Extreme Rules 2019

Sunday, July 14th, 2019
Wells Fargo Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I know that people are down on the current WWE product these days, but I feel pretty confident that this will be better than King of the Ring 1995.

No Holds Barred
Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns & Undertaker

I thought they might put this one in the main event spot, but putting it here makes sense to me. McIntyre and Roman start things off and McIntyre takes early advantage and tags in Shane who enters the ring to some big boos. Roman retaliates and is all over Shane. Undertaker gets the tag to a nice pop, which I am semi-surprised being that it's Philly. It takes probably less than a minute for Michael Cole to remind us that Undertaker is the "best pure striker", which he probably isn't. McIntyre's chance with Taker receives a good response from the crowd and Taker hits a couple of his trademarks on him before tagging in Roman. Taker chases Shane away to the ramp with a chair because this is NO HOLDS BARRED. I remember watching Undertaker lose to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania and saying to myself that he should retire. That was 5 years ago and here we are. I'm already losing interest in this one here. Roman and Drew are both down and both make tags and Taker takes care of both men. Renee Young then drops a F bomb? Had to rewind it to make sure I heard it right. Taker was ready to give Shane a Last Ride through a table, but out comes Elias and he hits Taker with a guitar to some massive boos. Roman takes care of Elias but gets a Claymore Kick from McIntyre. Shane then does an elbow drop off the top rope on Taker through the table. Shane is now setting up the garbage can with the help of Elias and McIntyre for the coast to coast. Shane hits it, but then Reigns returns and he takes out Elias, but then McIntyre takes care of him. Shane drags Taker to the center of the ring, but Taker sits up and gives Shane a chokeslam. He then hits one on Elias, but McIntyre is behind him and ready to attack, but in comes Reigns with a spear. Taker hits the Tombstone on Shane and that is all. The first half was really boring house show stuff, but the second half was fun overbooked entertainment. Your enjoyment will definitely vary on this one.

Match Rating: *** (out of 5)

After the match, Taker and Reigns shake hands. As Reigns exits, Taker lingers around and then poses. If you were hoping for a 5 hour pay-per-view, Taker is helping your cause.

Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins are backstage to talk about their match later tonight. Not a very good promo by either performer.

Raw Tag Team Championship Match
The Revival vs. The Usos

Usos get the early advantage and do a double leap over the top rope. For some reason they didn't clean up some of the table stuff from the opener. The Revival take over and the crowd is a little flat so far for this one. It's nice to see the Revival's smart wrestling showcased here and get some time. They hit Demolition's finisher and continue to work on Jey Uso. Jey finally gets the hot tag to Jimmy Uso. Both teams seem to be a little stuck in first gear here so far tonight. Everything has been good, but not show stealing good. Dawson hits the superplex and then a splash from Wilder, but Jimmy Uso soars in for a save and all four men are down and retreat to different corners of the ring. They all start brawling and Jey Uso cleans house. Dawson then pulls one of the Usos out of the ring and they use some nice tag team wrestling and hit the Shatter Machine for the pinfall. Chalk that one up as a minor disappointment.

Match Rating: ***

Cesaro vs. Aleister Black

This may be my most anticipated match of the night. These guys are off to a super fast pace a hoss fight, but no surprise since both are in amazing shape. Black is presented as a star early on and then Cesaro pushes Black over the top rope as he was going for a springboard. Cesaro then hits a very nice springboard uppercut for a 2 count. Black goes for a double knee off the top rope, but Cesaro catches him and throws him up for an uppercut. Cesaro isn't human. With all of the things that get "This is awesome" chants in modern wrestling, somehow that didn't. Black gets some stiff kicks in and Cesaro goes for another leaping uppercut and gets greeted with a big knee to the chin. I love getting to see two guys do what they do best. Cesaro sells the knee as he tries to throw up Black and almost loses to a small package. Black puts Cesaro in a submission hold and somehow Cesaro turns it into a Sharpshooter. Black is about to escape, so he puts him in the Crossface and Black turns that into a nearfall. We get a delayed "This is awesome chant". Both men hit multiple uppercuts and then Cesaro goes for the Neutralizer, but Black gets out and hits Black Mass and gets the three count. These are kinds of matches that WWE needs more often. This highlighted what both men can do and both men are more over because of this match. Cesaro should be able to quickly get himself over because he looked fantastic here.

Match Rating: ***3/4

R-Truth and Carmello are backstage looking for Drake Maverick and out comes Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. Truth asks if she's seen Hornswoggle. She tells him he is, but Carmella tells him not to listen to her. Bliss then gives Cross a gift and it's an Alexa Bliss coffee shirt. The Street Profits are watching and comment on how cute they are. They ask her where the party will be at when Bliss becomes champion. Bliss corrects them and says co-champions, which the Street Profits laugh at. Cross gets defensive. That was kind of a weird segment, but I liked it.

Handicap Match For The SmackDown Women's Championship
Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

I'm a big Bayley fan, but I'm not really sure what to expect with this one. The heels naturally take advantage of the 2-on-1, as Bliss knocks Bayley off the apron into the chairs after a blind tag. Cross catches Bayley in the apron as she went for a baseball slide, but Bayley fights back until Bliss hits her from behind. Bayley is able to make a comeback and takes out both opponents. Bayley puts Cross in a deathlock and then is able to somehow put Bliss in a Crossface at the same time. Bliss goes for Twisted Bliss, but Bayley gets the knees up, but Bliss tags in Cross. Cross goes off the top rope for some reason and Bayley counters that as well. Bayley hits the elbow drop off the top rope and gets the win. That finish didn't really make Cross look good, but it's nice to see Bayley booked as a legit threat.

Match Rating: **1/2

Last Man Standing Match
Lashley vs. Braun Strowman

I have zero interest in this match and I can almost guarantee it's one of the longest of the night. Lashley tries to attack Strowman, but Strowman tosses him over the top rope. Strowman runs around the ring to gain momentum before attacking, but Lashley hits him with a spear. Lashley is now attacking Strowman up the steps in the crowd. They are now battling up in the concourse. Strowman suplexes Lashley into a merch stand wall and he takes a pretty hard fall to the concrete. Strowman then leads Lashley back down the stairs of the arena. Strowman then takes a big running start and just steamrolls Lashley to the concrete. Lashley is able to get up before the 10 count. Lashley then drives Strowman through the barricade. Now Lashley runs around the ring and steamrolls Strowman over the table and it's now on top of him for a 9 count. Lashley then leaps on top of the barricade, or maybe just tries to jump over it (?) and then Strowman catches him and throws him into the international announcers tables. Lashley is taking a beating and then Strowman hits him with a padded chair. Strowman then picks up Lashley and hits a leaping powerslam into some sort of crash pad. Strowman breaks out of the cardboard box that was set up there at the 7 count and gets the victory as Lashley is counted out at 10. Like I said earlier, I had no interest in ever seeing that match, but both men worked hard and did their best with the stipulation. Much better than expected.

Match Rating: **3/4

AJ Styles is in the back with Gallows and Anderson. I'm all good with heel AJ being back.

Triple Threat Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
New Day vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowan

This match has some dark horse potential. I feel like a Daniel Bryan vs. Woods or Big E has some good potential. Rowan has been good in this role, but he still can be a liability in the ring. Otis gets a tag and does what he does with Bryan. It can not be said enough just how valuable Bryan is to this company. He is an absolute top 10 performer in WWE history in my book. Otis hits the caterpillar. Chaos breaks out and Big E hits his spear through the ropes. Otis is the lone man standing and teases jumping over the ropes, but then goes through them and does a leap off the apron. Tucker then does a leap off the top rope to the floor. Rowan comes in and tries to do a double Iron Claw, but Heavy Machinery gets out of it and crush Rowan and hit him with an assault of splashes. They go for a double superplex, but Big E slams both down and then delivers a superplex to Rowan. Bryan made a blind tag and he hits a diving headbutt on Big E and then gets him in the Lebell Lock. Big E is able to get to the ropes and is now dominating on Bryan. Bryan tries a running moonsault, but is caught by Big E. New Day hits Midnight Hour and we have new tag team championships. Not sure I love Bryan & Rowan's reign being ended here, but that was a good match and the crowd loved the finish. At the very least, it is going to be interesting to see where they go from here with all 6 men.

Match Rating: ***1/2

Kofi is in the back celebrating with his fellow New Day members and Paul Heyman walks by them and out to the ramp. Heyman says that he is Philadelphia and that Lesnar will cash in his Money In The Bank contract tonight.

