Match 1: Hanson vs. Mark Briscoe
This is one of my first few
times watching Hanson as he has his hands full against Mark Briscoe!
Hanson is deceptively athletic and does a great job and making sure he
still looks like a beast to be reckoned with at the same time. Good
opening match that was pretty even. They did a great job of building
around Hanson's size as Briscoe eventually lifts him up and slams him
later in the match where Briscoe then scores the win from a dive off the
top rope. Really nice opening bout between two veterans.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Rating: **1/2
Match
2: BJ Whitmer & Adam Page vs. R.D. Evans & Moose vs. Ethan
Gabriel Owens & Josh Alexander vs. Caprice Coleman & Watanabe
I
can already tell that this match is going to be a mess. And I mean that
in the funnest way possible. ROH always comes up big when it comes to
hectic types of matches like this. Tons of chaos and tons of guys flying
in and out of the ring made this a really fun watch. Crowd was
energetic throughout and there were so many different types of
personalities in the match. You had your comedic styles sprinkled in and
you had your really cool spots including Moose diving outside and
taking everybody out. Everyone was great in their roles and the finish
was awesome where Owens & Alexander looked to score the victory
after hitting their cool finisher until Evans gets a pin out of nowhere
to increase his undefeated streak to 150! Crowd loves it and so do I!
Winners: R.D. Evans & Moose
Rating: ***
Match 3: The Addiction vs. The Decade
Little
feud between a team of guys who have stayed in just ROH against a team
of guys who went elsewhere before returning to ROH. Definitely liking
the back story but the match just didn't really click how I felt like it
would have. The crowd seemed a bit tired from the last two matches and
they weren't given a sufficient amount of time to really do anything out
of the ordinary. The action was fine and just came off as a regular tag
match that you would normally be able to catch on television.
Christopher Daniels & Kazarian get the win after hitting their cool
finisher on Roderick Strong. The Decade then exchange words before Jimmy
Jacobs gets in between the thick of things and plays peacemaker.
Winners: The Addiction
Rating: ***
Match 4: Adam Cole vs. AJ Styles
Adam
Cole claims to have lost everything after losing his ROH World
Championship to Michael Elgin. He gets a chance to take out the leader
of The Bullet Club tonight against AJ Styles. Good match but I felt as
if the expectations were placed way too high. Things were just sluggish
at times and the flow just didn't fit with the crowd. Pacing is
something Styles is usually spot on with but not too much here. They did
a lot of focusing on the leg of Styles as Cole wanted to damper it down
for his Figure Four. Styles was great in selling it but it wasn't much
of a major factor as it should have been. Cole tried coming off as the
jerk heel but this time around, it really seemed forced. The ending came
when they were on the top rope for a good minute before Styles dropped
Cole on his head for the win. Again, good match that just didn't meet
the expectations. The action was sluggish at times but did pick up in
the middle where they finally shifted into a different gear. Here's
hoping for a better and cleaner rematch.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ***1/2
Match 5: ROH World Television Championship - Jay Lethal (c) vs. Cedric Alexander
Jay
Lethal is definitely becoming one of the company's top heels. At first,
I was reluctant at his turn but he has easily made the most of it and
proved any doubters wrong. This match starts off hot and never really
looked back from the start. Crowd was into the action and Alexander more
than held his own against Lethal in a bigger match. Alexander's energy
and style in the ring should not go unnoticed, he did a fantastic job of
playing with the crowd and making sure every fall was believable. The
closest one came when Seleziya came out to help Lethal but ended up
getting kicked in the face! Alexander almost capitalized on the
distraction by hitting Lethal with a Lumber Check but Lethal barely put
his leg up on the first rope for the break! Lethal hits Alexander with
Matt Taven's Climax and follows it up with a Lethal Injection to retain
with the victory. The two shake hands afterwards in a great match that
may have suffered a bit from a little lack of time but even still, great
match as we roll into the final two matches of the night.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Rating: ***3/4
Match 6: ROH World Championship - Michael Elgin (c) vs. Jay Briscoe
Personally
would have preferred to seen this match go last on the card but either
way, here we are. Jay Briscoe looks to reclaim the ROH World
Championship and become the second person in company history to hold the
title on two different reigns. Huge fan of both these guys and their
aggressive styles. This match should be good and they delivered. From
the start as Briscoe shoved Elgin after the handshake, the emotions were
running high and as a fan, I felt the intensity kicking up a notch.
