WWE Extreme Rules PPV Results & Report
April 25, 2010
Baltimore, MD
Report by James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor
The WWE PPV started with a video package with that WCW Saturday Night buzzer
sound warning viewers on the extreme nature of the PPV. The video hyped the
PPV basically as WrestleMania 26 re-matches with stipulations before diving
into a break down of the feuds culminating at the PPV tonight.
Arena: The show started with Michael Cole introducing the PPV before they
started with the Street Fight between Triple H and Sheamus. Triple H's music
hit. Hunter jerking the curtain? Hunter was nowhere to be found, thought.
The announcers awkwardly tried to sell the audience they didn't know what
was going on. The cameras cut backstage where Sheamus was pounding on Hunter
with refs trying to separate them. Sheamus then blasted Hunter with a pipe
shot and Hunter collapsed to the ground selling a KO shot. His bald spot on
full display for the camera. A trainer came over to check on Hunter, who
remained out cold before Sheamus left the backstage area.
In-ring: The announcers said they'll continue to monitor this situation
throughout the night. The Miz and Big Show's music then hit to bring out the
Unified tag champs. Jerry Lawler said they're not supposed to be here
tonight. Miz took the mic and said they're going to start off the night
right with the best tag team in WWE history, ShoMiz. He said they should
take Bret Hart's word for it. Miz said Hart made a deal that if he beat
David Hart Smith, then Hart would have to state the obvious that ShoMiz is
the greatest tag team in WWE history. Miz advertised that Bret Hart will
make that statement tomorrow night on Raw. He said tonight, they have a lack
of competition. Cue up Teddy Long's music to provide an interruption. He
said he has his hands full with what happened in the back. (Why, that's a
Raw brand feud? This non-sense storyline of Long having authority control
over everyone on PPVs is highly inconsistent.
Long said he would give a tag team a title shot if they can beat Miz and
Show tonight. Miz made a crack about the Baltimore Orioles, who have the
worst record in baseball. Long said he would add another tag team just to
make it interesting. Miz kept talking over Long running wild on the mic.
Show became frustrated with Miz talking them into more and more trouble.
Show finally covered Miz's mouth and said if they beat all three teams, then
perhaps they deserve to be called greatest tag team of all time. Really,
Teddy? Long said if one of the teams wins, that team gets a title shot on
Raw tomorrow night.
Cue up R-Truth's music to bring out Truth and John Morrison for a
WrestleMania opening match re-match after Miz & Show won that contest. The
announcers finally acknowledged this after Truth finished his rap. The bell
sounded to begin a gauntlet-style match.
1a -- Unified tag champions THE MIZ & BIG SHOW vs. JOHN MORRISON &
R-TRUTH -- non-title match
Miz and Morrison started things off, then Truth and Morrison double-teamed
Miz. Show eventually tagged in and cut off Truth before Miz re-entered and
landed a big boot to Truth. Morrison and Show then re-entered and Morrison
attempted a few kick strikes. Show then tried a chokeslam, but Morrison
wrapped his legs around Show and applied a triangle choke. Morrison put the
hold in the ropes and Morrison maintained the hold. He then put Show in the
ropes with the hold and the ref applied a five count. He rang the bell as
Show seemed to be tapping out, but Morrison and Truth were DQ'ed for not
breaking the count. Striker yelled and screamed about the ref's decision
being the right decision, then MVP and Henry stormed the ring as the next
opponents.
WINNERS: Miz & Show via DQ at 3:13.
1b -- Unified tag champions THE MIZ & BIG SHOW vs. MARK HENRY & MVP --
non-title match
MVP tried a pin on Show, who was KO'ed on the mat, but Show kicked out.
After some back and forth hecticness, MVP hit the Playmaker on Miz. He had a
cover, but the ref was distracted. Show then KO Punched MVP from the outside
as the ref walked over. The ref just waved off Show, then Miz made a cover
on MVP in the ring. Cole said he saw the outside interference, but he's not
sure the ref did. Cole must have missed the ref staring right at it. And now
for the final team...the Hart Dynasty's music hit and out came Bret Hart
leading Tyson Kidd and D.H. Smith to the ring, with Natayla.
