Extreme Rules was LIVE tonight, the 22nd of May from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ!
Pre-Show:
-Big Cass promo. Interrupted by the Dudleys. Cass with the advantage and the end of the promo before the pre-show moves on.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin (No DQ Match)
-Back and forth action with some great near falls, but ultimately, Corbin wins via a low blow and The End Of Days.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Extreme Rules:
Texas Tornado Tag Match:
Usos vs. Anderson and Gallows
-The Usos charge Gallows and Anderson and mix it up on the outside. The Usos take the quick advantage with clothesline over the top on Gallows. Crowd heavily booing the Usos. “Bullet Club” chant sounds throughout Newark. Jey Uso with a springboard splash and a beauty on both men. Variation of the Boot Of Doom off the apron by Anderson on Jey Uso on the outside as the Club takes control. JBL with many references to their history in New Japan. Very cool. Club in control in the ring and a beautiful knee strike to the face by Anderson. JBL compares the brawling style of Anderson and Gallows to the APA. Good reference. Double superkick by the Usos and great counter wrestling and back and forth action to follow. Double AA spinebuster by Anderson. Umaga Splash on the outside by Jimmy Usos, putting Anderson into the barricade. The ring bell introduced by the Club in the ring and after a missed splash by Jimmy Uso, Magic Killer by Anderson and Gallows and the “W” for the Club and a crucial victory.
Winners: Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
US Title Match:
Kalisto (c) vs. Rusev
-Lana in the ring to start things off as she introduces Rusev. Kalisto out and an early kick exchange as the bell sounds. Twisting splash attempt by Kalisto swatted away by Rusev. “We Want Lana” chant. She’s at ringside. It’s always been a head scratcher with that one. “Let’s Go Rusev/Rusev Sucks” dueling chants now as the Bulgarian Brute holds the advantage. Bearhug applied by Rusev. A Torture Rack applied by Rusev keeping control as the US champ fights to stay in the match. Kalisto counters into a sleeper hold. Rusev drops back and splatters Kalisto on the mat. That was a cool visual. Kalisto counters a Rusev offense again with a beautiful tornado DDT. Springboard hurricanrana by Kalisto and only a two count. Kalisto uses an innovative form of a hurricanrana on the outside to send Rusev into the steel ring steps. Rusev brought back into the ring and a splash by Kalisto. Two count only. Moonsault by Kalisto onto Rusev on the outside after pushing off the turnbuckle. Very cool. Rusev with a power counter on Kalisto and he’s back in control. Refs checking on Kalisto and trying to back Rusev away after several stomps. A magnificent version of the Accolade applied and a tap out. We have a new champion in a dominant fashion. Rusev needed that to get back on track.
Winner: Rusev (New US Champion)
Tag Team Title Match:
The New Day (c) vs. The Vaudevillians
-The lovely Lillian Garcia introduces the champs who come out to a sizable pop. Big E. is carrying two hoes by the way. Actual garden hoes to keep things PG. Xavier Woods plays to the females in the crowd. “Shoot Your Shot” chant. Big E. says that the hoes are English and Gotch and because they are in the Garden State, they’re about put a couple of hoes in the ground. “New Day Rocks” chant. Vaudevillians out with their entrance to a chorus of boos. Michael Cole says Aiden English visited a haberdashery earlier in the day. I almost spit my coffee out at that one. Woods and Big E. are the combo for the Feebird factor tonight. Woods with the rights and lefts working on English to start things off. English in charge after posting Woods and Gotch in. Gotch driving the knees into the face of Xavier Woods. Double team chops and pugilist rights by the challengers. Methodical pacing by the challengers with grounded submissions as the crowd clamors for a tag by Woods to Big E. An inzaguri counter by Woods eventually gets Big E. into the ring and belly to belly suplexes follow. Impressive show of strength by Big E. Big E. looks for the apron dive, but a knee counter by English results in a two count. Holy cow. English and Gotch take care of business and they actually hit Woods with the Whirling Dervish and he kicks out at two. That was really surprising. That makes Woods look like superman. Kofi interferes and Woods hits the running buisaku knee strike and there’s a three count and a victory. The champs retain, but that was a really shocking kick out and a great tease for future interactions.
Winners: The New Day (Retaining The Tag Team Titles)
-Backstage segment with Renee Young and AJ Styles. She asks about potential interference from the Club and AJ says no matter what happens, he walks out with the world title and he will continue to be phenomenal.
