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Hawke’s WWE Extreme Rules 2015 Review

April 26, 2015 | Posted by TJ Hawke
5.5
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Hawke’s WWE Extreme Rules 2015 Review  

April 26, 2015
Rosemont, Illinois

 

Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, & JBL

 

Neville vs. Wade Barrett

Bryan is out with an injury, and this is our replacement match.

Neville was setting up for a dive early on, but Wade dropped him on the apron. Wade then worked him over. There was a commercial break for some reason. Neville connected on some kicks eventually and then connected on a modified Fosbury Flop. Wade caught him with the Bossman Slam for a nearfall. Neville went for a slingshot move, but Wade caught him on his shoulders and hit Wasteland: 1…2…NO! Neville avoided the elbow, and Wade avoided the Red Arrow. Neville avoided a second rolling elbow attempt and kicked him in the head. RED ARROW: 1…2…3

This was a very nice way to start the evening. Despite Neville and Barrett not being natural opponents, they worked well enough together and did some solid sequences. The booking was on point also, as Neville gets a lot more from winning than Barrett does. This also adds some intrigue to the IC title picture.

Match Rating: ***1/4

 

Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper [Chicago Street Fight]

They were brawling right away, and Ambrose hit a quick tope suicida. Harper got contol with a vertical suplex through a seated chair. Ambrose came back after a powerslam on a chair. They did a great sequence where Harper blocked a tope, but Ambrose then did a rebound lariat. The fight went to the back. They threw some random plunder at each other, and they somehow ended up in a fucking car. They drove off.

I hope they don’t show back up for two hours so they set the modern record for longest wrestling match. Huge shot at Jim Cornette.

 

Backstage, Triple H told Kane to find Ambrose and Harper. Seth Rollins showed up. HHH told them to get on the same page. This segment went on too long, and the crowd chanted, “Boring.”

 

Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus [Kiss Me Arse]

They quickly ended up on the floor, and Dolph hit a DDT off the steps. Sheamus cut him off back in the ring and worked him over. He was in complete control for a while. Dolph fought back at one point, but Sheamus then got the Cloverleaf. That was the story of the match for a while. Sheamus dominated, and Dolph would sporadically look to be on the verge of coming back. Out of nowhere, Dolph caught Sheamus with a small package: 1…2…3

After milking it forever and ever, Sheamus finally just attacked Dolph instead of kissing his ass. Given how obvious that was, it took WAY too long. Sheamus then rubbed Dolph’s face on his own ass. This shit made me embarrassed to be watching.

This was a Sheamus showcase. He controlled the majority of the match and looked awesome the whole time doing it. I hope he has 10-15 minute matches on every PPV.

Dolph looked less impressive to me here. His movement was so awkward, and he constantly looked like he was taking ten steps to do something that only required two. He just didn’t seem quite as comfortable as he normally does (not that he’s the most coordinated man to begin with).

Match Rating: ***3/4

 

Cesaro & Tyson Kidd (w/Natalya) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) (w/Xavier Woods) [WWE Tag Team Championship]

Cesaro-gun was working face here, which made me optimistic for the match. Kidd hit a tope con HELLO on Kofi but then got cut off. The challengers got the heat on him. Kidd managed to bait Big E. to the floor, and Cesaro made the hot tag. He and Kofi did some good stuff together. Big E. did the spear to the floor on Kidd. The teams were going back and forth by this point. Kidd reversed a Trouble in Paradise into a sharpshooter, and Big E. had to make the save. Natalya and Kidd took out Xavier. Big E. took out Kidd. Cesaro took out Big E. Kofi then schoolboyed Cesaro with a handful of tights: 1…2…3!

This was a really enjoyable match. Some of the sequences here seemed really unique for the WWE setting.

Kidd and Cesaro worked great as faces, and New Day looked right at home as being heels that don’t realize that they are heels.  I’d rather Cesaro-gun have a longer run with the belts, but New Day hopefully will continue to get opportunities to have good matches.

