Botched Spot

Extreme Rules took place this last Sunday, closing off a lot of feuds, starting new ones, and thankfully managing to not involve the McMahons. Before the pay per view I was expecting it to have a lot of solid matches, as well as some less solid Shane and Stephanie segments. Fortunately I was wrong about that second part, and overall I think the whole event was pretty good! Let’s dive in and see if I predicted any of the matches right.

Baron Corbin defeated Ziggler
I predicted Baron would beat Ziggler and I was right! I also correctly predicted that they wouldn’t use any weapons despite the match being “no dq”, although they did brawl around the ring and ended the match with a low blow, so they still made the most out of the stipulation.

The Club defeated the Bloodline in a Texas Tornado Tag match
This match was announced after I made my predictions! It was a great opener though and a good showcase for the Club so people can see that they’re more than AJ Styles’ fan club.

Rusev defeated Kalisto to become the new United States Champion
I predicted Rusev would win and I was right! Rusev was super over with the crowd Sunday night, with dueling “Let’s go Rusev, Rusev sucks” chants. Pretty good sign for Rusev, considering that many are speculating that he’ll feud with Cena when he comes back. I incorrectly predicted that Sin Cara would turn heel, screwing Kalisto out of his title. Sin Cara wasn’t even at ringside!

The New Day defeated the Vaudevillains to retain their WWE Tag Team Championships
I predicted that the New Day would beat the Vaudevillains and I was right! Now that we know Enzo is back in full force, I’m guessing we can expect him and Cass to feud with the Vaudevillains before taking on the New Day at a pay per view like Summerslam. It’s nice having an actual tag division!

Miz retained his Intercontinental Championship against Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and Cesaro
I predicted that Miz would walk away with the title and I was correct! I didn’t feel super confident about it, and in truth, I doubted my decision many times during the actual match. I wanted them all to win! It was a great match though, and even though Miz won, I don’t think anyone looked weak.

Dean Ambrose defeated Chris Jericho in an Asylum Match
I predicted Dean would win and I was right! I mean, it is his match after all… While this match felt really drawn out at times, it was all worth it for the payoff with the thumbtacks at the end. I can’t state just how satisfied I am that they used all of the weapons in the ring as well.

Charlotte defeated Nattie to retain her WWE Women’s Championship
I predicted that Charlotte would win and I was right! No real surprise there though. While I wasn’t in love with the finish to this match where Dana dressed up like Ric to distract Nattie, I still can’t help but be happy for Nattie getting herself in a feud for the title. She’s put up with so much crap during her time with WWE that it was really nice to see her get a shot in the main event right after the whole “women’s” rebranding. I’m not sure what she’s going to do now that the feud is over, but I imagine she’ll stick around for the sake of Total Divas.

Roman Reigns defeated AJ Styles to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship
I predicted Reigns would win and I was right! Look, I’d be lying if I said that “knowing” (as everyone did) that Reigns would win didn’t hurt my interest in this match. Every false finish with AJ pinning Roman had me rolling my eyes. All that being said, it was still a great match that didn’t let all the Club and Bloodline run-ins get in the way of making AJ and Roman look good. Seth coming back at the end was a nice surprise too.

Overall Extreme Rules was a fun, if extremely predictable, pay per view. Seriously, I predicted all of the matches right! Sure, I may have missed on some of my minor predictions, like Shane and Stephanie clogging up the show and the Shining Stars having a match, but those don’t really count (if I got them right I’d be bragging non-stop about it!). While I don’t think there were any classic matches on this show, all of the competitors used their Extreme Gimmicks as much as they could.