Fatal Fourway IC Title Match:
The Miz (w/ Maryse) (c) vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro
-Everyone out to their respective entrances. JBL refers to Miz and Maryse as Tom and Giselle. Then he says Brady was a 6th round pick, implying Miz was a first rounder. The bell sounds as Zayn immediately takes Owens out of the action with a Helluva kick. Cesaro dumps Miz and we’ve got a faceoff for the ages with Cesaro and Zayn. Repeated nip-ups by Cesaro and a Japanese arm drag by Cesaro and we’re off and running. Hurricanrana and a side heel kick by Zayn. Massive “Ole” chants for Zayn silenced by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Cesaro. Springboard back leapfrog by Zayn and Cesaro is dumped over the top rope and Miz is in and out. Zayn into the ropes and over onto Miz and Cesaro with a somersault plancha and a beauty. Zayn approaching Miz after rolling him back into the ring and Miz pulls Zayn into the turnbuckle and takes charge. Miz to the top and Zayn with a right hand. We’re about to see a superplex/powerbomb spot with three of the combatants by Owens is in and he breaks it up. KO with a massive clothesline on Zayn. Slaps and stomps on Zayn by Owens. Running senton splash and a two count. Miz blasted off the apron by KO who proceeds to wave at him as he hits the barricade. Awesome. Blue Thunder Bomb blocked and countered with a backfist as MASSIVE “Owens/Zayn” chants erupt. Great crowd tonight so far. Miz with a superplex attempt and he’s pushed off. Zayn tries and meets the same fate. Double superplex on Owens by Zayn and Miz as Cesaro is in and finishes it off with a powerbomb on all the men. Great spot and a fantastic piece of action so far. Delayed vertical suplex by Cesaro countered by Zayn who executes a blue thunder bomb. Various two counts by the combatants. Miz with a t-bone suplex on Zayn as Cesaro executes a german suplex on the Miz. That was uncanny! Cesaro conducts the uppercut train on his three opponents before knocking down the Miz with one more. He setups for the big swing, but KO with a german on Cesaro. Owens follows Cesaro’s example by hitting cannonball splashes on his three opponents. Various moves are executed before Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Cesaro. Two count only! Miz slaps Ceesaro, but it riles him up and he hits a springboard European uppercut before hitting the big swing with 20 rotations! Sharpshooter applied. Maryse distracts the referee as Miz taps out. Neutralizer by Cesaro on Owens after Owens hits a frog splash on Miz and Zayn breaks it up. Zayn with a beautiful code red on Cesaro, but only a two count. This is a wonderful match. Fans should be proud of this one. “This Is Awesome” chant and I completely agree. A righteous European uppercut on Zayn, Cesaro moves in but is hit by an exploder suplex. Owens with a superkick and a popup powerbomb on Cesaro, but Miz breaks it up. Miz eventually ends up with a pinfall attempt but only a two count after he eliminates Owen momentarily with a skull crushing finale. Cesaro still in it! “Fight Forever/This Is Awesome” dueling chants. Folks, get on the network and enjoy this one. What a sensational match. Zayn hits Cesaro with a Helluva kick and is about to get the win, but Owens breaks it up. Miz sneaks in and goes for the pinfall on Cesaro. Three count and after a fantastic contest, the Miz retains the title.
Winner: The Miz (Retaining The IC Title)
-The pre-show panel weighs in on the action so far. Lawler, Booker T., Renee Young and Jerry “The King” Lawler give their thoughts as they highlight Big Cass working over the Dudleys earlier during the pre-show.
