The Monday, May 23rd edition of WWE Raw was up slightly this week to 3.26 million viewers, up three percent from last week.
This show came the day after the Extreme Rules PPV with the cliffhanger ending featuring the return of Seth Rollins.
The number was hurt by the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors NBA playoff game that did 6.14 million viewers. For a comparison, Raw last week did 3.17 million viewers but the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA playoff game did 8.71 million viewers, which was much tougher competition.
The first hour was actually slightly down from last week, but the rating was up because the show didn’t have the big third hour drop of the week before.
The three hours were:
8 p.m.: 3.36 million viewers
9 p.m.: 3.33 million viewers
10 p.m.: 3.12 million viewers
Dancing with the Stars’ final Monday night show of the season featuring UFC’s Paige VanZant in the final three contestants did 12.34 million viewers. The show brought in 69% of its audience by women in the 18-49 demo.
The Friday replay of Monday Night RAW from May 16th did 467,000 viewers on SyFy with no promotion whatsoever. That show, and Wynona Earp (which site friend Lance Storm has a small role in) were the only two shows on that network to crack the top 150 cable programs for the night.
It’s time to run down the highlights and lowlights of the first RAW in the build to next month’s highly anticipated Money In The Bank PPV:
–The Hits–
The matches had stakes….for once.
For long-suffering fans that have been long accustomed to three hour RAWs filled with meaningless time-filling matches, Monday night’s show was refreshing. Five of the seven matches on the card were high-stakes Money in the Bank qualifiers, with only Chris Jericho’s win over Apollo Crews lasting less than 10 minutes. This relatively strong episode of RAW proved just how much better televised wrestling is when the in-ring content feels like it actually matters.
The ‘Phenomenal’ main event.
One day removed from putting his body on the line with outrageous abandon at Extreme Rules, AJ Styles produced the goods again in his show-closing MITB qualifier against Kevin Owens. Owens’ heel mannerisms were as on-point as ever, again dubbing himself the ‘Headlock Master’ and failing to deliver on a teased dive. Telling Cole to “shut up, I can hear you from here!” at one point was also a major highlight.
Both men pulled out all the stops in this 18 minute bout with AJ hitting a springboard 450 splash and Owens busting out his springboard moonsault and a package fisherman buster. While it was marred slightly for me by the expectation of interference from the spurned Club, that refreshingly did not arrive with Owens instead picking up the clean victory. I felt that the powerbomb onto the ring steps, coupled with the aforementioned battering he sustained the previous night, provided adequate cover for Styles to take a second consecutive loss here.
Good booking and clean finishes.
The main event wasn’t alone in having a well-executed clean finish that made sense. All seven matches on the show finished conclusively without distraction or interference. (I’d love for someone to go back and check when that last happened!)
Although the match took time to build, putting Sami Zayn over Sheamus clean with a hot finish felt like a significant moment for the Canadian. Later, Cesaro’s selling of his shoulder, including failing to execute the swing, was marvelous, and the finish, consisting of a quick uppercut/Neutralizer combo, was thrilling.
To the best of my knowledge, no finishing moves were kicked out of on the show either despite it being filled with clashes between top guys. This is something the company has moved away from in the last half-year or so, which makes the silly decision to double-down on Roman Reigns’ unbeatable, unsympathetic superman image by having him kick out of two Styles Clashes on Sunday all the more glaring.
Enzo’s comeback.
Although the recently concussed Mr. Amore appeared to forget his lines at one point – with Cass on the verge of jumping in to save him – his comeback was still absolutely electric. Even the repetition of the “no dimes” gag wasn’t enough to nullify this man’s bountiful charisma. Having Cass squash Bubba Ray Dudley underlines how high the company is on the big man. If he learns to work quickly and keeps his lil’ buddy in his corner to do his talking, the sky’s the limit for these two.
No McMahon interaction.
Following on from Stephanie and Shane’s segment being cut from Extreme Rules, we saw no interaction between the McMahon siblings on this show. Given that last week’s main event Women’s title segment revolved around them, all I can say is this: long may it continue.
–The Misses–
Charlotte’s third hour nightmare.
While I must give credit to her always emotional father for being able to cry on cue, Charlotte Flair’s promo at the top of the third hour was an absolute unmitigated disaster. Charlotte has demonstrated before, on the RAW after Wrestlemania, that she is not capable of handling the heckling of a hostile crowd and her attempts to overcome Baltimore’s dissatisfaction here was even worse than that bomb. Like Richard from Silicon Valley, Charlotte becomes more inarticulate as the pressure increases. Hark at the line: “You’re just….to me….DEAD!”.
WWE pulls a Del Rio with Seth Rollins.
Despite Rollins’ massive babyface reaction on this show and on the previous night’s Extreme Rules, the WWE chose to instruct the former champion to cut an unambiguous heel promo in the opening segment. Forfeiting the natural sympathy accrued by a guy who has been through rehab hell is reminiscent of the opportunity missed by the company earlier this year when they forced the returning Alberto Del Rio into the perplexing Mex-America nonsense, against the wishes of the fans. The company has just exited a program between Roman Reigns and AJ Styles, where the latter remained a babyface, and it was arguably the most well-written main event feud in some time. The decision to go in a more black and white direction with Rollins feels like a huge misstep.