WINNERS: Miz & Show at 1:53.
1c -- Unified tag champions THE MIZ & BIG SHOW vs. HART DYNASTY (TYSON KIDD
& D.H. SMITH w/Bret Hart and Natalya) -- non-title match
The bell sounded, HD hit the springboard Hart Attack on Miz, and they made
the cover for the win. The Harts very quickly got their shine to end the
gauntlet.
WINNERS: Hart Dynasty at 0:10. And the Hart Dynasty gets the tag title shot
on Raw tomorrow night. I doubt the Harts will get more PPV time later on, so
if you're going to put Bret Hart on PPV, he should be featured a bit more
than a brief cup of coffee in the opening "match." The quick match finish
was good booking to continue getting over HD as babyfaces, but the use of
Bret left much to be desired. This whole opening match left a bit to be
desired. (*)
Backstage: Todd Grisham provided an update that Triple H is receiving a
medical evaluation right now. Sheamus then stepped up to Grisham and said
Hunter needs man up and admit he can't handle Sheamus or come to the ring
and face him like a man.
In-ring: C.M. Punk's music hit to bring out Punk with the Straight Edge
Society for the second match of the PPV. They showed a barber chair on stage
positioned next to assorted barber's tools. Rey Mysterio then followed out
with the stipulation here that Punk gets a haircut if he loses the match.
2 -- C.M. PUNK (w/Serena and Luke Gallows) vs. REY MYSTERIO -- Punk's hair
on the line
The match moved to the floor early on and Mysterio landed signature
high-flying offense. Back in the ring, Rey teased the 619, but Punk popped
to his feet, then followed with a snap powerslam. Punk followed with a
springboard headbutt ala Eddie Guerrero and made a cover for a two count.
Punk tried to follow with a sunset flip off the ropes, but Rey rolled to his
feet and snap-kicked Punk in the face for a two count. Punk then cut off Rey
and began working him over as the fans chanted, "6-1-9." Punk tried a
powerbomb, but Rey sat down on Punk's hairy chest to sit down on him for a
close two count. They battled to the corner and Punk tried to catch Rey off
the ropes with a G2S, but Rey slipped out and set up Punk for the 619.
Serena grabbed Rey's legs from behind, though, and the spot was blown up.
The ref then tossed Serena and Luke from ringside to a loud crowd pop. Punk
grabbed his head in frustration and turned his back on Rey, so Rey took
advantage with a dropkick to the back. Striker acted like Punk is
handicapped now that he doesn't have Serena and Luke ringside.
The match resumed with Rey on the offensive and scoring a few nearfalls.
"Are we getting the clippers out?!" or "Is it time for a haircut?!" Cole
shouted before each kickout. Rey then tried a springboard splash off the
ropes, but Punk kicked Rey in mid-air for a two count. Punk then went to the
apron and his hair covered his face in a close-up shot before executing a
springboard clothesline for another close two count. Striker was whispering
encouragement to Punk, which drew a comment from Lawler under his breath.
Rey then tried a corner move, but Punk countered into a G2S attempt, only to
have Rey counter in mid-air with a snap huracanrana for a great nearfall.
Punk responded with a kick to the head, though, and made a cover for a two
count.
Punk and Rey exchanged holds, then Rey hit the 619. Rey couldn't capitalize,
then a random man rolled a chair into the ring. The ref went to kick the
chair away, then the random man dropped Rey face-first on the floor after
crawling underneath the ring to the other side of the ring. He was wearing a
hoodie to cover his face. All we saw were the Timberland boots. Rey was out
cold at this point. Punk smiled as he rolled Rey back into the ring, then
set up Rey for the G2S center ring. Punk connected and made the cover for
the win. Punk celebrated saving his hair as they replayed the mystery man
saving Punk. Punk then made his way to the barber's chair and celebrated not
having to get a haircut.