Asylum Match:
Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
-Cage is shown with eerie music playing as JBL makes the joke we’ve all made. He sees the mop and makes the Perry Saturn reference. The walls break down musically and Chris Jericho heads to ringside. He’s in jeans wearing his expensive scarf. Amazing. Dean Ambrose follows in his usual attire. Early exchanges and Jericho gets the upper hand to head to the top of the cage but he is thwarted by Ambrose. Jericho is thrown into the side of the cage. Saxton makes a crack as JBL says “Jimmy Hoffa is buried here and I wish you were too.” Stellar. Saxton with a witty retort and the action continues. Jericho grabs the mop, but Ambrose takes it and pokes him in the ear with it. Ouch. Ambrose slams the mop down onto Jericho’s back with a “Let’s Go Moppy” chant from the Jersey crowd. Thank you Newark, you rock. Ambrose mops Jericho’s face, literally as the crowd enjoys it. Jericho gains control and he attacks Ambrose with the mop. Jericho pointing up at the barbed wire 2×4, but he is sabotaged by Ambrose like David Crockett sabotaged the Shockmaster. Back suplex on Jericho by Ambrose. Both men scale the cage as Ambrose grabs nun-chucks and Jericho grabs the barbed wire 2×4. Ambrose adept with the nun-chucks and he attacks Jericho like Michaelangelo of TMNT fame. Nun-chuck clothesline by Ambrose. Ambrose whips Jericho into the cage, but Jericho climbs the cage for an escape. Ambrose thwarts it, but not before Jericho grabs and utilizes a kendo stick, striking Ambrose repeatedly. Jericho off the top rope with a kendo stcik shot on Ambrose and it hits the mark. Jericho now has the nun-chucks and he repeatedly strikes Ambrose. Ouch. Pinfall and a kickout at one. Jericho scales the cage and brings down the Caribbean strap. Shades of Savio Vega. He proceeds to whip Ambrose with repeated shots calling him “whipping boy”. Classic Jericho. Is he gonna call him “Greenberg” next? Jericho with another attempted strike, but Ambrose counters using the strap for an armdrag counter. Ambrose with a vicious lashing on Jericho now. Ambrose up the cage and he brings down the fire extinguisher. Jericho has the straight jacket and as Ambrose prepares to use the extinguisher, Jericho throws the jacket at him and counters, taking Ambrose down. Jericho with a flurry of hard right hands on Ambrose as he attempts to put Ambrose in the straight jacket. Ambrose escapes and counters with rights and chops. Jericho seizes control once again with a “We Want Violence” chant by the crowd as Ambrose eventually gets control back with a running bulldog. Ambrose to the top rope and he fights off Jericho before heading to the top of the cage. Elbow from the top of the cage to Jericho! Beautifully executed! Cover and a two count. Ambrose up the cage again and he pulls down a bucket. Oh crap! Ambrose pulls a bag of thumbtacks out of the bucket! Business is about to pick up! A wild eyed Jericho with a frantic escape attempt. Back and forth counters near the thumbtacks. Jericho with a lionsault attempt and it’s countered by Ambrose. Ambrose looking for Dirty Deeds, but Y2J counters into the Walls. Ambrose grabs the kendo stick and uses it to escape the Walls of Jericho. Ambrose with a top rope kendo stick attempt. Jericho with a fire extinguisher to the eyes and a codebreaker. Two count only. Jericho with the barbe wire 2×4 and a shot to the abdomen. Ultra-violence! Jericho with a codebreaker attempt and Ambrose counters with a powerbomb into the thumbtacks! Holy four letter word chant and a Dirty Deeds by Ambrose into the thumbtacks and we get a three count. Ambrose with the victory!
Winner: Dean Ambrose
-After the match, Jericho is obvious pain and yet still being the same old awesome Chris Jericho. Thanks for this one Y2J, that was fun!
Women’s Title Submission Match (Ric Flair banned from ringside):
Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya
-Hopefully the ladies can follow those last two affairs. Heck of a PPV so far! They head out to their respective entrances, Natalya first and Charlotte follows. Charlotte holds a record for competing at 11 consecutive PPV’s, 13 if you count the Network specials. Kevin Owens with a similar state revealed earlier. Good for her, she’s been great. Great counter wrestling to start the title match off as Natalya is the first to put a submission on. Charlotte escapes and executes a rear chinlock, but Natalya with an escape and a dropkick on Charlotte. Surfboard submission applied by Natalya. Charlotte escapes and springboards back into the ring after being dumped, by a discus clothesline by Natalya hits hard. Charlotte back in charge shortly thereafter with repeated chops. The action continues as Natalya applies a head submission that Charlotte counters into a beautiful sitout powerbomb, shades of Batista. Charlotte with a leg submission similar to a grounded version of the Edge-cution used by the Rated R superstar. Repeated stomps by the champ and a “woo” to follow it up. Suplex into the ropes by Charlotte. Charlotte up top and a moonsault that she immediately follows up with a half crab. Nattie refusing to submit. Nattie gets the counter into the sharpshooter and the crowd is on edge! Charlotte about to tap as Flair’s music hits and the ref is about to award Nattie the victory, but “Flair” is revealed to be Dana Brooke who is out to help Charlotte. Charlotte takes the time to apply the figure eight and Nattie taps! Charlotte retains. Dana Brooke seems to have found a new ally with Emma potentially out for the rest of the year with back surgery. Good call on that one. Ric Flair is out and the trio celebrates!
