Hall’s WWE Extreme Rules 2016 Review

Extreme Rules 2016
Date: May 22, 2016
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Attendance: 15,963
Commentators: Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

It’s a show based on rematches after last month’s Wrestlemania XXXII and Payback, including the main event of AJ Styles challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE Title. Other than that, Dean Ambrose is facing Chris Jericho in an Asylum match and Miz is defending the Intercontinental Title in the always extreme four way match. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler

No DQ. Corbin beat Ziggler in his main roster debut the night after Wrestlemania and they’ve had issues ever since. Ziggler starts fast by sending him into the post and hitting a dropkick. Back up and Corbin sends him over the corner so the fight can go outside. Corbin posts him as well and they go back inside, with Ziggler getting tied in the ropes.

After punching him out of the ropes, Corbin grabs a chinlock but Ziggler fights up for a neckbreaker. A dropkick and the jumping elbow gets two but Corbin is back with Deep Six. Ziggler fights out of a powerbomb and grabs a tornado DDT. The Fameasser gives Ziggler two more and he tries a superkick, which is cut off by a rather hard low blow. The End of Days finishes for Corbin at 7:07.

Rating: C+. They were smart to keep this short and to the point as Corbin gets a pretty decisive win over a former World Champion. It’s the smart way to get Corbin going on the main roster and, as usual, it isn’t like Ziggler is going to be hurt by a loss. As usual, the one match Kickoff Show is a good idea, as they get in, don’t overstay their welcome, and warm the crowd up a bit.

The opening video shows clips of a mob getting together to riot, saying that it’s time to get together to go by their own rules. We move into the look at the matches on the card.

Gallows And Anderson vs. Usos

Tornado tag and the brawl starts in the aisle. They get inside with the Usos taking over on Anderson. Gallows and Anderson are knocked out to the floor but Anderson sends Jey over the barricade. Jimmy fights back against both of them and hits a dive to the floor, followed by a high crossbody for two on Anderson.

Back up and Gallows picks up Jey for a fireman’s carry into the kick to the face, with Gallows swinging him into the barricade. Everyone but Jimmy gets back into the ring, with Jimmy being knocked off the apron. Anderson gets knocked outside though and Jimmy comes back in with a middle rope dropkick. Back in and Gallows kicks Jey in the head but Jimmy breaks up another fireman’s carry/boot combination.

The double superkicks look to set up the stereo Superfly Splashes but Anderson makes the save. Anderson’s spinebuster gets two and Jey catches him with a superkick, setting up the running Umaga attack against the barricade. Gallows grabs the bell but gets superkicked down by Jimmy. The Superfly Splash (which wouldn’t have hit anyway) misses, meaning it’s the Magic Killer for the pin on Jimmy at 8:37.

Rating: C+. The tornado stuff could have been dropped here without losing much of anything and that’s not the best sign. The Usos were still glorified clones of each other at this point and that didn’t make for the most thrilling stuff. At the same time, Gallows and Anderson weren’t much better, though at least they were a fresh team, which is often needed around these parts.

Post match the Usos are taken out and Anderson And Gallows get to pose for a good while.

We recap Kalisto defending the US Title against Rusev, who attacked Kalisto on Raw to set up the match.

US Title: Kalisto vs. Rusev

Rusev is challenging and has Lana, who handles his introduction, with him. Kalisto tries to fires off some kicks to start but his springboard is swatted out of the air. Rusev stomps away and is looking rather confident as he sends Kalisto into the corner. Back up and Kalisto gets in a kick to the leg, only for Rusev to run him over for two.

The bearhug goes on to keep Kalisto in trouble and they even go to the mat with the hold staying intact. Rusev switches to a torture rack, which looks good even without much cranking. Kalisto slips out though and grabs a sleeper but Rusev breaks that up with a straight drop back. A tornado DDT gets Kalisto out of trouble and he picks up the pace with a springboard corkscrew crossbody.

Back up and Kalisto sends him to the floor, with a hurricanrana through the ropes sending Rusev into the steps for a slow motion crash. A springboard frog splash gives Kalisto two and he sends Rusev outside again for a middle rope moonsault. Back in and Rusev gets creative by slamming him off the top and onto the apron for the nasty crash. The referee calls the medic over to check on Kalisto as JBL is wondering why Rusev isn’t allowed to cover him. With Kalisto cleared, a big stomp to the back and the Accolade (bent WAY back) gives Rusev the title at 9:32.