Elgin is the champ and Briscoe has not been pinned in over two years. At
times, this felt like a match with no disqualification. They took the
fight outside where they brought in the table where Elgin even smashed
Briscoe with it. Sinclair for sure is not calling it or this crowd will
riot. One of the coolest spots of the night came when Briscoe hit a Jay
Driller on Elgin through the table. They crashed hard and it looked
sick! Crowd came unglued after that as Elgin kicked out of the pin.
However, Briscoe was able to hit another one in the ring and capture the
ROH World Championship! Strong first main event of the night as
Briscoe, the face of the company, starts his second reign. Crowd popped
for Briscoe nicely but seemed disappointed with the outcome. Elgin
worked his tail off to become champion and as much of a shame it is to
see him drop it, Briscoe really earned a longer title reign and
hopefully, we get to see one here. This needed to close the show.
Winner: Jay Briscoe
Rating: ****
Match 7: ROH World Tag Team Championships - 2 out of 3 Falls - ReDRagon (c) vs. The Young Bucks
Very
unlike Ring of Honor to not have a World Championship match close out
the night but this is definitely a worthy follower. Start to finish,
this was high octane and just ridiculously fun to watch. Crowd is still
hot after the last match and this just feels like a main event. The
first pin came when Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish bring in a hockey
stick and nail one of The Bucks with it before hitting Chasing the
Dragon to score the first pin. ReDRagon look to go for the kill but The
Young Bucks make the comeback and tie it up about five minutes after in a
fast-paced exchange. Now it gets crazy as the next pin wins the match
and the belts. The Bucks hit their crazy Meltzer Driver finish but Bobby
Fish pulls out Paul Turner right before he strikes the final pin! The
Bucks inadvertently take out Turner and mayhem continues! Fish tosses
Matt Jackson off the top rope to the outside and through a table!
O'Reilly then makes Nick submit for the crazy finish as Todd Sinclair
called for the bell. Afterwards, Tommaso Ciampa runs out and takes out
both Young Bucks before he takes off the ring canvas and exposes the
wood and plants Nick Jackson on the wood to end the show. Talk about the
two best tag teams in professional wrestling today. They stepped up
their game after the big title switch and closed out the show with a
bang.
Winners: ReDRagon
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I
don't really follow much ROH these days but this show was definitely a
good one for me to sit back and watch. From top to bottom, everybody
stepped up their game and we got two fantastic main events that included
Jay Briscoe winning the championship again. While I was disappointed the World Championship bout to close out the show, I won't let it take away from the fantastic main event and overall night of wrestling.
Rating: 8.75/10
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
ROH Supercard of Honor VIII Review
Match 1: Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong
Opening up the big wrestling weekend features The Decade's Roderick Strong taking on Cedric Alexander. Really great choice of opener that sets the pace for the show with Strong looking great but also makes Alexander look great in the process. Crowd was definitely hot and especially when Alexander basically took out the entire Decade team before Strong hit a backbreaker to pick up the win. Jimmy Jacobs then got on the mic and put themselves over. Fun match that was hard hitting and also fast paced at the same time. Great start to the show and hopefully, others can follow in its place. Can't help but wonder where the direction Strong is headed.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: The Decade vs. Adrenaline Rush & Andrew Everett
Following Strong's win, The Decade have Whitmer, Page, & Jacobs pitted against Adrenaline Rush & Everett. Very much what you would expect, some cool spots here and there but nothing that will steal the show. Crowd was still hot after the hot opener and the guys took advantage of it. Finish saw The Decade pick up the second win of the night. Good match that served its purpose and made sure not to take anything away from the next tag match that we will see later in the night.
Winners: The Decade
Rating: **1/4
Match 3: Silas Young vs. RD Evans
82-0. The streak that Evans is riding here against Young. I love a bit of comedy in wrestling and this streak that Evans has is great! He's such a goofy dude and is playing his character nicely. And him going up against a guy who is super serious in Silas Young is a great mixture. One thing I will say is that the commentary has been atrocious. I love both guys but when they ramble on about random things during a match, it's worse than WWE. Finish came when Evans tried to pull an Eddie Guerrero by tossing the belt to Young making referee Paul Turner think Young used the belt. However, Evans tried rolling up Young as he convinced Turner he did not hit Evans but to no avail. Young them clobbered Turner on accident with the belt. Young takes out Evans as a new referee slides in to give Young the win. However, out comes Turner and reverses the call. 83-0. Fun match with a cool ending, Young stays strong while the streak continues.
