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The Shield captured the U.S. title and WWE tag team title, while HHH put over Brock
Lesnar clean to set up his new storyline as the main notes on the Extreme Rules show on
5/19.
Lesnar beat HHH in the cage match main event, and was the best performer on the show with
is selling of his left knee throughout the match. As the final match in their series, it meant
Lesnar won two out of three, although far more saw HHH’s win, since it was at
WrestleMania. The finish, where Lesnar folded HHH’s arms like Undertaker, when pinning
him, was a seeming tease for an eventual Undertaker match. It would make sense for
Undertaker vs. Lesnar to be the “other” idea for a main event next year if The Rock isn’t
going to wrestle on the show.
The WWE title match with John Cena vs. Ryback ended with nobody winning a last man
standing match. The issue seemed to be that they didn’t want to beat Ryback in his first major
match as a heel. But it was too early to take the title from Cena, who didn’t have it for more
than a year and had beaten Rock for it at WrestleMania the previous PPV show. So Ryback
picked Cena up and drove him into a light grid and through a wall with sparks and lights
flashing. Neither got up, although eventually Ryback was helped to his feet, while Cena was
put on a stretcher and taken out. In storyline, Cena was brought to an ambulance, but refused
to go in the ambulance and took off his neck brace. Cena didn’t work television the next day
(although once Raw ended, he did do his scheduled dark match), but is expected back next
week.
Cena vs. Ryback in an ambulance match will headline the 6/16 PPV called Payback, from the
All-State Arena in Chicago. At this point it’s not really clear any of the other matches. If
Dolph Ziggler is able to wrestle, healing from his concussion, he should defend the world
title against Alberto Del Rio. Wade Barrett has started an IC title program with The Miz. And
the Kaitlyn vs. A.J. Divas title match program has continued with the two yet to have a major
title match on TV.
Mark Henry, after losing a strap match to Sheamus, said “I’m going home” in a backstage
angle. There was no talk that Henry, 42, was retiring, although he has talked about it many
times in the past few years. Given the way television has been written, it looks like Henry
will be off and return as a babyface.
The show got mixed reviews, with much of the negativity being the non-finish in a match that
should have a finish. With the latitude of being Last Man Standing, Ryback probably had his
best singles match to date, up until the finish, which didn’t get over well. I thought the show
was overall good, saved by Cena vs. Ryback and HHH vs. Lesnar, the latter being an
excellent main event. Up to that point, the show was average. Most of the matches weren’t
given nearly enough time, since it was clear in hindsight that the company felt the whole
show was really the two main events.
There was an interesting story coming out of the Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger match.
Late Saturday, there was a tremendous surge in betting (yes, there are overseas books that
take action on WWE shows) for the match with money coming in that Swagger would win
first, and then it would be overturned. That ended up being the finish. It appeared that either
people in the production meeting either then bet themselves, or told people to bet for them,
but it was enough to strongly sway the line.
The show drew a sellout of 14,500 fans to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
1. The Miz beat Cody Rhodes in 4:43 with the figure four leglock. Match was back-and-forth.
Good action except for a couple of rough spots. Rhodes came off the top rope with a missile
dropkick, but Miz caught both of his legs in mid-air, and the put on the figure four for the
submission. *3/4
2. Chris Jericho pinned Fandango in 8:34. Jericho was pretending to sleep on the ropes while
Fandango and Summer Rae did their dancing entrance. Jericho did a plancha early. There was
one weird spot as Jericho came off the ropes and went for a schoolboy while Fandango just
stood there. Fandango did a legdrop from the outside back in. Jericho went for the Walls of
Jericho but Fandango kicked out. Michael Cole put over how Fandango has the leg strength
of a ballroom dancer. JBL went crazy on that remark, about how dancing doesn’t give you
that kind of leg strength, and pointed out that if that was the case Baryshnikov would be hell
in the Octagon. Fandango missed a legdrop off the top and Jericho hit the quebrada
(lionsault)_ for a near fall. He went for the Walls of Jericho, but Fandango made the ropes.
Fandango hit an enzuigiri and climbed to the top. He came off the top onto Jericho, but
Jericho hit him with the codebreaker for the surprise finish. **3/4
3. Dean Ambrose beat Kofi Kingston to win the U.S. title in 6:47. The match was fine, but
badly rushed. Kingston went for Trouble in Paradise early but Ambrose held onto the ropes to
avoid the kick. When talking about Harley Race being in catering, JBL said Race was the
King before The King was the King. Actually, Lawler predated Race as The King by a
decade. Ambrose used a chicken wing crossface for an attempted submission. They were
going back-and-forth with near falls at the 4:00 mark. Ambrose used a double-arm superplex.