Rating: B-. This was a good way for Rusev to look like a monster who smashed through the champion and won the title. That’s what Rusev should have done and it worked well, with Kalisto trying to fight back against the monster to limited success. There was some potential in Kalisto as a good fighting from underneath star but this was clearly Rusev’s time.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Vaudevillians

New Day (Big E./Xavier Woods) is defending. The build to this involved a segment with New Day having a time machine (it was a cardboard box) in case you thought it might be a serious match. Before the match, New Day talks about the Vaudevillians destroying the time machine (Big E.: “It was clearly a refrigerator box.” Woods: “IT WAS A TIME MACHINE!”) and Woods says his DM’s on Twitter are open, just in case anyone wants to send him photos or videos to console him. Big E. isn’t sure but Woods says “LET ME SHOOT MY SHOT!”. The fans seem to approve but Kingston brings him back to the reality of the Vaudevillians.

We finally get to the match, with Woods hammering on English to start. English manages to knock him out to the floor for a crash and the (Vaude)villains take over. Back in and a knee drop sets up a chinlock and it’s off to Gotch for a front facelock. Woods manages to fight up and hit an enziguri, allowing the not very warm tag off to Big E. House is cleaned in a hurry and the gyrating Warrior Splash hits English.

The spear through the ropes is cut off though and English hits a forward DDT for two. The Big Ending is cut off though and Gotch sends E. into the steps, followed by a cheap shot to Kingston. Back in and the Whirling Dervish (uppercut to the back of the head into a running neckbreaker) gets two on Woods but Big E. is back up with the spear to send English through the ropes. The referee is distracted so Kingston kicks Gotch in the head, leaving Woods to hit a Shining Wizard to retain at 6:12.

Rating: C. The match was ok and got a bit better at the end, but it was hard to bring myself to believe that the Vaudevillians were serious challengers. They were a fairly goofy team in the first place and New Day was on a roll as champions. The match didn’t even get much time, though New Day cheating to win, even if they didn’t start it, was rather odd. This really didn’t need to be on pay per view and WWE seemed to know that.

AJ Styles is annoyed at being asked if Gallows And Anderson will be involved in the main event. No matter what, he’ll be WWE Champion and continue to be phenomenal.

Ad for Money In The Bank.

We recap the four way Intercontinental Title match. Miz won the title the night after Wrestlemania with an assist from Maryse but all three challengers are wanting to take it from him, believing that Miz is a beatable champion. Cesaro is freshly back after a long absence, returning the night after Wrestlemania. Sami Zayn moved up to the main roster around the same time and Owens lost the title at Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Miz, with Maryse, is defending. Zayn wastes no time in Helluva Kicking Owens at the opening bell and we’re down to three for the time being. Cesaro drops Miz as well and it’s a one on one match (which worked well for them in NXT). Zayn takes Cesaro down by the arm but Cesaro does a bunch of nip ups to escape in a hurry. Back up and Zayn sends him outside before doing the same thing to the returning Miz.

A big flip dive takes both of them down and Miz begs off back inside. Miz is able to send him face first into the buckle and stomp away, followed by the running corner clothesline. Cesaro is back in to try a Tower Of Doom but Owens breaks it up. Cesaro’s recently repaired shoulder is sent into the post and Owens gets to stomp away on Zayn. A running backsplash gives Owens two but he has to go after Miz.

That lets Zayn go up, only for Owens to crotch him onto the top. Owens goes up after him but Miz goes up as well, with Cesaro turning it into a Tower Of Doom. Zayn is back up with a Blue Thunder Bomb to Cesaro, allowing Miz to steal some near falls. Cesaro is fine enough to suplex Zayn and Miz at the same time (because that’s something he can do) and everyone is down again.

Back up and Cesaro fires off the running uppercuts in all three corners but Owens cuts them off. Owens Cannonballs all three of them in a row but Zayn is right back with a half and half suplex. Cesaro is back up with Swiss Death to Zayn, only for Miz to give Cesaro the Skull Crushing Finale for two. That’s broken up and Cesaro hits a springboard spinning uppercut to Miz, followed by a rather big swing.

The Sharpshooter goes on but Miz gets over to Maryse…who is dragged inside as Cesaro pulls Miz back to the middle. That’s enough of a distraction for the referee to not see Miz tap before Owens makes the save. Cesaro holds Miz up in the ropes for a frog splash from Owens, who gets Neutralized for two as Zayn makes another save.

Zayn’s backslide gets two on Cesaro and one heck of a sunset flip gets the same. They get up and Zayn shrugs off a heck of a shot to the face, allowing him to suplex Cesaro into the corner. Owens superkicks Zayn and gives Cesaro the pop up powerbomb for two as Miz makes a save. The Skull Crushing Finale hits Owens on the floor, leaving Miz to get two on Cesaro. Everyone needs a breather until Cesaro dumps Miz to the floor but Zayn is right there with a Helluva Kick. Owens breaks up the cover so Zayn goes after him on the floor, leaving Miz to get the retaining pin on Cesaro at 18:19.

Rating: A-. Dang I got into this one again, as they were in a rare situation where they were working as one. Everything felt like it flowed from one point to another and it all made sense. Throw in hard hitting action and quite a bit of drama with one good near fall after another and this was great. Awesome match and by far the best part of the show to this point.

The pre-show panel (Booker T., Corey Graves and Jerry Lawler, along with Renee Young as the host) recap the show thus far.

We look at Big Cass beating up the Dudley Boyz on the Kickoff Show.

We look back at the Kickoff Show match.

We recap Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho in the Asylum. The Highlight Reel got canceled and replaced by the Ambrose Asylum, which was canceled just as fast by Stephanie McMahon. Believe it or not, Jericho wasn’t able to let it go so he broke a potted plant (Mitch) over Ambrose’s head. Then Ambrose stole/destroyed Jericho’s light up jacket, which was enough for Jericho to agree to an Asylum match.

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

In the Asylum, meaning a cage with weapons hanging above the top of the cage. Also of note: you can only win by pinfall or submission, with escape not counting. Ambrose slugs away in the corner to start and rakes Jericho’s face over the barricade for some screaming. Jericho fights out and goes up but Ambrose pulls him right back down. Some more rams into the cage have Jericho in more trouble so Ambrose gets to climb.

Jericho tries to cut him off, only to get hit in the face with a mop. Ambrose hits him in the back a few times and goes ECW with a White Russian legsweep (mop rather than kendo stick) but takes too long throwing the mop away. Jericho gets in a quick dropkick and climbs rather slowly, which lets Ambrose belly to back superplex him down. With the wrestling not being enough, they both climb a different side, with Ambrose coming down holding nunchucks while Jericho grabs a barbed wire 2×4.

Ambrose wins the slugout (it helps that Jericho didn’t swing) and uses the nunchucks to beat him down. Jericho tries to escape, allowing him to catch Ambrose on top with some kendo stick shots. A top rope kendo stick shot to the back drops Ambrose again and Jericho gets to slowly walk around. It’s time for a big strap, allowing Jericho to give him a hard whipping. Jericho makes the mistake of going up with a long rope around his wrist though and Ambrose takes advantage, pulling him back down for a crash.

Now it’s Ambrose’s turn to whip away but Jericho sends him into the cage. For some reason Jericho wants to go out of the door but can’t get it open, meaning he has to try to climb out. Ambrose is back up with a crotching and grabs the fire extinguisher as Jericho grabs a straitjacket. Cole: “Interesting how you would use a straitjacket in this match.” I don’t know….maybe put your opponent in it? Instead Jericho throws it at Ambrose and sends him into the cage, followed by the triangle dropkick to send him into said cage again.

Jericho starts tying him in the jacket but Ambrose fights out and hits a running forearm. The big clothesline gives Ambrose two but Jericho is back with a butterfly backbreaker for the same. Ambrose’s bulldog gets him out of trouble so he goes to the top of the cage for the standing elbow drop (that looked good). Rather than covering, Ambrose goes up and grabs a bucket full of…a bag full of….thumbtacks.

Jericho’s eyes bug out as he knows this is going to hurt but he rolls out of an electric chair (with more great facial expressions as he looks terrified of the pain). Ambrose blocks the Walls attempt but gets sent into the cage. The Lionsault hits raised knees so Jericho goes for some more weapons.

That lets Ambrose whip out a kendo stick and hammer away before going up top. Jericho sprays him with a fire extinguisher to knock Ambrose out of the air and gets in a barbed wire 2×4 into the stomach. Ambrose is fine enough to knock him into the tacks, followed by Dirty Deeds for the win at 26:22.

Rating: C-. WAY too long here and it turned into pretty much every hardcore/weapons match you’ve seen for years. The thumbtacks are a downright cliche and they haven’t meant anything in a very long time. The action was fine enough, but I was so bored during various stretches. Outside of Jericho’s fear of the tacks, nothing in here felt overly extreme or violent and the match just kept going. Cut about ten minutes off and it’s way better, but other than that, not much to see here.

We recap Charlotte vs. Natalya for the Women’s Title. Charlotte beat Natalya at Payback via submission, when referee Charles Robinson called for the bell without Natalya tapping, because he loves the Flair Family. This turned into a battle over submissions and families, with the rematch being a submission match. Also, Flair is banned from ringside. In other words, the whole build has been about Bret vs. Ric, because where would we be without Ric getting a focus?