Winner: RD Evans
Rating: **
Match 4: No Disqualification - Mark Briscoe vs. Michael Bennett
Bad blood has been brewing between these two as they finally meet in a no disqualification contest. This match has stupid fun written all over it. They quickly take the fight to the outside where Briscoe dives off a little ledge onto Bennett and takes control of the match. They go back and fourth before Bennett finally gets the advantage by spearing Briscoe off the stage and through a table. Awesome. They take it back into the ring where they bring in chairs and sticks before Bennett locks in an Anaconda Vice to get the win over Briscoe as the referee called for the bell. Bennett is a great heel as he copies popular WWE moves which received a pretty good reaction from the audience. The match was nothing special but the show did need a little spark like this one before settling into the main events.
Winner: Michael Bennett
Rating: **1/4
Match 5: Forever Hooligans vs. Hanson & Rowe vs. ReDRagon
I am a sucker for these chaotic tag team matches and this one should be a dandy. Their styles nicely clashed against one another, you have the crazy Hooligans doing their fun thing, the big dudes looking to steamroll through everyone, and my favorites in ReDRagon just being awesome heels. Crowd was much hotter for this one and the action was always coming at a fast pace but not too fast for us to not be able to sink our teeth into. Great pacing and great action from top to bottom that saw Kyle O'Reilly roll up Alex Koslov with a handful of tights to secure the big victory. Bobby Fish then gets in the face of the commentators at ringside and lets them know who the best tag team in the world is. ReDRagon will be challenging The Young Bucks soon for the belts and that one should definitely be a good one. Great tag match here that separates itself from the tag match earlier in a better fashion.
Winners: ReDRagon
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: ROH World Television Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls - Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Jay Lethal
Interesting start to the match as Lethal offered his hand for the shaking but Ciampa instead gives Lethal his knee brace which Ciampa uses since tearing his ACL. Back in 2012, these two had an amazing match at Border Wars that completely caught me off guard. They look to steal the show here again but this time, on a much more stacked card. 2 out of 3 falls matches are not typically my favorite since they do tend to repeat themselves but I like what they did here. Lethal scored the first pin after the two basically wrestled a full match. They then told the story of Ciampa doing all he can to tie the score. Lethal inadvertently knocked down referee Todd Sinclair which led to Truth Martini coming to Lethal's aid by tossing in Ciampa's knee brace. Lethal drills Ciampa with it but Ciampa kicks out! Lethal hits the Hail to the King from the top but Ciampa kicks out before Sinclair can even count! Lethal then lands a couple kicks to Ciampa's face that does no harm! However, a kick to Ciampa's knee leading into a Lethal Injection was enough to score the win and win the World Television Championship once again. These two have great chemistry and they made every count believable from start to finish. Great stuff.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Rating: ***3/4
Match 7: Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Steen
This is a #1 contender match for a chance at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in May. They have met against each other here and there as their bout a couple years ago in Canada comes to mind. But I loved this one, too. They both have such exciting styles that rely heavily on their big moves and they definitely brought them out here. The pacing was on point, not too fast and never a dull moment. They took the fight outside and in the ring where Elgin was able to display his incredible strength as Kevin Steen hung in right there with him. Crowd could not be any hotter for this one as Elgin hits Steen with a Package Piledriver to score the win and a chance at glory next month. The two abide by the Code of Honor and shake hands after the match. It was almost as if this was a story of Elgin avenging his loss for the ROH World Championship a couple years ago. Fantastic bout of two big guys going at it with everything on the line and everything to gain. Cool spots, close finishes, and a sweet finish. Very similar to their ROH World Championship match but also very different. Granted, the match was not as great as that one but this one was definitely a worthy sequel.
Winner: Michael Elgin
Rating: ****
Match 8: ROH World Championship - Ladder War - Adam Cole (c) vs. Jay Briscoe
One year removed from capturing the gold from Kevin Steen, Jay Briscoe finds himself looking to capture it once again in a Ladder War against his nemesis in Adam Cole. I love Ladder Wars and I also hate them. Most of the time, they are tough to watch and this is definitely the case here. The amount of unprotected chair shots these guys took to the head was too many to count. But you could feel the intensity here and the passion from both guys. They tore their bodies apart using tables, ladders, and chairs. Each spot more brutal than the next and while tough, it was still tons of fun to watch. Briscoe always tends to step up his game in these types of matches and he for sure brought the violence to this one. He got cut up early in the match and the blood kept flowing until the very end. The ending sequence may have been a bit too much as when Briscoe was ready to grab the belts hung up, Cole gave him the bird while on his back on the canvas. Briscoe then came down where he beat him down until Matt Hardy came to the scene and put a stop to things. Mark Briscoe then came out and looked to destroy Hardy by jumping off the huge ladder outside the ring through a table. But Michael Bennett comes out and drops Briscoe through the table! Jay was able to fight through everybody until Adam Cole beats Jay to the belts as he retains. Great war of a match until the cluster of a finish with all the interferences. If anyone has ever seen The Undertaker vs. Edge in a TLC match from 2008, this was the ROH version. Just on a much lesser scale and not as smoothly constructed. But all in all, it does not take away from what a cool main event that was.
Winner: Adam Cole
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Not the best Supercard of Honor ever but it does live up to the name. Great matches from top to bottom with the three last final matches definitely being the highlights. Nothing here that was absolutely spectacular but there was still more great than good.
Rating: 8/10
Opening up the big wrestling weekend features The Decade's Roderick Strong taking on Cedric Alexander. Really great choice of opener that sets the pace for the show with Strong looking great but also makes Alexander look great in the process. Crowd was definitely hot and especially when Alexander basically took out the entire Decade team before Strong hit a backbreaker to pick up the win. Jimmy Jacobs then got on the mic and put themselves over. Fun match that was hard hitting and also fast paced at the same time. Great start to the show and hopefully, others can follow in its place. Can't help but wonder where the direction Strong is headed.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: The Decade vs. Adrenaline Rush & Andrew Everett
Following Strong's win, The Decade have Whitmer, Page, & Jacobs pitted against Adrenaline Rush & Everett. Very much what you would expect, some cool spots here and there but nothing that will steal the show. Crowd was still hot after the hot opener and the guys took advantage of it. Finish saw The Decade pick up the second win of the night. Good match that served its purpose and made sure not to take anything away from the next tag match that we will see later in the night.
Winners: The Decade
Rating: **1/4
Match 3: Silas Young vs. RD Evans
82-0. The streak that Evans is riding here against Young. I love a bit of comedy in wrestling and this streak that Evans has is great! He's such a goofy dude and is playing his character nicely. And him going up against a guy who is super serious in Silas Young is a great mixture. One thing I will say is that the commentary has been atrocious. I love both guys but when they ramble on about random things during a match, it's worse than WWE. Finish came when Evans tried to pull an Eddie Guerrero by tossing the belt to Young making referee Paul Turner think Young used the belt. However, Evans tried rolling up Young as he convinced Turner he did not hit Evans but to no avail. Young them clobbered Turner on accident with the belt. Young takes out Evans as a new referee slides in to give Young the win. However, out comes Turner and reverses the call. 83-0. Fun match with a cool ending, Young stays strong while the streak continues.
Winner: RD Evans
Rating: **
Match 4: No Disqualification - Mark Briscoe vs. Michael Bennett
Bad blood has been brewing between these two as they finally meet in a no disqualification contest. This match has stupid fun written all over it. They quickly take the fight to the outside where Briscoe dives off a little ledge onto Bennett and takes control of the match. They go back and fourth before Bennett finally gets the advantage by spearing Briscoe off the stage and through a table. Awesome. They take it back into the ring where they bring in chairs and sticks before Bennett locks in an Anaconda Vice to get the win over Briscoe as the referee called for the bell. Bennett is a great heel as he copies popular WWE moves which received a pretty good reaction from the audience. The match was nothing special but the show did need a little spark like this one before settling into the main events.
