickly though and allowed Reigns to regain control as the crowd started demanding tables. Balor trapped Reigns in the apron and hit him with an awesome running kick to the face before grabbing a table. Of course, Reigns stopped him with a Superman Punch and then denied the fans what they wanted, sliding the table back under the ring and telling the fans there wouldn't be any splintered wood tonight. Reigns then grabbed a chair and went after Balor's midsection before doing some more gloating. Reigns went for another swing, but Balor caught him and hit him with a double stomp with Reigns holding the chair in a cool spot. Balor went after him on the floor, sending him into the barricade before grabbing hold of a table to a huge pop. Balor slid the table into the ring, but Reigns caught him with the Driveby! Reigns tossed Balor over the barricade and then, in a brilliant move, asked Paul Heyman for a mask before he went into the crowd! That is funny. Reigns tossed Balor around the Kickoff Show area, even attempting a Rock Bottom on the desk at one point. Balor fought out, though, eventually landing a huge crossbody off the table and through another table. Balor chopped and shoved Reigns back into the ring and tried to set up the table that was lying there. Reigns tried to stop him but Balor fought him off and set it up only to get chokeslammed through it for a 2 count. This led to a deserved "This is Awesome" chant, a crowd response I typically find cloying and often unearned. Reigns went for another Superman Punch but Balor dodged it and connected with a Pele Kick only for Reigns to spring back with a Superman Punch anyway for another great near fall. Reigns went for his spear, but Balor caught him with a Sling Blade only for Reigns to end up hitting him with a Spear for 2.9 as Balor delivered a big low blow on the kickout! The crowd bit on that one hard. Balor hit a dropkick that sent Reigns to the outside and then went to the air, hitting a splash to the outside and the Coup De Grace...only for the Usos to pull him off at 2.9! The Usos hit the double superkick against the barricade and grabbed another table, the crowd erupting with heat. The Usos attempted a double slam on Balor but the Demon fought them off, eventually sending Jey Uso through the announce table with a powerbomb. Not a millisecond later, though, Reigns hit Balor with a ridiculous spear through the barricade that brought on a massive "Holy Shit!" chant. Wow. That was an incredible sequence. Unfortunately, this is when the match turned to ridiculous hokey bullshit as the lights turned red and the Demon sprung up, no selling the damage and grabbing a chair. He went hard after Reigns and even caught him with a double dropkick that sent Reigns through another table! As Balor's music played, the Demon climbed to the top rope and went for another Coup De Gras, but this time, the ring exploded and Balor landed awkwardly, tweaking his knee and leaving him vulnerable to a spear from Reigns to end the match. What a silly shit ending that basically buried the Demon character as being unbeatable aside from by fault ring-making. Sadly, everything up till that moment was really, really good, so good that this match would/will still probably make my Year End List due to the tremendous performance by Reigns and the excellent series of near falls that preceded the match's demise into bullshit. (4/5)

Extreme Rules 2021 will probably go down as the most controversial WWE pay-per-view of the year due to the finish of the main event (and, to a lesser degree, the way Alexa Bliss seemed to be written off TV), but with a Kwang Score of 2.92-out-of-5, I'd say it was mostly good wrestling with surprisingly flat finishes. Lynch/Belair, for example, was very good but the end result was designed to further a storyline and reintroduce Sasha Banks rather than deliver a definitive ending. The main event was spectacular until its final few moments. I think the SmackDown Tag Team Titles match suffered from card placement more than anything. If you have the time for it and you're not totally sick of "hamster wheel" wrestling, this show has plenty to offer.

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand