Extreme Rules Review

Extreme Rules 2017 is in the books and the Raw roster is heading into Great Balls of Fire after what felt like a pretty average card. Let's get right into my thoughts on the night.

The preshow saw Apollo Crews take on Kalisto. If it weren't for the final couple matches this easily would have ran away with match of the night. These two really compliment each other well, and while I don't necessarily want to see the feud continue, this was probably my favorite preshow match I've seen, other than the first Aries vs Neville match. Titus O'Neil playing the role of overly-excited-AAU-coach/dad was hilarious and added a really great element to the bout that might have suffered from a lack of psychology without this aspect to it. Overall, this was a really entertaining match.

The first match on the main card was the IC title showdown between Ambrose and Miz... again. With the added stipulation of the title changing hands via DQ, I'm glad the teases of a disqualification were relatively limited, while still playing a major role in the outcome of the match. Throwing Maryse out and having an actual pinfall victory was a nice twist that I didn't see coming, at least in the moment. In retrospect, it was pretty obvious booking, but as an entertainment spectacle, it certainly worked for me. The Miz getting the victory was absolutely the right move here, as Ambrose does nothing for the title, and The Miz brings it to heights that it seems no one else can. His promo on Raw Talk after was a great addition to the night, and I'm looking forward to see how The Miz's Intercontinental Title Reunion Tour goes.

The next match was the mixed tag team battle with Alicia Fox and Noam Dar competing against Sasha Banks and Rich Swann. This match was overall just okay. Alicia still isn't the best in the ring, and at the end of the day, I didn't really find much reason to care. Sasha's top rope double knees to Dar on the outside was a pretty cool spot that I wasn't expecting. The faces get the victory and dance their way into a camera fade to commercials. A simple match that was just kind of there.

Elias Samson drifts his way into the ring and sings a song. People seem to really enjoy hating this guy. I can definitely get behind this guy being used as a midcard heat magnet to get faces over.

The women's title was on the line in a kendo stick on a pole match. Bayley name dropped Steve Blackman in her pre-match promo. This is the most positive thing I can mention about this feud and match. Alexa Bliss is serviceable on the mic and in the ring, but for some reason the internet has coronated her as the female love-child of The Rock and Stone Cold. The creative team has no idea what they're doing with Bayley. The sad thing about how she was booked tonight is that overall, if you were to just read a summary of the match, it plays to her character very well. The lovable hugger showed hesitation about using a kendo stick on her opponent. The problem is, not only is it inconsistent with how she's been booked on the main roster. Is she cool with people helping her win titles, or is she so moralistically strong, she won't use a weapon in a match revolving around said weapon? Overall, the match just felt weak. Bliss retains in what was the lowlight of the night, much like most interactions between the two.

Cesaro and Sheamus challenged the Hardy Boyz (shame on spellcheck for not having an issue with "Boyz") for the tag team titles in a steel cage match. I like that they went with the old-school cage rules where you can only win by escape. This match felt the most extreme of all the matches up to this point. It was also the start of the quality of matches starting to ramp back up. I loved the angle of Matt having to fight off both Sheamus and Cesaro because Jeff had escaped. Jeff's desperation move to save the team was one of the most memorable spots of the night, but turns out it was all for not, as the tandem of Sheamus and Cesaro escaped the cage just a second before the Hardys. I imagine this feud will continue as the Hardy Boyz should have a rematch in their future, but I could also see them rushing a split here. The motivation for a Matt heel turn would be that he could have finished the match without Jeff having to come to save him, and Jeff was the one who didn't have his feet on the floor before their opponents.

Our last match before the main event was a submission match between Austin Aries and Neville for Neville's cruiserweight title. This was my favorite singles match of the night, and if it weren't for the next match, it would have been my favorite of the entire evening. This match had highflying, it had submissions, it had brawling. There were plenty of moments where I thought we were going to see the finish, just for the challenger or champion to escape or shift the momentum. The red arrow immediately into the rings of Saturn is a great finishing combo that looks particularly vicious, I wouldn't mind seeing this get busted out in matches where Neville is having difficulty finishing off a particularly resilient challenger. While this was one of my two favorite matches of the night, I have to feel for Austin Aries and wonder where he goes from here. The weird smile thing made a lot of people assume a heel turn, and certainly something will need to be done to make us forget about his three failed attempts to capture the title.

The main event of the evening was a Fatal 5 Way to determine the number 1 contender for the universal title. The match featured everyone on the Raw roster that you could see in the current title picture, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and Samoa Joe. A few interesting themes ran through the match, including the alliance between Wyatt and Joe, and Roman Reigns doing his best superman act. Seth Rollins continued his perpetually injured leg thing (insert joke about Crossfit and injuries here). Finn had a great showing here, and after the injury setback he had, I felt like this was his night where he truly cemented himself into the main event scene amongst these other talents. Along those same lines, who saw Samoa Joe winning this match? I've been a huge Samoa Joe fan ever since I first saw him in TNA, and a showdown between him and Brock is something I always have loved the idea of, but never thought I'd see. It looks like we'll be getting exactly that at Great Balls of Fire. A lot of people are questioning the idea of him being in a title match this early in his main roster run, but I like it in this context. As part of a B-show, we get to see what he can do when given the ball, let's just hope Brock decides to play. Either way, all involved in this match came out looking like a million bucks and like legitimate contenders for the next shot after Great Balls of Fire.