Winner: Michael Bennett
Rating: **1/4
Match 5: Forever Hooligans vs. Hanson & Rowe vs. ReDRagon
I am a sucker for these chaotic tag team matches and this one should be a dandy. Their styles nicely clashed against one another, you have the crazy Hooligans doing their fun thing, the big dudes looking to steamroll through everyone, and my favorites in ReDRagon just being awesome heels. Crowd was much hotter for this one and the action was always coming at a fast pace but not too fast for us to not be able to sink our teeth into. Great pacing and great action from top to bottom that saw Kyle O'Reilly roll up Alex Koslov with a handful of tights to secure the big victory. Bobby Fish then gets in the face of the commentators at ringside and lets them know who the best tag team in the world is. ReDRagon will be challenging The Young Bucks soon for the belts and that one should definitely be a good one. Great tag match here that separates itself from the tag match earlier in a better fashion.
Winners: ReDRagon
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: ROH World Television Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls - Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Jay Lethal
Interesting start to the match as Lethal offered his hand for the shaking but Ciampa instead gives Lethal his knee brace which Ciampa uses since tearing his ACL. Back in 2012, these two had an amazing match at Border Wars that completely caught me off guard. They look to steal the show here again but this time, on a much more stacked card. 2 out of 3 falls matches are not typically my favorite since they do tend to repeat themselves but I like what they did here. Lethal scored the first pin after the two basically wrestled a full match. They then told the story of Ciampa doing all he can to tie the score. Lethal inadvertently knocked down referee Todd Sinclair which led to Truth Martini coming to Lethal's aid by tossing in Ciampa's knee brace. Lethal drills Ciampa with it but Ciampa kicks out! Lethal hits the Hail to the King from the top but Ciampa kicks out before Sinclair can even count! Lethal then lands a couple kicks to Ciampa's face that does no harm! However, a kick to Ciampa's knee leading into a Lethal Injection was enough to score the win and win the World Television Championship once again. These two have great chemistry and they made every count believable from start to finish. Great stuff.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Rating: ***3/4
Match 7: Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Steen
This is a #1 contender match for a chance at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in May. They have met against each other here and there as their bout a couple years ago in Canada comes to mind. But I loved this one, too. They both have such exciting styles that rely heavily on their big moves and they definitely brought them out here. The pacing was on point, not too fast and never a dull moment. They took the fight outside and in the ring where Elgin was able to display his incredible strength as Kevin Steen hung in right there with him. Crowd could not be any hotter for this one as Elgin hits Steen with a Package Piledriver to score the win and a chance at glory next month. The two abide by the Code of Honor and shake hands after the match. It was almost as if this was a story of Elgin avenging his loss for the ROH World Championship a couple years ago. Fantastic bout of two big guys going at it with everything on the line and everything to gain. Cool spots, close finishes, and a sweet finish. Very similar to their ROH World Championship match but also very different. Granted, the match was not as great as that one but this one was definitely a worthy sequel.
Winner: Michael Elgin
Rating: ****
Match 8: ROH World Championship - Ladder War - Adam Cole (c) vs. Jay Briscoe
One year removed from capturing the gold from Kevin Steen, Jay Briscoe finds himself looking to capture it once again in a Ladder War against his nemesis in Adam Cole. I love Ladder Wars and I also hate them. Most of the time, they are tough to watch and this is definitely the case here. The amount of unprotected chair shots these guys took to the head was too many to count. But you could feel the intensity here and the passion from both guys. They tore their bodies apart using tables, ladders, and chairs. Each spot more brutal than the next and while tough, it was still tons of fun to watch. Briscoe always tends to step up his game in these types of matches and he for sure brought the violence to this one. He got cut up early in the match and the blood kept flowing until the very end. The ending sequence may have been a bit too much as when Briscoe was ready to grab the belts hung up, Cole gave him the bird while on his back on the canvas. Briscoe then came down where he beat him down until Matt Hardy came to the scene and put a stop to things. Mark Briscoe then came out and looked to destroy Hardy by jumping off the huge ladder outside the ring through a table. But Michael Bennett comes out and drops Briscoe through the table! Jay was able to fight through everybody until Adam Cole beats Jay to the belts as he retains. Great war of a match until the cluster of a finish with all the interferences. If anyone has ever seen The Undertaker vs. Edge in a TLC match from 2008, this was the ROH version. Just on a much lesser scale and not as smoothly constructed. But all in all, it does not take away from what a cool main event that was.
Winner: Adam Cole
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Not the best Supercard of Honor ever but it does live up to the name. Great matches from top to bottom with the three last final matches definitely being the highlights. Nothing here that was absolutely spectacular but there was still more great than good.
Rating: 8/10
Saturday, June 20, 2015
WWE Extreme Rules 2014 Review
Match 1: Elimination - Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro
This is the opening contest of the night as ECW original Rob Van Dam goes against Jack Swagger and Cesaro in an elimination match. I'm a sucker for triple threat matches and this one features three guys who can easily open the show on the right note. Good pacing and fun action from the three that saw Swagger get eliminated by Van Dam. Van Dam and Cesaro had a nice exchange as they brought out a trashcan because after all, this is Extreme Rules. Van Dam placed it on top of Cesaro and looked to finish him off with a Frog Splash until Cesaro got out of the way and planted Van Dam with a Neutralizer on the can for the win. Nice opening contest to set the tone for the rest of the night. Also a cool win for Cesaro who is on fire after his big WrestleMania win.
Winner: Cesaro
Rating: **3/4
Match 2: Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth & Xavier Woods
Rusev's manager Lana comes out before the match and dedicates the match to Vladimir Putin and introduces Rusev to the New Jersey crowd. He has two opponents but quickly takes out Woods before the match bell tolls. He destroys R-Truth who surprisingly got in a decent amount of offense in before falling to Rusev's Accolade finisher. Rusev continues to impress and reminds me of Umaga in some sense. Nice squash match to continue getting Rusev in the spotlight. Rusev then disposes of Woods once more after the match.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: *
Match 3: Intercontinental Championship - Big E (c) vs. Bad News Barrett
Barrett won a #1 contender's tournament to challenge Big E for this opportunity. Been enjoying the work from these two as of late and was hopeful that they would score enough time on a pretty stacked card. Crowd is definitely behind the heel Barrett and it seemed like it brought the best out of him. Their styles are pretty similar and they blended well together here. Ending stretch came when Big E looked to hit his Big Ending finish until Barrett countered and missed a Bull Hammer shot. But Barrett manages to quickly land a running Hammer right after for the big win to the delight of the crowd. I've got some bad news for ya! Barrett is the new champ!
Winner: Bad News Barrett
Rating: **1/4
Match 4: Evolution vs. The Shield
It is almost impossible to believe that this match is happening. Evolution regrouping for the first time since 2004 as Triple H, Randy Orton, & Batista look to take on three hungry guys in Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns. This match rocked. They wanted to make The Shield look good and they definitely looked both stronger and hungrier. It is pretty obvious that the WWE is high on these guys and they got the better of Evolution here in a back and fourth match that really made Evolution look like they were simply playing defense the entire road. Crowd was insanely hot for this match, they did not want to see an ending. It was carnage from top to bottom with again, The Shield really getting the most out of the match. Since this is an Extreme Rules PPV, they took things outside the ring with Ambrose jumping off the announce tables and finally, Rollins jumping off a balcony and splashing on to Triple H along with Randy Orton. In the ring, Batista look primed to hit his Batista Bomb but Reigns reversed into a Superman Punch into a Spear! Before I say anything else, I definitely have to credit Batista. Not only did he come back and eat the submission loss at WrestleMania, but he ate the pin here. Zero selfishness on his part and is truly doing his best to make others look good. As for the match, it was awesome. Shield look motivated and ready to claim their spots at the top. And Triple H has no problem with putting them over. The younger Shield basically beat Evolution like we have never, ever seen before in a WWE ring. Awesome stuff.
