WWE let some bad tricks get in the way of a good fight on “The Horror Show” on Extreme Rules.
It makes you wonder why the company continues to corner itself with a pay-per-view labeled “Extreme Rules” and only makes it worse by labeling it “The Horror Show.” Make fans happy and bring Halloween Havoc in October and stop forcing extreme rule games. Here are five conclusions from a mix of a show that lasts only 2 and a half hours.
Dishonor women
They lie, cheat, steal, and win.
Bayley and Sasha Banks left Extreme Rules with all the women’s gold and their bond even stronger. Neither of them won clean as they both got mutual help and Banks’ “win” probably won’t hold. The pair is one of the best things WWE has and it didn’t stop, despite a warning.
Banks and Asuka delivered possibly the game of the night and one of their most interesting finishes. The action itself had a little bit of everything, a great beat, clever counters, some really physical points and even some joint Banks manipulations that Pete Dunne would be proud of. Fortunately, this fight does not appear.
Finally, Banks needed Bayley’s help to “win” the game. The SmackDown women’s champion slipped one of the tag titles into the ring, prompting the missing banks to touch Asuka’s lock. Asuka was able to defend herself against Bayley, but Banks picked up the remaining belt in the ring. As Banks argued with the referee, Asuka hit him with the green mist instead of blinding the Chief.
It allowed Bayley to crush Asuka in the back with the belt, remove the reference from his shirt, put on – while still wearing his SmackDown title – count 1-2-3 and declare Banks the “winner” and the new Raw female champion. I have all that
The result will probably not hold. But with no authority figures on screen in WWE, who turns around? WWE officials? The referee himself after seeing Banks intervened? Or will Banks continue to come and go with the gold until his likely SummerSlam rematch?
Bayley also had a solid partner with Nikki Cross, whose pure energy is entertaining. Cross’s story was clearly that of the loser, but WWE didn’t generate enough excitement behind her for you to really invest. Cross, of course, was tricked when Banks slipped Bayley his “Boss” hand jewelry to use as brass knuckles.
Cross sold the punch to the stomach well with excellent facials and Banks congratulated Bayley saying “you did it” only added to the insult of it all. These two have become tremendous heels. Who finally closes them has the opportunity to get a great touch.
Eye of the beholder
Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio staged a great physical wrestling match. So someone needed to lose an eye, well, more or less. After using wrenches, fingers, chairs, and other tools to try to rip each other’s eyes out in this eye-for-an-eye match, Rollins finally pulled out Mysterio’s at a twisted calling spot on the ring steps.
Mysterio held a false look face to face to indicate that his already injured right eye had popped out after screaming in pain. Samoa Joe, in a comment, said calmly, “He’s out.” The camera then shows Rollins vomiting near the barricade. It felt like a very low form of entertainment and a somewhat anticlimactic ending to a very good wrestling match.
There was no sign of Mysterio’s son Dominik, Rollins’ reaction to winning felt disappointing and we later learned that the doctors will likely be able to save Mysterio’s sight in his eye. Rollins’ “Monday Night Messiah” character, however, needed the credibility of a victory of this magnitude after losing at WrestleMania 36 to Kevin Owens, who beat Buddy Murphy in the opening show.
Swamp monsters
The swamp fight between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt was as bizarre as might be expected, but not as memorable as you would expect outside of the fantastic resurgence of The Fiend in its conclusion. This match always felt like the centerpiece of the trilogy with Strowman’s Universal Championship not on the line.
It was Wyatt who kept playing mind games, like the Firefly Funhouse match with John Cena, causing his opponent to face his inner demons. Except for Strowman, those demons were far less poignant and dramatic. They included a reflection of himself in his Wyatt family black sheep mask, former Mixed Match Challenge partner Alexa Bliss as Sister Abigail, a random snake and henchman, one of whom was torched.
It ended with Strowman and Wyatt finally exercising near a rowboat in a body of water that looked too much like Lake Reincarnation and Skarsgard the Dilapidated Ship of Matt Hardy’s broken Universe. Strowman eventually sent Wyatt overboard in the boat, which mysteriously returned to the dock. Wyatt attacks Strowman out of nowhere. Strowman survives by being continually hit by an oar to kick Wyatt into the water. The Extreme Rules final show logo flashes on the black screen, but the video on Strowman’s face returns. He is dragged into the water through a Mandible Claw and the show ends with the bubbling red water and The Fiend emerging for the first time in months.
A man tearing Drew apart
Dolph Ziggler’s stipulation was good and resulted in fun match physiology, but it wasn’t worth building and waiting for. He made the extreme game rules for him and had McIntyre compete under normal rules, adding that a count or disqualification would cost him the WWE Championship. Outside of an early table stop and some close counts, McIntyre didn’t put himself in serious danger of making the wrong choice and falling victim to the Ziggler game.
That game, like all of McIntyre’s lately, was entertaining and saw him beat the odds with a Claymore Kick out of nowhere. It’s time for WWE to put real danger in front of him in the form of Randy Orton. Ziggler is likely to return to the comfort of the mezzanine card after McIntyre wiped his feet.
Extreme problems
This pay-per-view had some obvious problems, starting with the fact that two announced games didn’t happen.
MVP did not face United States champion Apollo Crews because he failed to “pass his pre-game physical exam” due to a back injury at the hands of Bobby Lashley that kept him away from television. That only sparked rumors that Crews might be dealing with coronaviruses. Instead, we got an MVP promotion, leaving him as a fake champion.
Jeff Hardy’s bar fight against Sheamus, the angle from which he closed a recent SmackDown, didn’t happen without even mentioning pay-per-view. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reported that the match will be on this week’s SmackDown. It is likely an attempt to increase the ratings.
SmackDown’s tag team championship draw match seemed like the stipulation was not necessary. While the end point of Cesaro’s power bombardment of Kofi Kingston from the top rope through double-stack tables that New Day set up was excellent, that group doesn’t scream the tables match. A wrestling match could have been even more appropriate and entertaining. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura are intriguing champions, but WWE’s history with their tag team division shouldn’t give anyone hope.
Biggest winner: Sasha Banks / Seth Rollins
The Biggest Loser: Dolph Ziggler
Best match: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women’s Championship)
Degree: C +
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