The
backlash from WrestleMania is now over as everyone goes onto bigger
(and some smaller) things.
It was
never going to be the most EXTREME of PPVs (yes, I'm still using the
word EXTREME in CAPS LOCK), but the electric Chicago crowd gave the
whole night a good feeling. While many of the past post-Mania PPVs
have suffered and come across as B shows, this years show had a big
night feeling about it, and that's something WWE should be looking to
continue with.
Falls
Count Anywhere Match
Randy
Orton def. Kane
The
constant walking around from these two men is something that summed
up Falls Count Anywhere matches to a tee. While these matches are the
same as any other No DQ match, WWE feel to need to use this match to
go everywhere around the arena, from the crowd all the way through
backstage.
And
while that can be a good thing to see sometimes, with two such big
men their wasn't a whole lot they could have done. The match just
featured a lot of dragging, punching, kicking and shoving into any
object nearby.
The
match was a lot more intense then their match at WrestleMania, but it
still just didn't hit home with me, and I guess it was never going
to. Good to see Orton win, because it now (hopefully) means that this
feud ends.
Brodus
Clay def. Dolph Ziggler
I said
that the only person that could get a good match out of Clay would be
Ziggler, and only because he would sell his moves really, really
well.
Granted,
the match wasn't very good at all, but it once again showed that
Ziggler deserves better, because he made Clay look like a monster.
Intercontinental
Championship
Tables
Match
Cody
Rhodes def. Big Show
In the
back of my mind I always thought that maybe Big Show would drop the
title to Rhodes at Extreme Rules because a) he got his WrestleMania
moment and b) Rhodes really needed to win it back.
Rhodes
was in a rut where he was being embarrassed by Big Show and squashed
to people like Great Khali. Thankfully though, that all ended last
night as Cody regained the Intercontinental Championship.
The
match was very like there match at WrestleMania, as there wasn't a
whole lot that happened. The ending to this one however, while some
may have found it as anti-climatic as the ending at WrestleMania, I
thought this was an excellent cheap win for Rhodes.
The win
was a fluke of course, and didn't make Cody look very strong, but it
wasn't supposed anyway. It was a way to get the title back on Rhodes
and to do it with as much heat behind it as possible.
World
Heavyweight Championship
2-Out-Of-3
Falls
Sheamus
def. Daniel Bryan
THIS was
the type of match I wanted a WrestleMania. A hard-hitting match which
saw both men work to their strengths.
Everything
in this match just flowed so well. The pacing was perfect as we saw
Sheamus try to dominate Bryan, only to be slowed down by the
“professer” (as Booker called him). Bryan worked on Sheamus' arm
beautifully, applying many different holds and some stand out kicks
to go with it.
Having
Bryan disqualify himself on perfect so he could set him self up for
the Yes Lock was a very clever way to give Bryan the fall, and also
made him look very calculating in doing so.
The
ending to the match was fairly anti-climatic, but it really didn't
take anything away from this fantastic bout.
Chicago
Street Fight
WWE
Championship
CM Punk
def. Chris Jericho
This
match was totally different from their match at WrestleMania, but
still equally as good in it own right. This was a great back and
forth match which saw many good spots throughout the match.
The
Chicago crowd wasn't as electric as I thought they would be, as they
seemed to be fairly quite in the first 10 minutes or so. Things did
pick up a little bit however and in the end added to the overall feel
of the match.
It was a
bit rough in places, but the main spots in the match did come off
smoothly and really, its those bits that the match will be remembered
for. If anything, this match showed that hardcore style matches in a
PG environment can work, it just depends on how you utilize it all.
Right
now this leaves Jericho 0-4 in PPV matches this year, so it will be
interesting to see where it all leads him. As for Punk though, his
enjoyable run as champion will continue for another while at least.
Divas
Championship
Layla
def. Nikki Bella
While
I'm sure many people were disappointed not to see Kharma be the
mystery opponent (myself included), I was still delighted to see the
return of Layla.
She
looks to have brought in some new moves into her moveset and looked
pretty impressive in her short match against Nikki. Was it too early
to give her the title? I don't think so. I mean, its not like the
Divas Title is that prestigious anyway. Still though, lets hope she
has a good reign with the title.
Extreme
Rules Match
John
Cena def. Brock Lesnar
While we
saw a great wrestling match from Bryan and Sheamus, and a fun WWE
style hardcore match from Punk and Jericho, this was just an all-out
fight.
I
expected Lesnar to work his MMA style on Cena, but at the same time I
didn't expect him to go so stiff on him. Straight off the bat we saw
Lesnar throw down some vicious elbows that cut Cena open almost
instantly. That image at the start of the match really sums up how
this match went.
It was
really something I hadn't seen before in a WWE ring. It was simply
just MMA meets wrestling. All of it was surreal, unique and brutal.
Seeing Cena get man handled like that was something that know one has
ever seen before, and it all made for a very enjoyable match.
The
match was well worked with Lesnar literally beating the crap out of
Cena, only for him to get caught with a shot to the head with a fist
full of chain and an FU onto the steps. While Cena won the battle,
WWE did a good job of making it look like Lesnar won the war.
I know
many people will be displeased with the ending, but frankly I didn't
mind it at all. Lesnar looked incredibly strong in this match and it
was his cockiness that just caught him in the end. In my eyes, it
came off very well and didn't make Lesnar look weak at all. Also add
to the fact that Lesnar still has another 11 months to go in his WWE
contract, so there's a lot more to see from this man.
Overall,
I thought this was an excellent PPV from WWE. The under card was
moderately solid and featured some nice surprises, while the 3 main
matches all delivered. I don't think we'll see 3 such fantastic
matches on a WWE PPV that were all so different from one another in a
very long time. It was just the perfect balance.
Stray
Observations:
- Ryder looked pathetically weak trying to beat up Kane during that Falls Count Anywhere match.
- Big Show's reaction to stepping through the table was priceless.
- Anyone else tired of Brodus Clay's entrance? Even the generally hectic Chicago crowd didn't get up off their seats.
- I skimmed by that promo from those two jobbers, but it still looked quite hilarious.
- “Hey, hey, hey, I have 'till FIVE!”
- Punk's sister could have shown a bit more emotion and concern when watching his brother get beaten just a couple of feet away from her. Instead she just casually clapped while her brother was gasping for air.
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