Winner: Charlotte (Retaining The Women’s Title)
World Title Extreme Rules Match:
Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles
-After a nice video package, Styles is out first to a MASSIVE pop. I really appreciate this crowd tonight. Good fans make PPV’s and live television that much better. The champion out next to a chorus of boos, but not deafening. Introductions made and the match is underway. Roman with a quick toss into the corner and AJ with a go behind waist-lock. Back elbow by Reigns as a “You Can’t Wrestle” chant breaks out. Don’t think that’s fair. Roman actually pretty sound in the ring and has had some quality matches. Styles with a quick flurry on Reigns in the corner and Reigns with a counter and a flurry of his own on AJ in the corner. Styles with forearms and he’s into the ropes as Reigns hits a spectacular knee lift to the face. Wow, that was impressive. “Roman sucks” chant as Styles grabs a steel chair. Reigns out and he grounds AJ. Chairshot attempt as Styles rolls under the bottom rope. Chairshot attempt again as Reigns misses and hits the steps. Styles in charge and he slams Reigns down on the announce table. Styles charges Reigns and clotheslines him over the barricade, both men spilling into the sea of humanity. They fight through the crowd, and brawl onto the set of the pre-show kickoff panel. Roman slings AJ up and down onto the glass kickoff panel table. Inzaguri kick to the face of Reigns from the table. Phenomenal forearm off the table onto Reigns from AJ and the crowd loves it. Back to the ringside area as they pass the Foley family, very cool. Styles rips up the protective floor padding, exposing the cold, hard concrete floor. Styles Clash attempt, but Reigns with a crisp right hand to the throat. Styles introduced to the ringsteps as Reigns clears off the German announce table. Reigns looking for a powerbomb, but Styles with a flurry of rights that lays Reigns down on the table. Styles Clash attempt again as Reigns with a right hand. Styles spills over the barricade and he springboards up as Roman counters and dumps Styles through a second announce table. “You Still Suck” chant by the crowd. Reigns with AJ in the ring and a cover and a two count. Reigns hoists AJ up into a Razor’s Edge and he executes a sitout powerbomb. That was magic! What an incredible move! A two count follows as Roman loads up for the superman punch. Shoulder tackle counter and Reigns buckles and collapses. Reigns back AJ into the corner. “We Want Rollins” chant. Styles on the apron with a knee strike to the face. Hurricanrana attempt by Styles, but Reigns holds AJ and slings him into the apron and then the barricade before hitting a powerbomb through the Spanish announce table. Wow. Reigns sets up for a spear and he charges, but Styles moves and the champ goes through the barricade. These two are getting after it tonight. Styles scoops up the dead weight and he rolls Reigns back into the ring. Styles springboards up for the Phenomenal forearm, but Reigns with a superman punch counter. AJ spills off the apron and onto the floor. Reigns comes around the apron and spears AJ outside the ring. He is taking a beating from the champ. Reigns brings AJ in and The Club hit the ring. Boot Of Doom on the champ. They put AJ on top and it’s only a two count. Here comes the Usos and they are booed out of the building. Superkicks on Styles after they dump the Club. They put Reigns on top and AJ kicks out at two. The Club back in charge and Roman hits Anderson with a superman punch. Styles counters a spear into a Styles Clash. Kickout at two. Holy cow! What a match! Styles has a chair in the ring. He sets up Reigns for Clash and Reigns with a back body-drop. Superman punch attempt and a Pele kick counter. Styles Clash on the chair! AJ about to win and the Usos break it up. Wow. That’s actually a heel tactic. AJ has the chair and he is wearing out Reigns and the Usos. He bends the chair in half. He pulls down the elbow pad. Setting up for the phenomenal forearm and Reigns hits the spear and retains the belt. No surprise there. Heck of a match, but the Usos interference make this very intriguing. The crowd goes absolutely ballistic as a pedigree hits Roman Reigns and we’ve got the celebrated return of Seth Rollins! Excellent! He scoops up the title and stands over Reigns as the crowd eats it up. The architect holds the title up high as Extreme Rules goes off the air!
Winner: Roman Reigns (Retaining the World Title)
