WWE Extreme Rules 2010

Date: 25th April, 2010
Venue: 1st Mariner Arena
City: Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 13,650
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Welcome to WWE Extreme Rules, where all matches are extreme! But no blood please, so be careful out there chaps. But still, be EXTREME! Commentators for tonight are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Matt Striker.

We're going to kick things off with a Street Fight! Triple H's music hits but he doesn't appear. The camera cuts to backstage where he is being dismantled by a ghost with a lead pipe. Nope, it's Sheamus. Boy, Triple H will do a lot to avoid opening the show, eh? Taking advantage of the situation, ShoMiz make their way down to the ring to spout off on how they are the greatest tag team in WWE history. This offends Teddy Long who comes out to give them a match to prove it. Miz however won't shut up so eventually it turns into a 4-team gauntlet match, with the winners getting a tag team title shot tomorrow night on RAW.


Tag Team Gauntlet match
- ShoMiz vs R-Truth & John Morrison
So we start the show with a rematch of last month's WrestleMania opener. Truth and Morrison start off quickly and pull of some great duo offence. Eventually Big Show prepares to chokeslam Morrison but is reversed into a triangle choke over the ropes. Morrison holds onto it for too long however and the ref disqualifies him. Extreme!!
R-Truth and John Morrison are disqualified (3:20)

- ShoMiz vs Mark Henry & MVP
Out come MVP and Henry, making this the third time MVP and Miz have met in an impromptu match in 4 PPV's this year. MVP manages to hit the Playmaker on Miz but Big Show waffles him with a right hand and Miz covers to get the pinfall.
Miz pinned MVP (Big Show KO Punch) (1:48)

- ShoMiz vs The Hart Dynasty
To nobody's surprise, David Hart Smith & Tyson Kidd are the final opponents, running down to the ring accompanied by Bret Hart and Natalya. Straight away they knock the Big Show off the apron and finish Miz with a springboard Hart Attack.
Smith pinned Miz (Hart Attack) (0:10)
Winners: The Hart Dynasty (5:18)
**


If Punk loses, he will have his head shaved
- CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio
These two put on some great action for close to 10 minutes, with Punk slightly getting the upper hand mainly due to continued interference from both Serena and Luke Gallows. Rey eventually manages to regain the upper hand and sets up Punk for the 619, but he is tripped by Serena on run-up. The ref sees this and ejects the Straight Edge Society to the back. Punk regains control and goes for the GTS but Mysterio brilliantly counters into a hurricanrana pin for a 2 count. Punk goes for a high knee in the corner but misses and ends up on the ropes again. Rey goes for another 619, and gets it! At this time a chair is thrown into the ring. Everyone looks confused as the referee gets rid of it. A mystery bald assailant then comes up out from under the ring and takes down Rey with reverse electric chair drop on the outside. Punk rolls Rey back into the ring and hits the Go To Sleep to get the victory and keep his hair.

A really good back and forth match with some great innovative offence. It was nice to see these two given a lot more time than last month but it lacked the pace and excitement of that clash, and felt a lot more paced out and methodical. The ending with the mystery attacker leaves me intrigued, and hopefully there is more to come from these two, perhaps with something on the line for both of them.
Winner: CM Punk (15:39)
Via Pinfall (Go To Sleep)
***1/2


Strap match
- JTG vs Shad Gaspard
Gaspard comes out to new music whereas JTG keeps the Cryme Tyme theme. This was your typical strap match with the same moves as you would have expected to see all here, including apparantley the only ending to a strap match that exists, with Gaspard dragging JTG around touching all the corners, with JTG touching them as well, unknown to Gaspard. As they reached the fourth, JTG pulled Shad back and hit a spinning lariat before diving to the 4th buckle to get the win. Nothing really wrong with this, these two put on good performances but it's hard to have a decent strap match.
Winner: JTG (4:43)
Via touching all four corners
**


World Heavyweight Championship - Extreme Rules match
- Jack Swagger (c) vs Randy Orton
The match starts off with some mat wrestling, Swagger trying to get the upper hand using his amateur background skills. Orton then gets the upper hand and Swagger flees the ring, and as Orton follows him out catches him and hits a Northern Lights Suplex on the outside. Back inside the ring, Swagger hits a series of suplexes and slams to wear down Orton before setting him up for his version of the Vader Bomb in the corner. Orton reverses however by grabbing the title belt and hitting Swagger in the stomach on the way down. Orton tries for the Hangman DDT but Swagger reverses and throws him out to the floor again. He grabs a trashcan but is dispossesed of it and Orton delivers two brutal looking and sounding shots to the head. As Swagger tries to get back into the ring he gets caught and this time Orton does hit the Hangman DDT. He then looks to finish it with an RKO onto a set up chair but Swagger reverses with a back drop onto the chair!! Swagger goes for the Gutwrench and hits it and retains clean!!