Apollo Crews loses his first match of consequence.
After schlepping around primarily on the C-shows, Apollo Crews finally met a WWE opponent of significance in Chris Jericho on Monday night. Alas, he conclusively lost the weakest of the five MITB qualifiers and botched a spot where he was supposed to kip-up and avoid a Lionsault along the way. Falling victim to a beatdown by Sheamus earlier in the show was supposed to provide cover for the loss, but the fact that Crews was still smilin’ upon his entrance and showing no ill-effects whatsoever completely ruined that. The future is not looking bright for him.
The Big Takeaway: It was a night of Money in the Bank qualfiers, returns and breakups. Of course, the big news was the return of Seth Rollins. Despite the wishes of the fans, he’s going to be a heel in his program with Roman Reigns. Those two will be facing each other in the main event of the Money in the Bank PPV for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Enzo Amore also returned. Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, and Sami Zayn all qualified for the Money in the Bank match at MITB. Charlotte broke up with Ric Flair, saying that he had been living in her spotlight for months. It was an angle that hit on various points very close to home, but Flair’s performance was fantastic. A.J. Styles also split up with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Shane and Stephanie McMahon were limited to cameos, which was a welcome change.
Show Recap:
Seth Rollins started the show getting a huge ovation, though there were some scattered boos. He was playing up to the crowd as a babyface and got “Welcome back” chants. Rollins said he’s waited 200 days to step inside his ring once again and he’s back. He’s waited for seven months to take back the title he never lost and he fired the first shot last night when he gave Roman Reigns the Pedigree. Crowd chanted “Thank you, Rollins.” Rollins asked if the fans missed him? That got “Yes” chants. Rollins said that was interesting because when he put a chair against Reigns’ back, the fans booed him. Then when he captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, fans said he was the weakest champion in history.
Then something profound happened: his knee buckled from carrying the company for so long. That was supposed to get boos. It got cheers instead. Rollins said he got so much fan mail he didn’t know what to do with it, so he put it all in the garbage can and lit it on fire. So Rollins went heel in the interview, saying he never needed the fans when he was going after the World Championship, and he doesn’t need them now. He said there was only room on the Seth Rollins bandwagon for one dude, and it was him. Rollins claimed the fans were never with him during the process to rehab his knee for seven months, which was harder work than the fans have ever put in in their entire lives.
Rollins said he, and he alone, would take back the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That got a mixed response. Reigns’ music hit. Suddenly Rollins’ response seemed like Ric Flair in Charlotte by comparison. Booed beyond belief.
Rollins acted like he wanted to fight, but when Reigns got in the ring, Rollins left, saying he was going to fight on his time. Shane McMahon showed up. Rollins reluctantly got back in the ring and Shane’s request so they could have a conversation. Shane brought up Rollins has had several defining moments, including breaking up the Shield and winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 32. Shane said Reigns would defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Rollins at Money in the Bank. Both men were content with that announcement. Reigns held up his title to get booed some more.
Later tonight, a series of Money in the Bank qualifying matches: The Miz vs. Cesaro; Chris Jericho vs. Apollo Crews; A.J. Styles vs. Kevin Owens along with Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn.
Renee Young did an interview with Sheamus, who denounced the “new era” in the WWE. He made fun of Zayn’s name and the fact he was form Canada. That was a weird thing to say since Canadians have been carrying a good portion of the company’s workrate lately. Young started to mention she was from Canada before Sheamus interupted her and instructed parents to get their children out of the room because what he would do to Zayne wouldn’t be suitable for all ages. They brought up Sheamus winning Money in the Bank last year, then cashed it in at the Survivor Series and defeated Reigns for the title after Reigns had just defeated Dean Ambrose in a tournament final.
Sami Zayn defeated Sheamus in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (10:02)
Zayn won with the Helluva Kick, moments after attempting a tope which Sheamus blocked with a right hand. Lots of selling by Zayn, but the two didn’t click as well as you would think. The announcers played the result up like an upset, explaining Sheamus didn’t even qualify for Money in the Bank one year after winning it. I credit it to lousy booking last June. Sheamus was furious after the match. At one point, Zayn did satellite head scissors, which Michael Cole called a huracanrana.
Crews did an interview with Young. She asked him if he felt like he had an advantage after the damage Jericho suffered against Ambrose last night. For some reason, Sheamus jumped Crews from behind. Sheamus screamed about the new era as he rammed Crews’ head into a truck case.