Winners: The Shield
Rating: ****1/4
Match 5: Steel Cage - Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena
Heard so many interesting things of this match so I am a bit curious to see how this goes. This is the rematch for their WrestleMania match that I felt was underwhelming. Cage matches have become pretty repetitive overtime and it becomes increasingly difficult to really do something different. Wyatt has his family surrounding the cage and make things interesting as they refuse to allow Cena to exit by exiting. The pacing of the match was on point, this match went nearly half an hour and they spaced out their moves and spots nicely. But it almost felt like the crowd was a little taken back by it after the extremely fast match that was Evolution vs. The Shield. The match was pretty enjoyable until the finish came about. Cena had the entire Wyatt Family down. He looked to exit through the open door until the lights go out and a child appears singing. What is this? Cena is taken back by this as Wyatt hits his finisher and scores the win. I know this is pro wrestling and anything can happen. But seriously, what the hell was that? The announcers try to play it off but this is so stupid. Great match capped off with a ridiculous finish.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rating: ***
Match 6: Divas Championship - Paige (c) vs. Tamina Snuka
Tamina is not your typical Diva. She is definitely more wrestler than simply a pretty face. She won a battle royal to score a chance at gold here against Paige. Crowd could not care less for this one. Basically dead throughout the whole match and things did not help when the referee messed up a count. But even with that, the action was still a bit better than we have been accustomed to seeing as both Divas definitely got some skill in the ring. Paige wins with an innovative submission to retain her title.
Winner: Paige
Rating: *1/2
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Extreme Rules - Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kane
It is almost hard to believe that these two were a tag team just a year ago. Many are not too thrilled to see that Kane is the first challenger to Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, seeing as this is an Extreme Rules match, I am actually looking forward to this one. This was far and away one of the more goofy main events in a long time from the WWE. This match defines exactly what the PPV should be, craziness and more craziness. After all, this is an Extreme Rules match! Lots of foreign objects used for this one as they took the fight to the back where they destroyed televisions, shattered car windows, and used a forklift. Yes, a forklift. Bryan knocked out Kane with a tire iron and used the forklift to carry Kane back to the ring! Bryan then dumped Kane into the ring using it and then doze off of it. I am not making this stuff up here. Bryan looks to be on a roll and looks to hit a dive to the outside only for Kane to catch him and Chokeslam him through the announce table. Kane then sets a table on fire where Bryan is able to dump Kane onto it and hit a Running Knee for the win! Fun stuff! One of Kane's strongest matches in recent memory, both Bryan and the stipulation brought out the best of him. Also, Bryan scores another PPV win under his belt. People are too sensitive these days, especially wrestling fans. Just sit back, shut up, and enjoy this. You know it was fun.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Extreme Rules is always one of the stronger shows of the year and this year fell a little flat. The obvious highlight would be the Evolution vs. Shield match which definitely lived to the hype. The main event was also fun but everything else was just there. Check out those two matches and you'll be good.
Rating: 6/10
This is the opening contest of the night as ECW original Rob Van Dam goes against Jack Swagger and Cesaro in an elimination match. I'm a sucker for triple threat matches and this one features three guys who can easily open the show on the right note. Good pacing and fun action from the three that saw Swagger get eliminated by Van Dam. Van Dam and Cesaro had a nice exchange as they brought out a trashcan because after all, this is Extreme Rules. Van Dam placed it on top of Cesaro and looked to finish him off with a Frog Splash until Cesaro got out of the way and planted Van Dam with a Neutralizer on the can for the win. Nice opening contest to set the tone for the rest of the night. Also a cool win for Cesaro who is on fire after his big WrestleMania win.
Winner: Cesaro
Rating: **3/4
Match 2: Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth & Xavier Woods
Rusev's manager Lana comes out before the match and dedicates the match to Vladimir Putin and introduces Rusev to the New Jersey crowd. He has two opponents but quickly takes out Woods before the match bell tolls. He destroys R-Truth who surprisingly got in a decent amount of offense in before falling to Rusev's Accolade finisher. Rusev continues to impress and reminds me of Umaga in some sense. Nice squash match to continue getting Rusev in the spotlight. Rusev then disposes of Woods once more after the match.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: *
Match 3: Intercontinental Championship - Big E (c) vs. Bad News Barrett
Barrett won a #1 contender's tournament to challenge Big E for this opportunity. Been enjoying the work from these two as of late and was hopeful that they would score enough time on a pretty stacked card. Crowd is definitely behind the heel Barrett and it seemed like it brought the best out of him. Their styles are pretty similar and they blended well together here. Ending stretch came when Big E looked to hit his Big Ending finish until Barrett countered and missed a Bull Hammer shot. But Barrett manages to quickly land a running Hammer right after for the big win to the delight of the crowd. I've got some bad news for ya! Barrett is the new champ!