Match Rating: ***1/2

 

While New Day cut a celebratory promo in the back, Luke Harper and Dean Ambrose drove up. I love the idea that Harper and Ambrose somehow switched seats in the car, but they decided they should keep driving. They quickly ended up back in the ring. They threw a dozen chairs into the ring. Maybe more to be honest. LIGER BOMB ON A CHAIR: 1…2…NO!! Ambrose tossed Harper on a few chairs and then hit Dirty Deeds: 1…2…3!

It’s hard match to even pretend to analyze this given the ridiculous structure used for it. It was fun enough for a plunder match though (especially one that took a 45 minute break in the middle of it).

Match Rating: **3/4

 

John Cena (c) vs. Rusev (w/Lana) [Russian Chain Match for the WWE United States Championship]

They’re doing the four-corners version of this match. This is one of those stipulations where it’s going to be hard for me to care even if they execute the story perfectly.

As expected, this was super boring. Instead of just doing a No DQ match that happened to have chains, they worked the “touching-the-corners” story. It was so boring. They were playing Tug Of War. Lana was getting cheered by the bored crowd, and Rusev sent her to the back. Those two better not break up! They ended up in a situation where each guy needed one more corner. Cena hit the AA and then got the final corner to retain the title.

A complete miscalculation. All this did was contribute further to the burial of Rusev that the company is wittingly or unwittingly doing. After jobbing to John Cena unnecessarily to end his undefeated streak, he has to lose again in a boring match where he looks like a chump. He may even be losing his valet!

Much like last year’s feud with Bray Wyatt, Rusev has undeniably less of a star for feuding with John Cena.  They need to do some serious rehab as soon as possible. This was terrible in the ring and in terms of booking.

Match Rating: 1/2*

 

Nikki Bella (w/Brie Bella) (c) vs. Naomi [WWE Divas Championship]

Naomi quickly got control and worked Nikki over for a bit. The work was pretty solid, but the crowd did not seem to care much. After Naomi distracted herself attacking Brie, Nikki made a comeback. Naomi kicked out of the Alabama Slam. Nikki kicked out of the Final Cut. Nikki avoided the split-legged moonsault! Naomi got a nearfall with a Bubba Bomb. Brie ended up kicking Naomi in the face, and Nikki then hit the Torture Rack Backbreaker: 1…2…3

The work itself was solid. I’m intrigued by Naomi after this match, and I would have liked to see her as champ. The psychology of Brie cheating to help Nikki win is obviously terrible.

Match Rating: **1/4

 

Roman Reigns vs. The Big Show [Last Man Standing]

It’s very hard to be optimistic about this one.

Show was in control for the majority of the match. I guess they think they’ve found a structure of match that gets Reigns more respect. The other story going on was that Reigns kept pulling out plunder to the crowds delight, but Show would destroy it before he had a chance to use it. Reigns finally had sustained success after he started using a chair.  Show hit the punch, but Reigns then put Show through the table with a Samoan Drop. Show came back with a spear. Show went for a Vader Bomb, but it looked like he just knee-dropped the mat. Terrible. Reigns crotched Show and then tossed him to the mat. Reigns hit two Superman Punches but then got chokeslammed from the ring to the floor through two tables. Great sequence. Reigns just barely beat the ten count. Show ended up putting himself through a table in the ring after arranging some furniture on the floor. They did the barricade spear. In an incredibly labored spot (even for this match), Reigns managed to spear Show through a table. Reigns then put a table on Show and stood on it until the ten count finished.

To call some of the furniture spots in this match labored would be an understatement. Some of the ones down the stretch really took me out of the action. Show was particularly egregious about hitting his mark in a blatant way before that spear through the table.

With that in mind, I don’t think this can be considered anything but a success. It wasn’t terribly interesting or substantive, but they did enough to entertain me throughout.

Show was great here and this was probably his most purely-enjoyable performance in a very long time. Reigns continues to perform well in these big 1v1 matches that he’s being put in.  As far as getting ready for his inevitable babyface reign on top of the company, I can’t really argue with how he’s been booked the last two PPVs. We shall see if that can continue.