The New Day came out. They’re up to 274 days as tag team champions. There was a Happy Birthday cake in the ring. Kofi Kingston said the cake was there to celebrate Raw’s 1,200th episode. Xavier Woods said Raw is over 23 years old. Big E. said a WWE ring is never safe from a cake, so they decided to take the cake out of the ring. Woods said they would never want the cake to wind up in anyone’s face. Big E. teased throwing it in someone’s face at ringside, then JBL, then Byron Saxton. Then Social Outcasts (sans Adam Rose, of course) jumped Woods and Kingston. The Vaudevillains are out of a tag team title program after one PPV.
The New Day defeated Social Outcasts (1:50)
Kingston pinned Heath Slater after the Midnight Hour. Highlight was Slater taking the Unicorn Stampede. He rolled out of the ring barely able to stand, so Bo Dallas called for a Bo Train. Slater made it about three steps before collapsing. Of course, the cake had to end up in somebody’s face before the segment could end. So Kingston and Woods threw Slater into the cake, which splattered everywhere. They showed three highlights of the cake spot.
Miz and Maryse came out. Miz said he was still the Intercontinential Champion and a future Money in the Bank winner. He compared himself to the movie “Rudy” by overcoming overwhelming odds to retain the championship at Extreme Rules against Zayne, Owens and Cesaro. He wondered who could play him in an underdog movie, and brought up Brad Pitt and Dwayne Johnson. Maryse pulled in for a kiss, but Cesaro came out before they could get it on. Saxton said Cesaro looked like someone from “The Professional,” a weird reference to a 1994 film featuring a 12-year-old Natalie Portman. JBL then compared Cesaro to Roger Federer because they both have genetic superiority. Roger Federer pulled out of the French Open last week because of injuries.
Cesaro defeated the Miz (C) in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match, as well as a nontitle match (11:16)
Another solid match with these two, ending when Miz jumped off the top rope into a Cesaro uppercut, leading to the Gotch Neutralizer. Miz did the usual spots working over Cesaro’s injured left shoulder. Cesaro tried the Giant Swing, but couldn’t complete it because of the shoulder. Maryse has totally revitalized Miz’s career. He’s working better than he has in years, his promos are entertaining, and it has even helped the Intercontinental Championship, which really seemed on the backburner again after WrestleMania.
Rollins did an interview with Young. He said it would be fitting if he defeated Reigns for the Money in the Bank championship since he won it 2 years ago, leading to him cashing it in. Rollins walked up to Stephanie McMahon. Rollins wanted to hug her, but she said things have changed around here. She just wanted a handshake, and a confused Rollins complied.
Chris Jericho defeated Apollo Crews in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (7:37)
There was a mixup near the finish. Jericho went for the Lionsault. Crews did a nip-up while Jericho was in midair, but didn’t get out of the way. Jericho’s knees hit Crews on the head and they both fell to the mat. Looked like the rest of the match had to be ad-libbed from that point. Jericho won with a codebreaker. Finish kind of buried Crews since Jericho was supposed to be less than 100% after the Ambrose match last night. Jericho was all taped up from last night’s thumbtacks bump. Crews came out without selling anything from the Sheamus beating. Crews didn’t get much of a reaction and looked disappointed.
The latest from Darren Young and Bob Backlund, who chastized Young for taking notes. Then Backlund ordered him to recite all the presidents in honor. Young said he couldn’t do that. Backlund started to do it, and Young said “Damn, coach!” in a way to put Backlund over. Backlund got mad at him for swearing and ordered him to do 100 jumping jacks.
Baron Corbin did an interview with JoJo. They showed Corbin delivering a Draymond Green-caliber low blow to beat Dolph Ziggler last night. Ziggler walked in and said Corbin couldn’t beat him in a technical wrestling match. Corbin said he wasn’t worried about technical wrestling, he was worried about handing out beatings. You haven’t heard mechanical delivery of promos until you’ve heard Corbin. Ziggler said he was going to face Ambrose tonight and do something Corbin could never do: steal the show.
Big Cass came out. Then he waved toward the entrance and Enzo Amore made his return to a huge pop. They did the usual routine with the fans singing along. Amore had Michael Jackson’s jacket from the Thriller video on. Amore claimed he forgot to pay his electric bill and they cut his lights out. The doctors diagnosed him with a concussion, which he calls a hard sneeze. Amore said if he had a dime for every time he got knocked down and didn’t get back up, he would have ZERO DIMES! Amore said as for Bubba Ray and Devon Dudley, “do us a favor and don’t do us no favors.” Cass said throwing his size-17 boot was going to be like throwing a basketball into a swimming pool, because he wasn’t going to miss. If 10% of Amore’s interview ability could somehow transform over to Crews, he’d headline WrestleMania before 2020.
Big Cass defeated Bubba Ray Dudley (2:46)
Devon hit Amore from behind at ringside. This led to Cass’ comeback, which spilled out on the floor. Cass threw Amore into Devon. In the ring, Bubba Ray took the Ric Flair slam off the top rope, and Cass pinned him after the Empire Elbow.
