Reverse Hipster's Review
New Day vs. Bobby and Omos and AJ 8.3/10 B
This match could have been on RAW. I don't know why they would save the WWE title match for TV and do the tag match on PPV. That being said, the six-man match was pretty good. The match was well-paced and had some good spots, and gave Big E momentum as champion. My favorite parts of the match were New Day breaking out the unicorn stomp and Big E dodging a spear, getting out of a two on one, and then hitting the Big Ending. I loved seeing the New Day back together doing their thing.
Smackdown Tag Team Championship 8.7/10 B
These two teams are super talented. They could have just gone out there and killed it on athleticism alone. However, in addition to their feats, such as Ford diving over the corner post onto the Usos or Dawkins doing a superplex and rolling into a neck breaker, they also had a good story. Ford's ribs held the Street Profits back all match and the Usos exploited it multiple times until finally, they capitalized on it in the final sequence. I love this because it ties into the Roman match, which means this will continue.
Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte 8/10 B-
The match was good, not great. I feel like two were holding a little back. The two exchanged momentum back and forth. Nobody really dominated. The slight edge would have to go to Charlotte for who looked better as a competitor. Alexa definitely seemed more frustrated that she could not put Charlotte away. Also, Charlotte seemed more powerful, like when she rag-dolled Alexa into the barricade. However, Alexa had a few near falls. I thought she had Charlotte with the sunset flip. Ultimately, Charlotte overwhelmed Alexa and won with natural selection. Afterward, Charlotte ripped Lily apart and then won the brawl that ensued.
Sadly, Alexa is realizing that walking Bray's path is hard. He, too, had his gimmick attacked multiple times. This reminds me of when Randy burned down Bray's house. She made fun of Nikki and then took her title, booting her out of the world title scene. Now she has gotten rid of Lily, who is supposed to be supernatural. Alexa did a great job selling the loss of Lily, but it just sucks to see Charlotte kill another gimmick. Hopefully, Alexa's journey does not end the same way Randy and Bray did.
United States Title 8.2/10 B
This match started slow, and Damien messed up a few key spots, but it finished strong, and the right person won. Damien has now defeated Sheamus twice and Jeff Hardy. I'm excited to see who is next. I'm really impressed to see Jeff Hardy still has it. He was the MVP of this match. The crowd was losing it for Hardy, and I cannot blame them. When Hardy Swantoned Sheamus and Damien, it even made me cheer, and I've been skeptical of Hardy. Damien definitely beat the legendary version of Hardy. However, I wish he would have got a more decisive win than a roll-up.
Bianca and Becky 7.9/10 C+
This match disappointed me. It wasn't bad. It just didn't meet expectations. It had a story, Bianca was running circles around Becky, and Becky had evolved her arsenal, but it still wasn't enough. However, Bianca and Becky were clearly holding back, and they mainly focused on trying to get a quick win. It looked like they would have the best spot of the match when Bianca powered out of the Disarm Her into the KOD, then Sasha interfered. Sasha made her return and laid both of them out. Sasha's return definitely spices up this women's title feud, but with the draft coming, who knows what happens.
Roman vs. Finn 8.8/100 B+
This match started slow, but ramped up when the Usos appeared. Right after that, it was bodies and tables breaking high octane action. Roman executed a perfect spear on Balor through the barricade. After that, they used Balor's music to showcase him being revived, and it was actually a cool idea; he sprouted up and beat up Reigns, and it looked like he was going to win. However, just like playing his entire song, they did too much. Having the whole place go red was a clear attempt to replace Bray. Also, having Finn lose by coincidence was lame. The buckle broke as Finn was on the top, and it just felt like an unnecessarily hokey end to the night.
Rob's Review
The New Day vs. Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, and Omos
If you take this at face value, this was an enjoyable and unexpected way to kick off the night. However, part of my role as a reviewer is not to have fun, so I have to critique that there was no build to this match, and it wasn't announced before the show. A really fun detour kicked off a major PPV, but it was still a detour from the main storylines on Raw. I love seeing the New Day all back together, and their split benefitted the group in the long run. I was stunned that this match took up a sixth of the PPV. AJ Styles and Omos should be facing RKBro. I am not really sure what happened to the initial plans for this PPV, but I guess it turned out okay. The right team won to keep momentum with the new champ.
