Extreme(ish) Rules!

WWE EXTREME RULES 2017 REVIEW

Announcers:  Michael Cole, Corey Graves & Booker T

Location: Baltimore, MA

Venue: Royal Farms Arena

Intercontinental Title Match: Dean Ambrose (c) vs The Miz with Maryse
The show kicks off with a great IC title match. Both men seem to work really well together and the crowd was really into it with dual chants throughout the match. The stipulation was that if Ambrose got DQd then he would lose the title which of course meant lots Miz trying to get Dean DQd alot. There was a really good sequence when Miz has Dean in the figure four leg lock for ages and Then Dean manages to get Miz in the figure four which the crowd really enjoyed. Both men sell really well afterwards hobbling around the ring.  Miz wins with skull crushing finale. Miz tells Maryse to slap him which she does and we all think the referee is going to DQ Ambrose but the ref is wise enough and orders Maryse to leave ringside. The ref is distracted trying to remove her and Miz shoves Ambrose into the ref. The ref takes way too long thinking about what he's going to do which Miz takes advantage of hitting Ambrose with the Skull Crushing Finale for the win. Miz is now a 7-time Intercontinental champion. Great way to start the show.

Mixed Tag Team Match: Rich Swann/Sasha Banks Vs Noam Dar/Alicia Fox. 

This was a pretty Meh match. The crowd was more into it than it deserved because Baltimore is Rich Swann's hometown. Incredibly considering WWE's track record Swann wins in his hometown pinning Dar after a Phoenix Splash. Shock of the year!

Elias Samson Concert. 

This was brilliant! The man is booed before he even speaks. He sings a song trashing Baltimore which makes them boo him even more. He sings a bit about the main event before finishing with his usual line about 'What it needs, Is what I am.' Loved every second of this.

Kendo stick on a pole Match for the Raw Women's Title: Alexa Bliss (c) vs Bayley
Mixed crowd reaction which just shows how bad Bayley has been booked and well Alexa has in contrast. Big emphasis on Bayley and if she's capable of getting extreme. After a bit of Wrestling both Women go for the Kendo stick and it drops from the pole much quicker than expected. Bayley gets hold of the Kendo stick and chases Bliss around the ring. Bayley has Bliss cornered and its finally time to see her get extreme...and she doesn't! She swings and misses and hesitation to use the stick costs her as Bliss gets the stick and absolutely destroys Bayley. Bliss wins after multiple stick shots and a DDT. This was pretty one sided and made Bayley look absolutely terrible.

Steel Cage Match for the Raw Tag Team Titles: The Hardy Boyz (c) vs Sheamus & Cesaro
This was a really fun match even though it had a few gaps in logic you usually get in cage matches. Like when Sheamus & Cesaro started the match by running up the cage why didn't The Hardy's just walk out the door! Anyway great action throughout I especially enjoyed when both Hardy's were slamming Cesaro & Sheamus's heads into the cage then swapping sides delivering basement dropkicks. Loud Delete and Brother Nero chants throughout the match. All 4 men climb to the top of the cage and Jeff manages to escape but Matt can't leaving him briefly 2-on-1 against the challengers. Matt tries to get out and fight off Sheamus & Cesaro but takes a Double Power Bomb and then a White Noise off top rope. Jeff decides he has to get back into the match and takes out both Sheamus & Cesaro with Whisper in the Wind from the top of the cage. Sheamus & Cesaro escape cage over the top at the same time just before Matt could drag Jeff out. Sheamus & Cesaro are he new Raw Tag Team Champions.

Submission Match for the Cruiserweight title: Neville (c) vs Austin Aries

I really enjoyed this match although I did think the crowd dead and distracted throughout. This is a shame because the crowd was really hot for all the other matches. This match was the typical modern day affair we are use to with the Cruiserweights. Intense physical striking combined with awesome high flying. Both men pulled out multiple submission attempts and did a really good job of focusing on various body parts throughout the match. Both men manage to escape each others signature submission moves by barely making it to the ropes. Aries does manage to get Neville to tap on the outside but it doesn't count as the submission needs to take place in the ring. The finish comes when Aries misses the suicide dive attempt, Neville gets Aries back in the ring and hits the Red Arrow landing on Aries back and transitions straight into the Rings of Saturn for the win. All Hail the King of the Cruiserweights!

Fatal 5-Way Extreme Rules No.1 Contenders Match for the Universal Title:
Bray Wyatt Vs Seth Rollins Vs Samoa Joe Vs Finn Balor Vs Roman Reigns

This was an absolutely fantastic match. In my opinion the match of the night and also I would say the best PPV main event of 2017 so far. Certainly on the RAW side anyway! The match starts in hilarious fashion to me when Roman Reigns is standing in the ring just chilling out when everyone else is fighting on the outside then he beats down anyone that tries to come in the ring. Then Finn takes control of the ring and stomps on anyone trying to get in before flying over the ropes taking out Rollins, Joe and Wyatt. Joe & Wyatt renew their recent sort of alliance beating down the other 3 with the help of steel steps. They spend alot of time beating on Balor with the help of a steel chair and a couple of running sentons each onto a chair on Balor. Reigns and Rollins get back into the match and its every man for himself again when Wyatt throws Joe into the path of a suicide dive from Rollins. There's a great sequence on the outside where Joe has Balor in the Coquina Clutch and they both get Speared through the barricade by Reigns. Moments later Rollins hits a frog splash on Wyatt through one of the announce tables. Reigns and Rollins get back in the ring and continue where they left off on RAW trading signature moves and near falls. Eventually everyone gets back in and it looks like Balor is going to win when he hits the Coupe de Grace on Reigns but is broken up by Joe who locks Balor in the Coquina Clutch. With everyone down and nowhere for Balor to go he passes out and Joe is declared the winner. Samoa Joe is the new no.1 contender for the Universal title and will face Brock Lesnar for the title at Great Balls of Fire. Goodness Gracious!!

And that was Extreme Rules 2017! Overall I thought it was a really good show. Probably the best RAW exclusive PPV since the brand split. As I said The main event was absolutely brilliant and didn't expect Joe to win. I can't wait for his match with Lesnar! The IC, Tag and Cruiserweight titles matches were all really good matches even if the crowd didn't seem into the Submission match which was unfortunate. I didn't care much for the Mixed tag match but it was nice to see Swann get a great hometown reaction and actually get the win. The women's match was a real disappointment. Although Bliss looks like an absolute boss heel right now, Bayley looks absolutely pathetic. Its really hard to see all the potential she had built up in NXT just completely go to waste.

Thanks everyone for reading. What did you think of the show and this blog? Let me know in the comments!