Charlotte, Dana Brooke and Ric Flair came out for a “State of the WWE Women’s Championship Address.” JBL talked about how the Fabulous Moolah started her championship reign in 1956 in Baltimore. Flair took the mic and how proud he was of her. Flair looked emotional, which signaled something was up since this was suppsed to be a heel promo. Some fans started to chant boring. Flair compared Brooke to “Charlotte’s Uncle Arn.” Charlotte said she wanted to thank one person, “and it was obviously me.” She also thanked Brooke, who thanked Charlotte and put over Flair as the “dirtiest player in the game.” Charlotte brought up what she remembered growing up. She remembered various holidays and birthdays where her father wasn’t around for her. She had to watch him on television. Fans chanted “What” at Charlotte and she was getting really mad and appeared to lose her train of thought. Charlotte said she understood why her father missed those holidays because she was the champion. She then turned to her father and ordered him to get out of her ring. Flair didn’t understand what she was talking about. Charlotte said everyone from Flair’s generation was the same because they never wanted to leave the spotlight. Charlotte said Flair never understood how it felt to walk into a room and hear people say “There’s Ric Flair’s daughter.” She said now Flair was Charlotte’s father. Flair started to cry. Charlotte said Flair was “the 2nd dirtiest player in the game” and she doesn’t have time for people who come in 2nd place. She said she doesn’t need him anymore.
Charlotte accused Flair of neglecting her. Flair was in tears. Charlotte said Flair was an immortal to everyone in Baltimore, but to her he was dead. Now, Flair can watch Charlotte on TV just like she watched him through her childhood. She ordered him to leave the ring, which Flair did with remorse. Flair walked to the back and Charlotte crowed about how she was the champ. Flair’s facials were excellent. Charlotte had to work hard to get through this despite al the hecklers, but she’s very skilled on the microphone and did a good job getting this breakup over. JBL, Cole and Saxton sold this heavy, speaking in hushed tones wearing long faces like they had just seen a career-threatening injury angle.
For those who complain that this angle hit too close to home and was uncomfortable to watch, this isn’t the first time Flair’s parenting skills have been used in an angle. One of the few good segments of WCW Thunder in 2000 featured Flair and Arn Anderson in a microphone dual that centered around their personal lives and children. Not to mention Flair wrestling his son David in 1999 & 2000. Granted, that was among the worst booked programs in history, but it was still a subject. Flair himself, as a shoot, called that program “a nightmare.”
Dean Ambrose defeated Dolph Ziggler in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (12:10)
Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds after blocking the Zig Zag. It was a scientific match to get over Ziggler facing Corbin in a “scientific match” next week. During an Ambrose comeback, JBL said “Can you imagine what it would be like to have two former members of the Shield fight for the championship?” How many times did we see that last year? Then Ambrose did his ricochet off the ropes into the clothesline spot and Cole belted out “How in the world did he do that?” We see that spot every week.
A distraught Flair walked back stage where he came across Arn Anderson, who consoled him and said he was sorry. Young walked up and asked if he had anything he wanted to say. Flair, who tried to smile, declined and left the building.
The Shining Stars put over their debut last week and invited everyone to Puerto Rico, “The Shining Star of the Carribbean.”
Styles came out and said you never know how good someone is until you get in the ring with them. Styles said Reigns is every bit the man he says he is, which got him roundly booed. Styles said Reigns was one of the best he ever got in the ring with, but he still wasn’t phenomenal. Then Styles did another subtle heel dig, saying if it wasn’t for the Usos, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, you would be looking at the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This brought out Anderson and Gallows. Anderson was upset that Styles would say they cost him a chance to beat Reigns. Anderson accused Styles of changing since their days in Japan. Gallows said if he and Anderson hadn’t dropped every person that wanted to fight Styles, there would be a lot of bars that Styles would have never made it out of. Styles tried to be amicable and said they needed to seperate. Styles said, for now, they were done as a team. But nothing can seperate them from being brothers. Gallows wasn’t going for it, saying they weren’t brothers anymore. Anderson said they weren’t friends anymore. Styles said if that’s the case, they don’t need to be in the ring together anymore. He said, as of right now, this was his ring. Anderson and Gallows took the cue to leave and did without shaking hands. Another breakup angle.
Kevin Owens defeated A.J. Styles in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (16:30)
Owens won with the Pop-Up Power Bomb after Styles attempted a springboard move, but Owens kicked Styles’ legs out from under him. Styles hit the Pele Kick after escaping an attempt at the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Earlier, Owens missed a moonsault and Styles nailed a springboard 450 splash for a near fall. One night after bumping all over the place for Reigns, Styles wasn’t having an off night. Biggest spot came outside the ring when Styles ran up the steps, but Owens caught him over his shoulders and slammed him across the top of the steps. Later, Styles ran towards Owens, who power bombed Styles on the steps, leading to a countout tease. It was like Styles was 30 again and was in TNA putting over Kevin Nash. And yes, that really happened. Clean. Crowd seemed to be waiting for the near falls, but got more involved towards the end. Finish seemed to catch them by surprise.