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Natalya

Charlotte is defending in a submission match. Charlotte powers her into the corner to start but Natalya is right back with a headlock takeover. They grapple on the mat with Natalya asking Charlotte “where’s your dad now”. Natalya’s basement dropkick connects and she grabs a surfboard. Charlotte slips out and they go to the floor where Natalya gets rocked with chops.

Back in and Natalya grabs an armbar, which is reversed into a sitout powerbomb. Some shots to the knee have Natalya in trouble and Charlotte grabs a leglock. That’s broken up so Charlotte hits a suplex, sending Natalya’s legs into the ropes. A moonsault sets up a half crab but Natalya reverses into the Sharpshooter. Cue Dana Brooke (brand new) in a Ric Flair robe for a distraction, causing Natalya to let go. Natalya beats up Brooke but gets caught in the Figure Eight to retain Charlotte’s title at 9:30.

Rating: C. Even when he isn’t there, the match somehow winds up being about Ric Flair. The whole feud was built around Flair vs. Bret in the first place and then Natalya was beaten up for most of the match. It’s not bad, but dang the story was not overly interesting and it winds up being “Charlotte wins again”, which wasn’t exactly fresh material.

We recap AJ Styles challenging Roman Reigns for the World Title. Styles lost to Reigns at Payback, with Gallows And Anderson and the Usos getting involved. The feud kept going with the tag teams staying involved too. The idea is Styles wants to prove he can do it on his own and doesn’t want to get too violent. The Usos kept attacking though and Styles fought back, only to get dropped by Reigns. Now the rematch for the title is under Extreme Rules. And at Extreme Rules, because WWE goes with really simple names for pay per views.

WWE World Title: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles

Reigns is defending in an Extreme Rules match. Styles ducks a shot to the face to start but gets caught with a second as the feeling out process continues. Some shots in the corner stagger Reigns, who shoves Styles down without much trouble. The corner clotheslines rock Styles again but he slugs away for a breather. A jumping knee knocks Styles outside though and Reigns grabs a chair.

Styles ducks the big shot and swings away, setting up a running clothesline to send Reigns over the barricade. The fight heads into the crowd and walk around the arena, including a stop at the pre-show set. Styles gets thrown onto the desk and comes back with a kick to the head, followed by the Phenomenal Forearm. They go back to ringside where Styles starts peeling back the floor pads.

Reigns fights back and clears the announcers’ table but Styles fights out of a powerbomb. Styles gets a running charge…and is backdropped through the other table in a huge crash. Back in and Reigns hits a Razor’s Edge sitout powerbomb for two (and a heck of a landing). Styles goes after the knee to give himself a breather and Reigns bails out to the floor. A hurricanrana off the apron is countered with a swing into the apron and a hard powerbomb through the announcers’ table.

The spear goes crashing through the barricade so Styles tries the Phenomenal Forearm. That’s broken up with a Superman Punch and they’re right back on the floor, where a second spear attempt connects. Cue Anderson and Gallows to drop Reigns with the Boot Of Doom but the Usos run in to take Styles out. The four invaders brawl to the back, leaving Styles to hit the Styles Clash for two.

Another Clash onto a chair is countered with a backdrop onto the chair but Styles blocks a Superman Punch with a Pele. The Clash onto the chair connects but Styles has to take out Jey Uso, allowing Reigns to kick out. A frustrated Styles chairs away at Reigns and the Usos so it’s time for the Phenomenal Forearm…which is speared out of the air to retain the title at 22:13.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a fight with both guys beating the daylights out of each other. They’ve shown chemistry together every time they’ve shared the ring and this was no exception. It made for an awesome main event, with the two teams interference not really hurting anything. The important thing here is that it felt like Reigns survived, which is what should happen in a match like this. Great main event and both guys looked awesome as a result.

Post match Seth Rollins makes a surprise return and jumps Reigns, becoming the new challenger for the title (which he was stripped of due to injury the previous fall).

 

Results
Baron Corbin b. Dolph Ziggler – End Of Days
Gallows And Anderson b. Usos – Magic Killer to Jimmy
Rusev b. Kalisto – Accolade
New Day b. Vaudevillians – Shining Wizard to Gotch
The Miz b. Cesaro, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn – Helluva Kick to Cesaro
Dean Ambrose b. Chris Jericho – Dirty Deeds
Charlotte b. Natalya – Figure Eight
Roman Reigns b. AJ Styles – Spear

 

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7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

The four way and the main event carried this, but the problem is that’s about all there is. So much of the rest of the show felt unimportant, with a bunch of the matches feeling like they belonged on Raw or Smackdown. Some of them had me wondering why I was having to watch them, which shouldn’t be the feeling on any show. At the same time, those two matches are more than worth seeing and they’re enough to save an otherwise totally skippable event.