Final Grade: 6/10 Above Average
SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Usos vs. the Street Profits
This was a solid tag team match, but to me, it felt like they didn't hit the speed and magnitude of their match on SmackDown a few weeks back. I think part of that is because the storyline necessitated it. Montez Ford was working hurt, and it felt like all part of a bigger plan for these two teams. It works to keep the Usos as champions for now. Uso's with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman is making for a dominant faction, but when the WWE decides to give the throne back to the Street Profits, the roof should blow off the place. Maybe it is better reserved for a Big 4 PPV if that is the case.
Final Grade: 5/10 Average
Raw Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss
This simultaneously felt like Alexa Bliss's best match in a long time, and it felt like she was holding something back. Maybe that is a sign that this match was more meant to build a story than be a definitive finish. Charlotte Flair shredded Lilly after the match, and Bliss acted the hell out of the post-match, screaming while the crowd seemed to taunt her with Lilly's chants. It's an intriguing direction, but it did not really counter the criticism that this PPV so far felt like it was to build a story and not blow off major feuds.
Final Grade: 5/10 Average
United States Championship: Damian Priest vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
This was really close to being a great match, but it was still good. The timing was just slightly off, and I think that the late inclusion of Jeff Hardy may have been the cause. Still, Hardy was the best thing about this match. The crowd was some of the loudest they had been all night for him, proving Hardy can get the fans on his side at any moment. Sheamus did his stuff, and Damian Priest was charming in finding another way to squeak out a win and retain his title. This match's sloppy transitions and botches kept it from being great, but it was still good.
Final Grade: 6/10 Above Average
SmackDown Women's Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair
The pace of this match was kind of slow, and it didn't quite match the attitude of the feud. It's a hint that Becky Lynch may still not be 100% returning from maternity leave. Still, these two are solid wrestlers, and the technical in-ring work was smooth. Again, WWE went the route of booking their way out of having the match happen. It was great to see Sasha Banks return, but we did not get more answers, and this delayed the chance of putting Bianca Belair back over.
Final Grade: 4/10 Below Average
Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor
I have a hard time getting into the average Extreme Rules match because I think the pace is kind of awkward and clunky. For the first three-quarters of this match, though, Roman Reigns and Finn Balor really had me. Like most great babyfaces, Balor had me thinking there were moments he could win even though I knew he wouldn't going in. The Usos pulling Balor off was a cheap move, but it kept the title on Reigns (which we knew was happening), and it made Balor look strong (he could have pinned the number one guy). The nonsense at the end with the Demon took me entirely out of it. Like Bray Wyatt's projector screen at WrestleMania 33, you mean to tell me part of Balor's Demon's powers is to restart his theme music, turn the lights red, and fill the ring with fog? The live crowd had to be pissed that they couldn't even see the end of a match with such a promising start. I could hardly tell what was happening at home, and it entirely took me out of the main event. Balor didn't need the music and lights. I would have believed that he willed himself back into the match. Balor himself has said the Demon's facepaint makes him feel like he has superpowers as it brings him to another level. Then, after all that, he loses to a ring malfunction? Get out of here with that. If I was supposed to be mad at that finish, I am, but none of the heat is going toward mega-heel Reigns. It is all going back toward WWE for putting me through another middle school haunted house when they had two of the best wrestlers on their roster.
Final Grade: 2/10 Horrible
Reverse Hipster's Final Thoughts PPV 8.3/10 B
The show was good, but it felt subpar for a PPV. The show felt less story-driven and more like a house show. Where the matches have some story, but for the most part, they could be forgotten. The most significant developments were in the women's division, Lily dying and Sasha returning. Everything else stayed the same. This is what Rob was talking about in the rundown; they took the oomph out of PPV. I did like the WWF-style interviews they did. Also, they should pay attention to the fact that Liv Morgan and Carmella had one of the hottest matches of the night in terms of crowd chants. Also, the show was very watered down. My fiancé, who is a newer fan, asked why the show was called Extreme Rules and I know the historical answer to that, but nothing about this show was extreme.
Rob's Overall Show Rating
As I said, this show was defined by advancing other plots instead of the matches in-ring. For that reason, it did not feel like a big PPV at all. By comparison, Raw and SmackDown the last few weeks have been more of a PPV than this was. This was one of WWE's worst shows in a while. There was not a title change on the show, and I think it fell short of what we have come to expect from a WWE PPV.
Final Grade: 3/10 Bad
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