SUMMARY: Very solid wrestling show. Frankly, this should be a pattern for the summer because the roster is going to be as deep as ever once John Cena, Randy Orton and Neville return. It’s just a question of which programs are made and how to gain the most from them. The Reigns-Rollins program isn’t really unique. Fans have booed Cena for years and cheered various heels against him. Rather than make a new superstar out of Reigns, the WWE has just made him a Cena clone. And the fans will treat him as such, as well as whoever is in a program with him. the good news is there’s plenty of guys he can have quality matches with that won’t expose him.
Glenn Jacobs, who wrestles as Kane in WWE, said he was seriously considering running for Mayor of Knox County, as a Republican.
He said he would make his decision after the presidential election.
He said he’s talked with current mayor Tim Burchett about it.
Knox County covers the city of Knoxville, the area that Jacobs lives in.
Jacobs did an interview with WBIR television saying he’s looking at doing so because he cares so much about the community.
“That’s the only reason I would consider getting into any sort of government because I do care very deeply. and I think it’s incumbent upon people who care about the communities to try and make a difference.
Jacobs noted that for work, he could live anywhere in the U.S., but settled in Knoxville because he love East Tennessee.
Jacobs first lived in Knoxville when he worked under the name Unabom for Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion,. as a tag team partner of Al snow.
Ray Leppan, known as Adam Rose, was officially released by WWE Monday as he requested it, according to the company.
Leppan was on an indefinite suspension from the company after being arrested on both tampering with a witness and domestic battery charges on May 11 involving his wife at their home in Lutz, FL. During the proceedings it came out, it was a second incident involving Leppan.
He was already on a 60 day suspension, announced on April 16, for a second wellness policy violation. He wrote that the violation was for testing positive for Adderall XR to treat ADHD. He put up a doctor’s note on Twitter, took it down, and then put it up again. WWE never responded to questions regarding the nature of the suspension, but did not change its ruling.
Leppan started his career working in South Africa as a tag team partner of Paul Lloyd Jr. (P.J. Black in Lucha Underground, Justin Gabriel in WWE). He worked for the local promotion there and was one of its top stars when signed to WWE in 2010, where he worked as Leo Kruger and later Adam Rose, highlighted in the ESPN E:60 Behind The Curtain documentary. The latter gimmick got him a 2014 call-up but the character never got out of prelims. He was a member of the Social Outcasts group at the time of his first suspension.
We’ll discuss this more on Wrestling Observer Live today and on Wrestling Observer Radio tonight.
Best match: fatal 4 way (world title match second best)
Worst match: divas
Four way was hot and well done. Styles-Reigns a worth main event in spite of the interference.
The Jericho- Ambrose cage mess really dragged live, and brought the crowd down; divas match also poor.
Vaudvillians were actually pretty good; have potential, and were protected for the moment by the finish.
Anderson and Gallows also strong . Baron-Ziggler was not much.
–Mike Omansky
Just wanted to provide some feedback on Extreme Rules. I gave the show a slight thumbs up, somewhere between thumbs in the middle, lol. The show had hits and misses, a few good matches, a few highlights, but due to lack of build not much else. I thought the main event for the world title was the best match of the night, although it was a tough choice between the main event and I/C title match. The I/C title match was awesome, but thought the main event was better in my opinion. Worst match of the night was probably a tie between the women’s match and the Asylum cage match. The women’s match could have been so much better, and it’s hard to have a cage match without violence and blood and keeping it PG.
1. Ziggler – Corbin – Was not really into the match, either competitor could have won and would not have really made a difference.
2. Doc & Anderson – Uso’s – Really good match, fast paced, Doc & Karl have been great since they started, The Uso’s looked good as a result, and usually not into the Uso’s very much. Hope they heat up the tag team scene with the addition of Doc & Karl and give them a run as tag champs.
3. Kalisto – Rusev – Good to see Rusev win and get the U.S. title and paired back up on screen properly with Lana. I thought this was a hot act during his first run as US champ and they should have kept it that way instead of the seemingly lack of push that happened after the Cena fued and then Lana paired up with Dolph, just didn’t work. The League of Nations thing didn’t work out, and clearly neither of them was really having any on screen success without the other, so good to see them headed in the right direction again.
4. New Day – Vaudevillains – Good to see New Day win. I was annoyed with their gimmick at first, but they have grown on me and I actually like the act now. Now I’m annoyed by the Vaudevillians, lol. Don’t really see how this can be a very long lasting gimmick for them as I just don’t see it sticking.
5. Miz, Cesaro, Zayn, Ownes – Really great match, these guys are the future of the WWE and good to see them have a great match with each other. Was hoping they would get the title back on Owens as I thought he made a tremendous champion. But would be good to see either Zayn or Cesaro as champ too. And these guys are miracle workers making the Miz look good, lol. However The Miz has improved and I think a push with Maryse with him has been good. Improving as a performer and hope they just stick with that, stay away from the whole Miz TV thing, very annoying.