Huge win for Swagger here which he definitley needed after 3 pinfall defeats in the past 3 weeks. Great to see him get it cleanly over a huge name as well. This was a very enjoyable match and shows that Swagger certainly has what it takes to cope at the top level.
Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion, Jack Swagger (14:00)
Via Pinfall (Gutwrench Powerbomb)
***1/4


Street Fight
- Triple H vs Sheamus
Sheamus makes his way down to the ring and tells the referee to raise his hand in victory as Triple H will not be able to make it. Of course, Triple H then exits his dressing room and storms down to the ring, though heavily selling the injured arm. Hunter starts pissed off and immediatley gains the upper hand and goes for the Pedigree, but can't hook the arms due to his injury. This allows Sheamus to gain control and he dominates the match for a few minutes, wearing down H's injured arm and head. Triple H eventually manages to get back into the match with a quick DDT, but hurts himself in doing so. Sheamus hits a big backbreaker and then fetches the lead pipe, and smacks Hunter in the head but only for a 2 count. Sheamus aims to finish with the Celtic Bomb but it is reversed and he is thrown down to ringside. Triple H gets control of a kendo stick and absolutely lays into Sheamus, with repeated stiff shots to the back, chest and head. Hunter goes for the Pedigree again on the ramp but again it is reversed with a back body drop. Sheamus hits a Pump Kick out of nowhere! Back inside the ring he hits a second kick. Triple H slumps into the corner but wills himself up and tells Sheamus to 'Suck It'. Sheamus takes offence and hits a third and then fourth Pump Kick to put him down for the count.

A pretty good match which Sheamus needed to win and did, especially seeing as how he had already weakened Triple H earlier in the show. Some of the weapon shots were brutal and Sheamus' relentless attacks at the end of the match and afterwards as Triple H was trying to leave I think really helped to build his monster of a character.
Winner: Sheamus (15:50)
Via Pinfall (4 Pump Kicks)
***1/4


Women's Championship - Extreme Makeover match
- Michelle McCool (c) vs Beth Phoenix
Rules for this one are just hardcore rules, but with makeup, ironing boards and irons at ringside. Both women utilised the ironing boards the most, using them to aid their moves such as dropkicks and slams. Ending came when McCool went to hit the Faithbreaker onto some ironing boards but Phoenix countered and hit the Glam Slam to regain the title.
Winner and NEW Women's Champion, Beth Phoenix (6:32)
Via Pinfall (Glam Slam)
*1/4


Steel Cage match
- Chris Jericho vs Edge
Jericho takes him time getting in the ring before deciding to bring a chair with him, but Edge baseball slides him through the door anyway and throws him inside, where Jericho tries immediatley to escape. A later failed Jericho attempt to exit results in him delivering a Powerbomb to Edge before locking in the Walls of Jericho. Edge reaches the ropes but that's no good at Extreme Rules!! Edge climbs the ropes using his hands and escapes the move. As Edge prepares the Spear, Jericho makes a quick exit for the door but just gets pulled back in time. Jericho reaches a chair outside the ring but Edge confiscates it and so Jericho slams the cage door into Edge's face. Jericho has the chance to win but instead goes back inside the cage and closes the door, only to meet a Spear!! 2.99 count! Jericho hits a Codebreaker but that only gets 2 as well. Jericho tries escaping again but gets caught right at the top and pulled back in. Jericho lands back inside the ring and hits a SPRINGBOARD CODEBREAKER, but can't get the cover right away and only gets a 2! A final Jericho escape attempt ends with the door being slammed on his leg, eventually leading to a Spear, which gets the win.

Surprising how these two can be given 20 minutes on a PPV and only pull out a sub-standard match like this. There were a few cool spots but it certainly dragged at points and it didn't really make sense how Jericho was attempting to escape the entire time but then chose not to when he had the chance.
Winner: Edge (19:58)
Via Pinfall (Spear)
***


WWE Championship - Last Man Standing match
- John Cena (c) vs Batista
This one began in typical last man standing fashion, with lots of 5, 6 and 7 counts for moves that everyone knows are never going to win the match. Eventually we reach a point where Cena hits an Attitude Adjustment onto a chair, but only for a 9 count. Batista sets up a table in the corner but Cena surprises him with the STF, only for Batista to counter and kick him through the table. Cena rolls out the ring and onto his feet at the count of 8. Outside the ring, Batista whips Cena THROUGH the timekeepers barrier. Cena just about manages to get back up from that to Batista's frustration. He destroys the announce table, throwing a monitor at Michael Cole (unfortunately missing) and one of the announcers chairs across the floor. Batista sets up for the Bomb through the announce table but it's reversed and he gets the Attitude Adjustment through the table!! Somehow, he then gets up at 9. This is followed by three more 9 counts from a Spinebuster through a table, a Batista Bomb and a Cena STF, and both men are getting frustrated at being unable to put the other away. Cena then heads outside and finds some duct tape, and tapes Batista's legs around the ringpost, meaning he cannot stand up. Oh geez that's crap. Cena gets the 10 count and retains.

With a different ending we're looking at an almost 4 star match here, and I can understand that Cena had to use smarts as Batista wouldn't stay down for anything else, but tape? Seriously? Apart from that, the match was another great one between these two but if that's the end of the feud and, as has been rumoured, the last match of Batista's career, then that is the worst possible send-off for him. Perhaps it's a punishment for not signing a new contract?
Winner and STILL WWE Champion, John Cena (24:34)
Via 10-count
***1/2



Overall Thoughts:
Overall, a good PPV which was solid throughout without ever becoming great. Every match was watchable but at times the gimmicks seemed very unnecessary, especially considering it's hard to have an 'extreme' PPV without blood or excessive violence. Anyway, there will certainly be worse events this year, but there was nothing on the show that will be remembered probably even a year down the line.

6.5 / 10.0

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