WWE Extreme Rules 2018 PPV Thoughts

Today is WWE's 2018 Extreme Rules PPV; and I am watching it the day of! So I will be quasi-live 'blogging' my thoughts as the show proceeds. Quasi because technically the PPV has been on for an hour or two when I started watching. However, I am providing my opinions as the show proceeds; and it's before any 'replay'. Of course, I am not posting until the PPV finishes.


Spoilers...


Kickoff show

Sin Cara vs Cien Almas

Almas wins in heelish fashion. A decent opener. Would love to see these two given more time. Given Almas is ascending the card and Sin Cara isn't, I don't believe we'll ever get the match these two could bring. 2.5 out of 5 stars

Sanity vs New Day Tables March

Sanity wins when Young puts Kofi through a table. A meh match. I've seen both groups wrestle better matches. 1.5 out of 5 stars.

Extreme Rules 

Woken Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt (c) v Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas for Raw Tag Team Championship

 Marked out when both Bray & Bo were both inside the ring.  Bo pins Hardy. New champions! Solid match. 3 out of 5 stars because of the significance of the B Team not only winning a match but becoming champions. No longer jobbers!

Kurt Angle threatens to strip Lesnar of the Universal Championship!

Finn Balor v Constable Baron Corbin

Big man vs little man match. Corbin dominated the match in the early going. Balor wins with an inside cradle. Match slow plodding, which the crowd did not get into until Balor won. 2 out of 5 stars.

Carmella (c) vs Asuka for Smackdown Women's Championship with Ellsworth suspended above within a cage.

Ellsworth dropped items to Carmella... Match plods along as Ellsworth picks the lock and escapes... but is caught and suspended. Easy prey for Asuka. Match ends mercifully when Carmella KOs Asuka while Asuka's distracted by kicking the hapless Ellsworth. Terrible match. Only the suspended shark cage made it worthy of PVP. 1 out of 5 stars.

Jeff Hardy (c) v Shinsuke Nakamura for U.S. Championship 

Before the match begins, Nakamura low blows Hardy. Hardy waves okay and Nakamura nails his finisher to become the new U.S. Champion! Can't really call it a match... 2 out of 5 stars for its historical significance although it'll be replayed enough (for storyline reasons) that one doesn't need to watch the PPV for this match. Crowd cheered. I like the outcome...

Randy Orton is back! Attacks Hardy! Three way feud?

Braun Strowman c Kevin Owens - Steel Cage Match

Strowman breaks out of handcuffs and then chases KO up the cage to chokelsam Owens onto the announce table! Holy Toledo! Technically, Kevin Owens is the winner... Because of the big moment leading to an unusual steel cage victory I give 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan) for Smackdown Tag Team Championship 

Storyline-wise there was pre-match ambush leaving Team Hell No in poor shape. Bryan arrives alone... followed by the tag champs. Not a squash as Daniel Bryan holds his own. Then the numbers game reverses the match not in his favor. Kane limps out. Not enough. Bludgeon Brothers retain. So far the best match of the night. Hopefully the match quality continues improving in quality. 3 out of 5 stars.

Roman Reigns v Bobby Lashley

Lashley begins by putting on a wrestling clinic. Nice to see. Then, the usual WWE striking style asserts itself. Roman then plods along... Lashley is carrying the match. Too soon for him to be wrestling Reigns as the crowd simply isn't into him much. They dislike Reigns though. Lashley suplexed Reigns onto the announce table to counter Reigns charge! Superman Punch to Lashley while standing on the top rope! Then Lashley counters a charging Reigns with a spear for the win! Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Alexa Bliss (c) v Nia Jax Raw Women's Championship under Extreme Rules

Jax snaps Bliss's kendo stick. Tosses all weapons Bliss attempts to use into the ring. Alexa slams Nia repeatedly with a trash can lid! Natalya beats up on Mickie James. Then Alexa takes out Natalya. Rhonda Rousey runs in and unleashes on Mickie James! Later, James takes out Rhonda with a kendo stick. Alexis Bliss retains by DDTing Nia Jax into a chair! The carnage saved and made this match. Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

A.J. Styles (c) v Rusev Smackdown WWE World Heavyweight Title

My attention was riveted to the match. Nothing resembling play-by-play here. Excellent action, story-telling, and ring psychology. A.J. Styles retains in a competitive match. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars although on this particular card I could easily give the match 4.5 out of 5 stars - a 5 rating within reach.

Dolph Ziggler (c) v Seth Rollins 30 minute Iron Man match Intercontinental Championship 

Drew McIntyre is at ringside. At the 25:20 mark - Rollins first pinfall. Rollins achieved a 2nd fall by pin at around the 22 minute mark. Then acquires a 3rd fall at the 21 minute mark by DQ when McIntyre assaults him. Afterwards, Drew devastes Rollins until the referee ejected. No DQ though. Ziggler gets a fall by pinfall at around19 minute mark then a second at the 18:48 mark with superkick followed by pin. Tied 3 for 3 when Dolph scores a pin following the Zig Zag at roughly the 18:00 mark. 15:45 Dolph score a 4th fall with feet on the ropes. Done counting falls as they happen now. Ziggler demonstrates excellent endurance! The time runs out when both men are tied. Match is draw. Ziggler retains!

As Ziggler struts victoriously, GM Kurt Angle walks on stage and invokes Sudden Death rules. McIntyre runs in from ringside distracting Rollins. Ziggler with the Fameasser for the win!

Excellent match dampened because I've seen better Iron Man matches. However, I am a sucker for the Hart-Michaels Iron Man match homage. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.




Overall: Extreme Rules 2018 is a byproduct of the WWE Network. Combined with the Kickoff show, Extreme Rules ran for roughly four hours. Four hours of wrestling isn't too shabby especially considering thousands saw it the day of. Who knows how many will watch the PPV on the WWE Network? So there's the extra gravitas that comes from such a shared viewing experience. However, if you rate Extreme Rules 2018 on its own, a different story. Why was it called Extreme Rules if only a minority of matches fit the theme? A sad of affairs in today's WWE wrestling environment when an Iron Man match as the main event could only be slotted for this PPV. We'd have to wait months for similar space on a PPV card. Match quality? While Extreme Rules 2018 improved with the Team Hell No tag match on, many matches would have to rank in the four-plus star category to balance out the earlier portion of the card. The booking was mediocre. I would've been angry if bought this during the old PPV days. If you come upon it as a rental, sure. Own on DVD/Blu-ray? Only if you're a completest, a fan of the wrestlers who hit milestones, and/or greatly enjoyed the later matches. Otherwise, not worth the shelf space.


Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars. Feeling my WWE Network subscription cost was satisfied influences me greatly.


Next time.