6. Dean – Jericho – Really lackluster match, a whole bunch of nothing going on in the cage. Hard to have a cage match in today’s WWE. And the whole storyline between Dean and Jericho really was not going anywhere in my opinion. Cool spot at the end however with the bump into the tacks, that was cool at least.
7. Charlotte – Nattie – Very disappointing since they are both so talented and this match was regulated to seemingly almost nothing and elevate who? Dana Brooks? I don’t think Dana is ready for the main roster yet. Her matches have left something to be desired that I’ve seen so far. Hopefully they will just keep her in the “Bodyguard” position for Charlotte and continue to push Charlotte as a really good heal. Daddy Ric can only do so much at ringside, so it will be good to have Dana there to take the bumps outside the ring. No disrespect to Flair, but he can’t actually do a whole lot of bumping at his age and keeping his physical role limited will be more effective I think.
8. Roman – Styles – I thought this was a great match, AJ really took some hardcore bumps. I like Roman as champ and hope they go full heal with his character. Also want to see see Styles as champ. Also really cool to see the return of Rollins and would like to see him as champ again too, lol. But an amazing match of an otherwise somewhat lackluster card other then the I/C title match.
Thanks, Jon Southerland — Clovis, Ca.
Thumbs in the middle. Very mixed bag.
Best match: Roman vs AJ. Maybe the best WWE match this year.
Worst match: Ambrose vs Jericho. Maybe the worst WWE PPV match this year.
The women are hopeless if every title match has a screw job finish.
Thanks, Erin J Hotovy
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Styles v Reigns
Worst Match: New Day v Vaudevillans
Another solid card. Styles had an insane match performance but important to say Reigns did a lot right in there as well. Wonder what is up next for Styles as a reward for the stuff he is doing out there since joining WWE. That main event delivered on a lot of levels. The passion of the crowds love/hate relationship with Reigns added here rather than detract and cant imagine that dynamic if RollinsVReigns is at MITB. The IC 4 way would be best match on a lot of cards. Big fan of the Kalisto-Rusev match as so much they did in that match was very tight. Kalisto has been doing some solid stuff from the del rio feud through the recent big men. Rusev is so underused but its hard to gauge how well they will handle the win based on the wackiness of the secondary titles. Usos and “The Club” had another good match, not sick of the feud though looks like its over (Wargames dreams shattered). The asylum match lagged in parts but overall felt good. Enjoyed Corbin Ziggler but think Corbin, who I am a fan of, needs a little more work on selling. The Dana Brooke spot took me out of the Charlotte-Natalya match. Get what they were going for but just came across weird.
Network was perfect tonight, none of even those minor blips or hiccups.
Thanks!
Michael O’Brien | Brockton, MA
Thumbs up just because of two superb matches. Roman gets the hottest heel reaction in years and Rollins was welcomed like he was HBK. Anything else but a double turn is plain simple stupid.
Best Match: Miz vs. Zayn vs. Owens vs. Cesaro closely followed by Reigns vs. Styles
Worst Match: Corbin vs. Ziggler
Earlier in the day during the USA vs. Puerto Rico International Friendly soccer match on FS1, one of the announcers actually said “Puerto Rico, the shining star of the Caribbean”.
Leonardo II Mendez | San Sebastian, PR
Thumbs Up
Worst Match: Corbin vs. Ziggler
Had a couple of awkward moments & the rhythm could’ve been better at times, but I thought it was an ok match. Liked the finish, although thought he waited a little long to capitalize on the low blow.
Usos vs. Anderson & Gallows
Thought they were rushing a fair bit but decent match.
Rusev vs. Kalisto
There were some awkward moments in the early going, thought the heat section left a lot to be desired, Kalisto’s comeback wasn’t as crisp, smooth & explosive as others, but I thought it was ok, & improved towards the end, which featured some nice spots & I liked the finish.
New Day vs. Vaudevillians Didn’t last long but I thought it was a good solid match.
Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Zayn vs. Miz Thought the crowd jumped the gun on the awesome chants, but it was a hell of an outing. No losers here. Was surprised to see Miz win, thought for sure the title would end up on Zayn or Owens.
Jericho vs. Ambrose Thought the crowd were a bunch of cocks. Thought they worked a real good match, with a good structure & nice pacing, but the crowd weren’t interested until the tacks, which frankly I was surprised to see used, I thought both they & the barbed wire 2×4 were just going to be teased, not that I feel that would’ve been a wise decision. They were out there trying to work, but the crowd wanted pace & spots. Ok, it was following a great match, but there was no need for some of their behaviour.
Natalya vs. Charlotte Tough stipulation match to have given the two matches that’d gone before. I thought it was decent, but wasn’t a fan of the finish, thought it was very anticlimactic, & was pretty surprised by Dana Brooke’s appearance, given her ongoing program with Becky. Interested to see where they’re going.
Best Match: Styles vs. Reigns Thought it was an amazing performance from Styles, he worked so hard, & Reigns wasn’t a passenger. Lots of creative spots, great layout, great flow & rhythm to the match, very spectacular, although I would’ve liked a little more dramatics given everything they did, & for them to bring down the pace a little at times. Again no losers here.