Winner: Bad News Barrett
Rating: **1/4
Match 4: Evolution vs. The Shield
It is almost impossible to believe that this match is happening. Evolution regrouping for the first time since 2004 as Triple H, Randy Orton, & Batista look to take on three hungry guys in Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns. This match rocked. They wanted to make The Shield look good and they definitely looked both stronger and hungrier. It is pretty obvious that the WWE is high on these guys and they got the better of Evolution here in a back and fourth match that really made Evolution look like they were simply playing defense the entire road. Crowd was insanely hot for this match, they did not want to see an ending. It was carnage from top to bottom with again, The Shield really getting the most out of the match. Since this is an Extreme Rules PPV, they took things outside the ring with Ambrose jumping off the announce tables and finally, Rollins jumping off a balcony and splashing on to Triple H along with Randy Orton. In the ring, Batista look primed to hit his Batista Bomb but Reigns reversed into a Superman Punch into a Spear! Before I say anything else, I definitely have to credit Batista. Not only did he come back and eat the submission loss at WrestleMania, but he ate the pin here. Zero selfishness on his part and is truly doing his best to make others look good. As for the match, it was awesome. Shield look motivated and ready to claim their spots at the top. And Triple H has no problem with putting them over. The younger Shield basically beat Evolution like we have never, ever seen before in a WWE ring. Awesome stuff.
Winners: The Shield
Rating: ****1/4
Match 5: Steel Cage - Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena
Heard so many interesting things of this match so I am a bit curious to see how this goes. This is the rematch for their WrestleMania match that I felt was underwhelming. Cage matches have become pretty repetitive overtime and it becomes increasingly difficult to really do something different. Wyatt has his family surrounding the cage and make things interesting as they refuse to allow Cena to exit by exiting. The pacing of the match was on point, this match went nearly half an hour and they spaced out their moves and spots nicely. But it almost felt like the crowd was a little taken back by it after the extremely fast match that was Evolution vs. The Shield. The match was pretty enjoyable until the finish came about. Cena had the entire Wyatt Family down. He looked to exit through the open door until the lights go out and a child appears singing. What is this? Cena is taken back by this as Wyatt hits his finisher and scores the win. I know this is pro wrestling and anything can happen. But seriously, what the hell was that? The announcers try to play it off but this is so stupid. Great match capped off with a ridiculous finish.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rating: ***
Match 6: Divas Championship - Paige (c) vs. Tamina Snuka
Tamina is not your typical Diva. She is definitely more wrestler than simply a pretty face. She won a battle royal to score a chance at gold here against Paige. Crowd could not care less for this one. Basically dead throughout the whole match and things did not help when the referee messed up a count. But even with that, the action was still a bit better than we have been accustomed to seeing as both Divas definitely got some skill in the ring. Paige wins with an innovative submission to retain her title.
Winner: Paige
Rating: *1/2
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Extreme Rules - Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kane
It is almost hard to believe that these two were a tag team just a year ago. Many are not too thrilled to see that Kane is the first challenger to Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, seeing as this is an Extreme Rules match, I am actually looking forward to this one. This was far and away one of the more goofy main events in a long time from the WWE. This match defines exactly what the PPV should be, craziness and more craziness. After all, this is an Extreme Rules match! Lots of foreign objects used for this one as they took the fight to the back where they destroyed televisions, shattered car windows, and used a forklift. Yes, a forklift. Bryan knocked out Kane with a tire iron and used the forklift to carry Kane back to the ring! Bryan then dumped Kane into the ring using it and then doze off of it. I am not making this stuff up here. Bryan looks to be on a roll and looks to hit a dive to the outside only for Kane to catch him and Chokeslam him through the announce table. Kane then sets a table on fire where Bryan is able to dump Kane onto it and hit a Running Knee for the win! Fun stuff! One of Kane's strongest matches in recent memory, both Bryan and the stipulation brought out the best of him. Also, Bryan scores another PPV win under his belt. People are too sensitive these days, especially wrestling fans. Just sit back, shut up, and enjoy this. You know it was fun.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Extreme Rules is always one of the stronger shows of the year and this year fell a little flat. The obvious highlight would be the Evolution vs. Shield match which definitely lived to the hype. The main event was also fun but everything else was just there. Check out those two matches and you'll be good.
Rating: 6/10
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