WINNER: Punk at 15:56. Very good PPV undercard match... with no payoff. It
will be interesting to see if the finish affects the audience the rest of
the night, as the audience was heavily invested in the match and had the rug
pulled out from under them with the finish. Of course, the interesting TV
follow-up will be who the mystery man was. (***1/4)
3 -- SHAD GASPARD vs. JTG -- Strap match
After ring intros, the two men were tied together via strap for the
touch-all-four-
this time lighting up when someone touches each of the four corners in
succession. Shad tried to get a quick win, but JTG cut off Shad and whipped
him hard across the back. Shad then yanked JTG over the top rope and started
working the corners, but JTG played tug of war pulling Shad away from the
corners. JTG yanked Shad across the top rope, then landed a Rough Ryder drop
from the top rope. JTG then reached three corners, but Shad blocked #4 and
planted him mid-ring. Shad then put JTG on his back and started working the
corners. Per the formula strap match, JTG touched each of the three corners
behind Shad's back. JTG then surprised Shad with the "box cutter"
backbreaker and jumped to the fourth corner for the win.
WINNER: JTG at 4:43. Interesting booking with JTG going over. This wasn't a
good strap match, but they were handcuffed by the stipulation here. And the
crowd wasn't into it after the previous match finish. The announcing is
unbearable tonight, by the way. I don't know why WWE continues with this
trio. (*)
Backstage: Grisham said Triple H has nerve damage and it's unlikely he'll be
able to wrestle tonight against Sheamus. The crowd loudly booed that "news."
Back to the announcers, Cole and Lawler plugged the Jack Swagger vs. Randy
Orton title match up next.
In-ring: World Hvt. champion Jack Swagger came out first for the World Title
match. The announcers talked about Swagger having a few setbacks lately with
losses to Undertaker and John Morrison, but they decided Swagger is able to
rise to the occasion. Lawler said perhaps Swagger is taking himself too
seriously with the demeanor change. Good commentary exchange there. They did
the Andre shot on Swagger to make him look huge standing in the ring, then
Randy Orton's music hit to bring out Orton to challenge Swagger. Orton was
the clear babyface here before Justin Roberts handled the formal ring
intros.
SECOND HOUR
4 -- World Hvt. champion JACK SWAGGER vs. RANDY ORTON -- World Hvt. Title
match -- Extreme Rules match
Basically, anything goes with the only way to win being a pin or submission.
Orton cleared Swagger to the outside early on and Swagger grabbed a chair
ringside. Orton walked out to the floor and kicked the chair away, then
Orton stalked Swagger around ringside back into the ring. Swagger started
playing cat and mouse, then suckered Orton into a forearm to the gut.
Swagger proceeded to suplex Orton on the floor before rolling him back into
the ring to land more offense. Swagger established a methodical pace here
with constant gazes into the hard camera in-between holds. The announcers
debated whether Swagger is taking too much time or just confident. Swagger
eventually went to the floor and grabbed the World Title belt to use as a
weapon back in the ring. Swagger measured Orton, but Orton kicked him in the
gut and landed multiple European uppercuts. Swagger cut off Orton, then
slowly, slowly, slowly backed away to the corner for a running Vader Bomb,
but Orton grabbed the title belt and smashed Swagger in the lower region
with the title belt. Swagger rolled to the apron to recover, but Orton
grappled him for the spike DDT, only to have Swagger block with a back drop
over the top rope to the floor.
On the floor, Swagger flipped up the apron to signify weapons were coming
into play. Orton blocked a trashcan shot, then grabbed the can and smashed
Swagger over the head with two clean trashcan shots to the head. Apparently
there won't be a fine since it wasn't a chair. For shame there are still
blows to the head with a weapon. Orton then rammed Swagger into the ring
steps before placing Swagger face-first on the steps. He did a foot stomp
that barely grazed Swagger's head before rolling him into the ring. Swagger
cut off Orton, though, and tried to bring a chair back into the ring, but
Orton caught Swagger on the apron and delivered the trademark spike DDT.
Orton then did a big stare that drew a pop and crouched down on the mat
preparing for the RKO. Orton's attention was then distracted and he placed a
chair center ring. Orton teased a running RKO into the chair, but Swagger
countered by dropping Orton back-first across the seat of the chair. Orton
sold that like his back was exploding with each breath. Swagger tried to
follow with the gutwrench powerbomb and he eventually connected center ring.
Swagger with the pin for the win.