Just three weeks after Payback, we’re right back into the big event mix for WWE with Extreme Rules, their annual WWE Network show where nearly every match has a stipulation or twist added onto it. This year’s show emanates from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey — the second time the event has been hosted in the Garden State.
This is the eighth Extreme Rules show in company history as they began back in 2009, headlined by Edge vs. Jeff Hardy in a ladder match. Last year’s show featured then-WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton in a steel cage match.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
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There was an angle where Big Cass laid out both Dudleys in the ring. He gave Devon the East River Crossing.
DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. BARON CORBIN — NO DQ
A basic match with Ziggler getting a series of near falls until Corbin did a blatant low blow (legal in a no DQ match) and got the pin with the End of Days. Not as good as their match last month.
DOC GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON VS. USOS IN A TORNADO MATCH
Fast paced match, fairly short. It was all four in the ring at the same time and no DQ. The crowd was totally behind Gallows & Anderson and booed the Usos. Gallows & Anderson got the clean win. Gallows brought in the ring bell, but Jimmy superkicked him. Jimmy went to the top rope and Gallows moved, so Jimmy landed on the ring bell. Gallows & Anderson then used the Magic Killer on Jimmy for the pin and win.
US CHAMPION KALISTO VS. RUSEV
Good match. Rusev won the title after slamming him off the top rope onto the apron. They sold it like Kalisto reinjured his back from Raw on Monday and they were checking on him. Rusev then jumped in and put the Accolade on for the submission. Kalisto had gone to the top rope after delivering a moonsault to the floor. They were pushing like Kalisto was injured at the end, and was coming into the match injured. The EMTs came out after the match.
WWE TAG CHAMPIONS THE NEW DAY (Big E & Xavier Woods) VS. VAUDEVILLAINS
Another short match: 6:00. Match was okay for the time it had. The Vaudevillains used the Whirling Dervish on Woods but he kicked out. For the finish, Big E tackled English to the floor. Kofi Kingston hit Gotch with an enzuigiri which led to Woods pinning Gotch with the shining wizard.
– A.J. Styles interview vowed to walk out as champion.
I-C CHAMPION THE MIZ VS. CESARO VS. SAMI ZAYN VS. KEVIN OWENS
This was a super match with tons of near falls and saves. Cesaro and Zayn, in particular, were great. Michael Cole called it a match of the year candidate, a previously banned Vince McMahon term. The finish saw Zayn hit Cesaro with the Helleva Kick, but Owens pulled Zayn out of the ring when he went for the pin. Zayn threw Miz into the barricade, and then Miz crawled into the ring and pinned Cesaro.They did everything in their arsenals including Cesaro doing a 16-rep swing on Miz. Cesaro had Miz in the Sharpshooter and he tapped but ref Dan Engler was distracted by Maryse. Owens did cannonballs on everyone. Cesaro did running uppercuts on everyone three times on each guy alternating.
DEAN AMBROSE VS. CHRIS JERICHO — ASYLUM CAGE MATCH
The short matches earlier led to this match running more than 26:00 in the cage. It was a weird match that didn’t have much heat for a long time as they traded climbing up and getting the different weapons. They were also hurt following a great match. It was just too long with too many weapons although they did pick it up at the end with Ambrose pulled down a bucket that had thumbtacks. They wrestled for along time after with Jericho using a codebreaker for a near fall. Ambrose came off the top of the cage with an elbow for a near fall.
Jericho used the Walls of Jericho but Ambrose used a kendo stick to break it. They also used a leather strap, fire extinguisher, and then saved a barbed wire board until late with Jericho using it. The match ended Jericho going for a Codebeaker, Ambrose blocking it and slamming Jericho into the thumbtacks, then giving him the Dirty Deeds into the tacks. Jericho’s body had thumb tacks sticking to him everywhere and he was selling it tremendously, bleeding from his triceps.
WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPION CHARLOTTE VS. NATALYA — SUBMISSIONS MATCH
Dana Brooke came out dressed as Ric Flair (wig, robe) and distracted Natalya when she had Charlotte in the sharpshooter. This allowed Charlotte to get Natalya from behind and put her in the figure eight for the submission. During the match, they traded submissions but were just getting the crowd just as the match was ending. Match wasn’t as good as last month. The crowd has never recovered since the four-way which tore down the house. Ric Flair, Brooke and Charlotte celebrated together at the end. So, the story of this match was to elevate Brooke into the top mix. It’s clear they are putting Charlotte and Brooke into a duo to eventually set them up as rivals.
WWE CHAMPION ROMAN REIGNS VS. A.J. STYLES IN AN EXTREME RULES MATCH
The big spot at the end was after Reigns won, Seth Rollins jumped in and hit the Pedigree. The crowd went totally nuts for him as a babyface and chanted “Thank you Seth.” He posed with the belt so Reigns vs. Rollins is the probable Money in the Bank main event.
