The Shield celebrate with the gold. Photo credit: WWE.com
The Miz beat Cody Rhodes in a rather lacklustre and sloppy pre-show bout. Miz looked a bit out of sorts here and made more than a few errors, while Cody gave a pretty unremarkable showing too.
Chris Jericho pinned Fandango in a fair encounter. Much like their WrestleMania match Jericho did most of the hard work, while Fandango looked alright, but still has some work to do in the ring. Jericho gained the one-two-three after applying a nicely executed Codebreaker as Fandango came off the top rope in the highlight of the match.
Dean Ambrose defeated Kofi Kingston (c) to obtain the United States Championship in a solid contest. Both men gave worthy efforts, albeit a few slightly sloppy moments but that wasn't enough to spoil an otherwise enjoyable match up. Afterwards the new champ's Shield teammates joined him to celebrate.
Sheamus bested Mark Henry in a Strap match. Perhaps not the most exciting match of this kind but it was decent enough for the most part, with both men giving passable displays.
Before Swagger versus Del Rio kicked off, Zeb Colter started blaming the government and the people for the state of America in this day and age, confusingly then bringing up the poor showings from St. Louis' baseball teams. The promo felt like a waste of time and dragged on far too long, I'm hoping this whole gimmick is killed off soon.
Alberto Del Rio beat Jack Swagger in an I Quit match, thereby becoming number one contender to the World Title. The action was decent enough, although it lacked that extra drama that you normally get from far superior I Quit bouts from the past. The referee had to restart the match after discovering that Colter framed Ricardo Rodriguez for throwing in the towel for Del Rio, so a struggling Del Rio heroically managed to apply his signature armbreaker to force Swagger to scream "I quit!"
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns defeated Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) (c) to obtain the WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tornado Tag contest. Wisely the match wasn't kept too long, which kept the action exciting and at a fast pace throughout. A fun watch, and nice work from every wrestler involved. Afterwards Ambrose joined his teammates and the trio posed with their new gold, I'm so glad the WWE have kept the momentum going for this great young act.
Randy Orton pinned Big Show in an Extreme Rules match. It was fair enough for the majority, although I was personally expecting a bit more excitement from it. Neither man did a poor job on any level but for an Extreme Rules match it didn't really live up to the name, Big Show's body splash onto a ladder balanced on two chairs was the only remotely 'Extreme' thing that happened. I can't help feel two other wrestlers would've made more from this stipulation. Orton finished off Show with a punt kick, which was a nice touch.
John Cena (c) versus Ryback in a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship ended in a No Contest after Ryback forced the champ through part of the stage display. The fans in attendance booed the unresolved ending to the bout. The match itself had been a dramatic and engaging one, with both men playing to their strengths and utilising weapons and the outside ring environment to keep the interest going.
For me this was a much more entertaining WWE Title clash than the one at WrestleMania last month, and definitely exceeded my expectations. The ending did feel like a bit of a cop out, but it was a fair way of preserving both men's status and keeping the feud going into Payback next month.
Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H in a Steel Cage match. As expected it was an intense and drama-filled main event, filled with effective near falls and battling till the bitter end. I know there are many fans out there who weren't particularly into Lesnar versus Triple H at 'Mania, but I was, so it's hardly a surprise that I ate this up and enjoyed it from the opening bell when 'The Game' skipped his entrance altogether and attacked his rival from behind.
Paul Heyman of course also played his part as manager superbly, low blowing Triple H and taking a Pedigree along the way and keeping the support for his client going vocally throughout. For me he's certainly the finest manager I've ever seen in pro wrestling. Going into this I already knew I was going to enjoy it, and it didn't disappoint. I can understand people's issues with Triple H and his style of matches he plans out, but there's always excitement and there's always a story to be told, which is more than can be said for most bouts you'll see on a Raw or SmackDown. Lesnar grabbed the winning pinfall after cracking Trip's sledgehammer into his head and then applying an F5.
Overall it was an enjoyable card for the majority, with a few dips along the way. My highlights were Ambrose versus Kofi, The Shield versus Team Hell No, the WWE Title match and the main event. The last two bouts mentioned especially salvaged the event for me, giving it some much needed drama and excitement. But the biggest thing I'm probably taking away from Extreme Rules is the continued push of The Shield, it's a relief that the most exciting young act in the company is still getting the attention they deserve.
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