Match Rating: ***

 

Bo Dallas came out and ran down the crowd for smelling. Ryback came out and destroyed him.

 

Seth Rollins (w/Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury) (c) vs. Randy Orton [Steel Cage Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship]

Kane is the GUARDIAN OF THE GATE for this match.

Orton was running through him until Rollins hit a buckle bomb. Rollins then had control. The match had little in the way of heat. Orton fought back, and they tried to do some clever things. It was impossible to care though. Rollins almost escaped, and J&J tried to pull him down. Orton brought him back in though and hit a superplex. Orton had all the momentum and hit a pedigree: 1…2…NO! Rollins avoided the punt and asked for Kane to open the door. Kane later refused to open the door for Orton, but Rollins then accidentally kicked the door in Kane’s face. Kane lost it and slammed the door in both of their faces. Kane gave J&J double chokeslam. Booking a wrestling match around a storyline of what an outside third party will do is just amateur hour. No wonder why the crowd didn’t care all about this one. The crowd really wanted Kane to chokeslam Rollins but he did it to Orton instead. Rollins then started to crawl out but Kane gave him a chokeslam. Kane then grudgingly placed Rollins on Orton: 1…2…NO! RKO to Kane. Rollins then hit Orton with an RKO. Rollins crawled out to retain the title.

Garbage. Garbage. Garbage. Garbage. Much like the Cena/Rusev match, this was a case of two talented wrestlers being put into a position to fail. The entire match was built up throughout the show based around the question of, “What will Kane do???” This is terrible for a variety of reasons.

On just a basic character level, you’re making Orton and Rollins seem less important. The title also looks less important because the story doesn’t even remotely revolve around deciding who the better wrestler is. From a storytelling perspective, it’s inherently uninteresting to build up a 1v1 match where the actions of an outside party is where the drama lies. The fact that it’s happening in a CAGE match is all the worse in that regard. Finally, you’re sacrificing the credibility of Seth Rollins as champion in order to build up KANE yet again. The institutional problems that could lead to decisions like that being made are so severe that it just further confirms there is no long-term hope for the creative product as long as the company is structured the way it is. KANE. IN 2015! He’s going on EIGHTEEN YEARS as a major character. Stop the madness.

This was a failure in every way. It completely failed to entertain me in the moment, and the booking was terrible.

Match Rating: DUD

 

Watch some free matches!

Hideo Itami vs. Low Ki [Excellent match. Highly recommended.]

Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville

CM Punk vs. AJ Styles

The Young Bucks vs. The Dudley Boys

Biff Busick vs. Timothy Thatcher

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

CM Punk vs. Masato Tanaka

The Young Bucks vs. The Hardy Boyz

Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles

Mike Quackenbush vs. Eddie Kingston

Degeneration-X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) vs. Chris Jericho & The Big Show vs. John Cena & The Undertaker

Sara Del Rey & Madison Eagles vs. Ayumi Kurihara & Ayako Hamada

The Briscoes & Naomichi Marufuji vs Matt Sydal, Atsushi Aoki, & Ricky Marvin

Chris Sabin vs. Johnny Gargano

Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima

Drew McIntyre vs. Roderick Strong

The Great Muta vs. Genichiro Tenryu

Jushin Liger & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki & Masakatsu Funaki

Paul London vs. Johnny Drinko Butabi

Davey Richards vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin

 

Check out these other sites:

Match of the Year

Old New Japan

All the All Japan

Best of Chikara

5.5
The final score: review Not So Good
The 411
There is absolutely some good wrestling on this show, and those matches are worth checking out if you have the Network. The booking for this company continues to be unbelievably poor though. The Cena/Rusev and Rollins/Orton matches are textbook examples of putting wrestlers in positions to fail. These are the types of mistakes that should not be happening in a company with so much experience backstage. Despite the good wrestling to be found here, this show really left a sour taste in my mouth. I hope you enjoyed it more than I did.
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