The match ended with Styles going for the phenomenal forearm but Reigns nailed him with the spear for the pin. Styles had a death wish, taking some crazy (and I mean crazy) bumps including a high backdrop through a table where he landed on his tailbone. Anderson & Gallows interfered first and laid out Reigns but he still kicked out of the pin. The Usos came out and laid out Styles with superkicks and a splash off the top but he kicked out.
Reigns hit Anderson and Gallows with Superman punches. Reigns kicked out of a Styles clash, and Styles used a Styles Clash on a chair but Jey Uso pulled Styles off him. Styles got a chair and destroyed Reigns and the Usos with more than a dozen chair shots before going for the spingboard forearm. Another super match.
Submitted by Danny West (Thanks to Joe Collins as well)
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day over Vaudevillians
New Day warmed up the crowd well. Also, the sky is blue. This was the epitome of face/heel work. People loved New Day, hated Vaudevillians. Was a fun start to the show.
– Apollo Crews over Curtis Axel
Crews got a lot more love here than he’s been getting on TV, but still a little lukewarm for someone of his ability. Axel worked the crowd very well as a cowardly heel. Amazing how much better he is when he isn’t surrounded by the rest of the Outcasts.
– Jack Swagger over Viktor
Reading is a working class bunch, so they get onboard with an American even if he’s pretty irrelevant in the big picture these days. Short, predictable, but functional
– Goldust over Tyler Breeze
Fandango interfered at one point, but Goldust still prevailed. Decent contest. After the match, Fandango and Breeze beat on Golddust. R-Truth (of course) came to the rescue. Crowd chanted “Golden Truth.”
– Big Show/Kane over Rowan/Strowman
Big Show got the 2nd biggest pop of the night. Kane got the 3rd biggest. This was a very playful affair with lots of Big Show goofiness. Crowd was obviously appreciative of his tenure in the business. The older guys were super super over. It was a nice change of pace from the “Please retire” chants they sometimes get.
AJ Styles over Kevin Owens
KO was messing with kids, ruining signs, etc. Styles did his usual amazing stuff, You would never know his ankle isn’t 100%. Phenomenal Forearm won it after a long and strong bout. AJ brought a previously heckled KO kid from the aisle into the ring to introduce him. Kid had a Roman Reigns shirt, but AJ Styles gloves. He told AJ on the mic that he liked both of them. AJ said, “That’s alright with me.” Great moment.
Intermission
– Becky Lynch over Summer Rae
Yay for Becky winning something. Armbar tap out. She got a great crowd reaction.
– US Champion Kalisto over Alberto Del Rio and Cesaro
Crowd was into all three of these guys. Lots of antics out of Cesaro. Lots of Kalisto’s usual “whoa” moments. Finish was especially good. Kalisto’s finish happened after he used his feet to rebound Cesaro out of the ring and over Del Rio’s head. Great match.
– Dean Ambrose over Rusev (w/Lana)
Lana introduced Rusev and did some promo for Extreme Rules. Dean’s pop was huge — by far the biggest of the night. Rusev didn’t get a ton of heat until he berated America. “USA” chants were straight out of 1991. Rebound lariat, Dirty Deeds, pin. Lana was ejected from ringside for being a nuisance.
I’m at Winter Haven FL for NXT Live in front of a sold out house of approximately 350.
– No Way Jose beat Tucker Knight
Entertaining match with Jose using new baseball inspired moves like setting Knight in the corner and running the three corners like bases before a slide in drop kick. The ref even made the safe sign for the home run. Jose won it with his finish.
– Peyton Royce beat Liv Morgan
Fast action by Morgan including a big monkey flip out of the corner and spinning headscissor rana. Peyton worked holds and won it with a fisherwoman suplex.
– Chris Girard beat Buddy Murphy
Very good match with a lot of crowd interaction “You Got Dumped!” “Blake Is Better!” “Where’s Alexa?” solid support of Girarad for all his running uppercuts. Major combination at the end including running to the buckles for uppercuts and a huge spinning neck breaker for the win.
– Mojo Rawley beat Elias Samson
Comedy spots early on to upset Drifter. The hammer man dance and a lot of wiggling. Mojo won it with a running clothesline in to the corner.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat The Authors Of Pain
Big heels got a lot of heat on Chad Gable to set up the Jason Jordan hot tag. Assisted German Suplex for the win.
– Adrienne Reese beat Nikki Storm
Strong match, Nikki had control most of the match, talking trash, keeping Adrienne grounded. Finish was the top rope diving stunner.
– In-ring promo with Mandy Rose she says that she is a bikini model champion. This got a lot of heat and “Wannabe Diva” chant.
– TM61 beat Angelo Dawkins and Patrick Clarke
Well-paced match, TM61 hit their double team spinebuster for the win.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe beat Andrade Cien Almas
Great match. Joe is the dominant champion so he cut off the fired-up Andrade at every turn. Andrade hit the moonsault into a standing moonsault for a near fall in his best hope spot. Joe caught Andrade in the clutch out of nowhere for the submission victory.