United States Championship Match
AJ Styles vs. Ricochet

Before the bell even rings, Gallows and Anderson attack Ricochet during his entrance. Michael Cole reminds us that even though this is Extreme Rules, well, this match isn't. Ricochet continues to amaze me with how effortless everything he does looks. He is flying all over the ring at such a calm pace. He hits AJ with a flurry of moves and then leaps and takes out Gallows and Anderson. Styles hits a nice suplex into the corner and is now working on Ricochet's back. Ricochet avoids the Phenomenal Forearm and then counters the Styles Clash into a hurricanrana into a pinfall. By Philadelphia standards, the crowd is really quiet tonight. I think one issue with this card is that a lot of the matches have two performers that the crowd likes. Ricochet hits the Shooting Star Press and is about to win when Anderson points out to the ref that Styles' leg is under the rope. The Club then attacks Ricochet off a distraction. Styles then goes up top and hits a super Styles Clash. Chalk that one up as a slight disappointment as well. The crowd didn't do them any favors either. I hope we get a rematch and maybe they can top this one.

Match Rating: ***1/2

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler

Since his awesome feud with the Miz, has Ziggler done anything really of note? Ziggler slaps him and Owens retaliates with a kick and a Stunner and gets the win. So when should I expect Ziggler to get a title shot of some sort again? Next week on SmackDown or at SummerSlam? After the match, Owens grabs the mic and continues his rebellious gimmick.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Samoa Joe is backstage and says he is here to end the insignificant reign of Kofi Kingston.

WWE Championship Match
Samoa Joe vs. Kofi Kingston

Kofi goes right after Joe, but it doesn't last long. Joe has been so good in 2019 and yet he really has been booked pretty poorly. It seems like every time that he gains momentum, they have him lose. I don't watch the current product outside of the big shows, but I think if I were giving out MVPs of 2019 so far, they would be Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan and Kofi. Kofi makes a comeback, but Joe slugs him as Kofi was going for a suicide dive. Joe works on Kofi's fingers and stomps his hand in between the steps in a painful looking spot. Joe's heat segments are so much better than most big men and he works so well with smaller opponents. Kofi is able to hit a SOS for a 2 count and again the crowd is pretty quiet. Kofi goes for Trouble In Paradise, but Joe catches him in the Coquina Clutch. Kofi tries getting out of it and he slams him down as he is running up the turnbuckle. Then out of nowhere, Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise and that's all? I don't hate finishes out of nowhere, but they had a good 10 minutes left in them. Disappointing booking here.

Match Rating: **3/4

Winner Takes All Mixed Tag Team Match For Both The Universal Championship & Raw Women's Championship
Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans vs. Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins

The cameras did a Divas-era zoom in of Evans' at the beginning and it shows that she has "SETH" written on her tights. Rollins and Lynch start unloading on their opponents with kendo sticks. God, anytime that Corbin is on, I instantly reach for my phone. Forcing myself to watch here for the greater good. Corbin has some chairs set up in the ring as he works on Rollins. After Rollins escapes a chair shot, Corbin hits a DDT on Rollins on the chair for a nearfall. Lynch unloads on Evans with a bunch of chair shots on the outside of the ring. Lynch hits a Becksploder onto some chairs. Becky hits a leg drop onto a chair. Lynch and Rollins set up some tables, but Corbin and Evans come back with kendo sticks and regain control. Evans and Corbin go for suplexes into the tables, but Lynch and Rollins counter with suplexes to the steel ramp. Lynch hits a leg drop on Evans through a table and then Rollins follows it with a huge splash on Corbin through another table. Corbin hits Deep Six on Rollins, but Lynch makes the save on the pin attempt. Corbin then hits End Of Days on Lynch and then taunts Rollins. Seth then goes nuts with the kendo stick and a chair on Corbin. Rollins hits the Stomp and Evans retreats. Rollins hits a second and then a third Stomp and gets the victory. That shouldn't have been the main event of the show. It wasn't horrible, but it didn't feel important.

Match Rating: **1/4

Instantly after the bell rings, Lesnar's music hits and he is actually here. Lesnar hits two German suplexes and then Heyman hands over the briefcase.

Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

Lesnar hits the F5 and that is all. I don't think the timing was right for this one, but what do I know?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Well, that was a good show, but I can't help but thinking it should have been better. The crowd was mostly dead and a few of the matches didn't reach my (admittedly high) expectations. However, it was an easier watch than many of the marathon shows and is a recommended watch. I'm curious to see where they go for SummerSlam as they made a few adjustments I didn't think they would make just yet.

Overall Rating: 75%