WINNER: Swagger at 14:01. Decent, but not memorable title match. I'm not a
fan of any weapon shots to the head, but this wasn't exactly an "Extreme
Rules" match. In a PG environment, WWE is better off not raising
expectations by advertising an "Extreme Rules" match when the match isn't
going to come close to what that term suggests. Swagger needed the win, so
that was fine. They still have some work to do with Swagger's character, but
that's a good issue to have. The commentary was improved on this match with
them trying to move into a more serious mode calling the bigger matches on
the PPV. (**)
Post-match: Swagger slowly took his title belt and celebrated on the
outside. Orton then caught up with Swagger on the floor and spun him around
to deliver an RKO on the floor. The fans chanted, "Randy, Randy" as Orton
walked off. Suddenly, Sheamus's music hit and Sheamus walked out past Orton
to the ring. Swagger had apparently disappeared at this point. Sheamus still
had the pipe in hand with a big smile on his face. He said he wants the ref
to raise his hand if Hunter can't compete. ... Backstage: They showed Hunter
shove Grisham out of the way and start hobbling out to the ring selling
nerve damage to his left arm. He eventually made it to the ring and the
fight was on.
5 -- SHEAMUS vs. TRIPLE H -- Street Fight
The fight moved to the floor early on and Hunter wore down Sheamus with an
"adrenaline rush" behind him. The fight moved back to the ring and Hunter
teased the Pedigree, but he sold an inability to use his bad arm to execute
the move. Sheamus took advantage by attacking Hunter's bad arm and neck
region. Sheamus kept working over Hunter before applying a modified chicken
wing submission to work over the "injured arm." Hunter then blocked Sheamus
and hit a DDT center ring. Hunter sold that it hurt him more than Sheamus,
then Sheamus regained control and became frustrated when he couldn't put
away Hunter.
At 10:00, Sheamus then grabbed his pipe again and measured Hunter, but
Hunter hit a gut shot. Hunter tried to hit a rebound clothesline, but
Sheamus finally smashed him in the face with the pipe. Sheamus made another
cover, but Hunter kicked out again. Sheamus tried to follow with the
Outsider's Edge - now called Pale Justice - but Hunter slipped out and
tossed Sheamus to the outside. Sheamus looked under the ring and grabbed a
kendo stick, but Hunter sent Sheamus into the ring steps. Hunter then picked
up the stick and cracked it over Sheamus's back. Hunter started to land more
kendo stick shots, now using his "bad arm" for the attack. Hunter tried to
follow with the Pedigree, but Sheamus blocked again and back-dropped Hunter
on the entrance ramp. Sheamus followed with the Pump Kick that KO'ed Hunter
on the ramp.
Back in the ring, Hunter sold that he was fighting for every breath, so the
ref asked if he wanted to continue. Hunter shoved the ref away, then told
Sheamus to keep bringing it via crotch chop. Sheamus followed with a pump
kick that staggered Hunter, then Sheamus landed another pump kick to the
head that floored Hunter. Sheamus made the cover and scored the decisive
win. Post-match: Medics checked on Hunter, who sold the effects of the
street fight. They tried to put Hunter on a stretcher, but his ego got in
the way and he did the fighter's stagger up the entrance ramp with help from
the refs and medics. Hunter made it to the ramp, then Sheamus surprised
Hunter out of nowhere with a pump kick to the head again. This time, Hunter
was placed on the stretcher and fitted with a neckbrace.
WINNER: Sheamus at 15:50. The goal was obviously to protect Hunter in taking
a loss, but also try to make Sheamus look like a monster heel inflicting
damage on Hunter throughout the night. It certainly points to Hunter taking
time off after this angle and it also sets up the rubber match down the road
for Hunter to make a big comeback and look for revenge on Sheamus. Overall,
a good street fight with a good story. The heels going over in the marquee
matches certainly points to Cena over Batista later tonight. (**3/4)
Over the Limit PPV plug: Every car-related cliche imaginable was used to
plug the next WWE PPV in May.
Backstage: Edge was shown taping up in his locker room, then Josh Mathews
interrupted to ask him what his mindset is for the cage match tonight. Edge
smiled and said there is no way he'll allow Chris Jericho to escape the cage
tonight. "I'm not even going to try," Edge said.
source: pwtorch.com
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