WWE Extreme Rules 2018: Honest Thoughts
This Past Sunday was, of course, the two thousand and eighteen Extreme Rules pay per view and what a night it was. We had a couple of title changes, some standout matches, and superstars establishing their place on the roster. Earlier in the week, we took a look at some of the harsh lessons the WWE took from the pay per view and today we are heading straight back into looking at this show in my WWE Extreme Rules Highlights!
The B- Team Become the A-Team
While the tag team matches up between Woken Matt and Bray Wyatt and the B- Team wasn’t one I anticipated greatly nor was it a highlight wrestling match of the night it did sure get people talking after Bo Dallas and Curtis Axle walked out with the shock victory and the brand new RAW tag team champion. The decision did come as a surprise and as we mentioned earlier on in the week the decision could very well have negative consequences for a team in need of the right direction in Matt and Wyatt however, it did feel good watching two superstars have faded in the background for so long given a brilliant career highlight this weekend.
Is Mella Really Money?
In my Money in the Bank Review last month I mentioned that I was actually a fan of what we saw go down between Carmella and Asuka and commended the champ on her progress in the ring and the general overall performance from everyone involved especially Carmella herself, however, what we saw this past Sunday just didn’t quite match what we saw four weeks ago. With James, Ellsworth suspended above the ring in a shark cage the match and the concept had great potential and made obvious sense but the in-ring work was far weaker, the match was messy and the end result was in the eyes of so many just wrong. This should have been the night Asuka walked out as champion and its important the SD Live women’s division get a far greater showing at the SummerSlam pay per view, however, does that mean Carmella must drop the title before then or will she and her title reign actually work for the second biggest event of the year?
Orton’s Heel Return
For anyone that follows me across social media, you would have seen me complain plenty of times before about Randy Orton. From comments on his stale character to frustrations expressed regarding his storylines and feuds, I have continued to point out his desperate need for a heel turn and this weekend the Viper made his big return moments after fans witness Shinsuke Nakamura become the brand new United States Champion after defeating Jeff Hardy in… Well, not such a respectable manner. With the new champ existing the ring before Orton could edge too closer fans wondered what the viper's next move would be but in a surprise turn of events it was a bizarre and rather different attack to Hardy that Orton left fans talking about. The heel turn is of course needed, and it will be interesting seeing what he does next and how he is booked in the build to the next pay per view as well as figuring out his place on the roster and the US title scene.
Miracles Do Exist… Sort Of
In all fairness, while it wasn’t the standout match of the night, Bobby Lashley vs Roman Reigns was actually rather interesting. I will admit that the tired eyes did kick in around this time but I did feel as though the match was decent and one of the better bouts of the night, however, it’s the end result that everyone has been so happy with and have not stopped talking about! This Sunday’s PPV was so important when it came down to establishing top new guys on the roster, and no one truly needed a victory quite as much as Bobby Lashley. It was vital he picked up the win over Reigns but so many had their doubts including myself. We’ve seen the WWE push Roman Reigns to the stars for years now and so it was acceptable to believe he would get another win this weekend however, it turns out miracles do exist as Lashley was able to pick up a big victory over Roman Reigns hopefully edging closer to a title opportunity very very soon, establishing himself as a bigger star on the roster!
Now, Lashley’s win may have got to my head just a little, because come an hour later I had managed to partly convince myself Rusev could walk out as WWE Champion. There is no one worthier of such a big victory and I’m pretty sure I would have run around the block in celebration if he had got the win. Rusev of course, had many close calls and the match was one of the best of the night but unfortunately, Miracles are only stretched so far by the hands of Vince McMahon and Rusev didn’t walk out the new champion, but he did gain even more respect!
It Could Have Been Better
Just like many pay per view before, Extreme Rules was full of matches I and so many others believed could have better. The Women’s division should have gotten more time and both matches could have been a whole lot stronger, but it was what we saw from the RAW women’s division that stood out. Nia and Bliss worked a better match than Carmella and Asuka by far but if they had been given an extra ten minutes and really pushed deeper this could have been a highlight match for the WWE women’s division this year and it's disappointing we didn’t get that. It was also matches including Kevin Owens vs Braun Strowman, Team Hell No vs the Bludgeon Brothers, and Rusev vs AJ Styles that also left me feeling as though more could have been done to make these even stronger and better standouts.
Who Really Took Over?
And finally, the best match of the night by far was the main event and I was so glad to see Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins given the main event slot. Now, I do feel like something bigger should have happened to conclude the show such as an Ambrose return but you can’t really complain when the action between these two superstars was so damn strong. A thirty minute Iron man match that was used perfectly. Rollins and Ziggler highlighted themselves as two of the best WWE Superstars and technical wrestlers of this generation and I barely have a bad word today but it but be mentioned that the fans took over at times here and it irritated me. Now, I love seeing and hearing fans having fun at a wrestling show, but this main event was huge. Fans always comment on the lack of diversity in the main event picture for pay per views and finally we got two hard working standout guys in the main event and what do fans do? Hijack the match. Of course, nothing could take away from the performance of both these men but its such a shame the crowd took over so much!
And that was Extreme Rules twenty eighteen! What did you think? Let me know down in the comments below or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria what your honest thoughts on this months WWE Pay per view were and your rating for the overall show 😊
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