Kingston finally hit the Trouble in Paradise on Ambrose, who was on the apron and fell to the
floor. It was pushed that Kingston could have just won the match at that point by count out,
but instead, he went outside and picked up Ambrose and threw him back in the ring. When he
went for the pin, Ambrose got his hand on the ropes. The finish was Kingston missing
another Trouble in Paradise kick. He looked like he was supposed to miss and crotch himself
on the top rope, which is pretty close to what happened. Ambrose then got the pin with a
headlock DDT. **½
4. Sheamus beat Mark Henry in a strap match in 7:57. They did a comedy spot early where
Henry stood on the strap, seemingly making it impossible for Sheamus to pull him. Instead,
Sheamus pulled hard and Henry slipped and fell down. The entire match was guys tapping
the corners and lights going on. They teased the both touching the corners spot that most
modern strap matches end with, only to have neither touch the fourth. The build to the match
involved vows to whip each other, but there was only one spot, very brief, where Sheamus
whipped Henry in retaliation for Henry doing the TV angle whipping Sheamus bad. The
finish saw Sheamus touch three corners, hit the Brogue kick, and touch the fourth corner to
win. *3/4
There was a backstage brawl with Kaitlyn and A.J. Lee. They insulted each other about
boyfriends and weight. Kaitlyn called Lee “Looney Tunes” and Lee called Kaitlyn a pig.
Even though Kaitlyn is the face, she attacked Lee from behind and they had a pull-apart. In
the argument, they pushed that the two weren’t going to wrestle on this show because Lee
wasn’t feeling good.
5. Alberto Del Rio beat Jack Swagger in an I Quit match with the armbar in 11:17. Zeb Colter
did an interview talking about how the government has been using the IRS to target certain
groups and individuals for political gain, and claimed they had come after him. He blamed
the people of the U.S. for letting this happen. He then made a reference to the local baseball
team as the Caribbean Cardinals because so many players are foreign born, saying that they
take the money and run. He said that everyone who cheers Del Rio, has quit on America. It
was really a hell of a promo. Del Rio opened doing a tope. Swagger gave him a belly-to-belly
on the floor and was choking him with a kendo stick over the barricade. Del Rio came back
slamming Swagger’s left forearm onto the ring steps. Swagger was bleeding from the right
shoulder. Swagger started working on Del Rio’s left ankle with kendo stick shots. Swagger
then tied Del Rio up in the ropes and started hitting him with the kendo stick to the chest, and
they teased Del Rio quitting. Swagger hit him with the mic as well. Del Rio came back with
kendo stick shots and a back stabber. Swagger used two doctor bombs and then put on the
ankle lock. Del Rio kept refusing to quit. Ricardo Rodriguez grabbed the towel and was about
to throw it in when Del Rio told him to absolutely not throw in the towel. Behind the refs
back, Colter got the towel and threw it in. Ref Mike Chioda saw it and stopped the match at
10:30, ruling Swagger as the winner. A second ref ran in and told Chioda what happened.
Chioda then told Mark Yeaton that he wanted to see a replay. Instead of using the big screen,
he used a small computer tablet monitor, spoofing NBA replay calls. Chioda ruled that the
match could continue if Del Rio could get up. Del Rio’s ankle was worked over bad, and he
had to pull himself to his feet. Swagger went back on the ankle but De Rio got the armbar and
Swagger quit at :47. **3/4
6. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns beat Daniel Bryan & Kane to win the WWE tag titles in
7:22 in a tornado match, ending Team Hell No’s eight month title reign. Match was all
action, just not given enough time. Bryan used La Tapatia, the upside down surfboard on
Rollins. Kane delivered a low dropkick to Rollins while he was in the move. Kane push
goozled both out of the ring and Bryan hit both with a tope. Bryan used a diving head-butt on
Rollins but Reigns saved. Kane choke slammed Rollins and Reigns speared Kane. The finish
saw Reigns catapult Bryan into a double kick by Rollins. Reigns had Bryan up for the torture
rack and Rollins did a springboard knee to the throat, which is a Rocky Romero & Alex
Koslov move from Japan, and Reigns pinned Bryan. **3/4
7. Randy Orton pinned Big Show in 13:00 of an Extreme Rules match. Orton got a big home
town reaction, more cheers than anyone on the show. Orton used kendo stick shots early. He
used a kendo stick, Show got it away from him and broke the stick. He got a second kendo
stick, worked the left knee, but Show broke that one as well. Orton threw Show into the post
and got a ladder, but Show kicked the ladder into Orton. He threw Orton’s shoulder into the
post. Orton kicked out of a choke slam. Show set up a ladder bridge between two chairs near
the corner. He put Orton on it and went to the ropes to deliver a Vader reverse splash elbow.
Orton moved and Show broke through the ladder, but he kicked out of the pin attempt. Orton
used a draping DDT off the top rope and then hit the RKO. Show kicked out of it. Orton then
delivered a series of chars to the back and got. Show came back with a spear. Orton came
back with an RKO on the chair and then teased the punt to get the crowd going, and then
delivered it and got the pin. The punt has been banned for a long time, which Orton wasn’t
happy about because it was so over when they stopped letting him use it. We’ll see if this was
just a one time thing or it’s brought back. ***1/4
8. John Cena no contest Ryback in a last man standing match to retain the WWE title in
23:00. There were dueling Cena chants early. Then loud “Goldberg” chants at Ryback. The
early part of the match was Ryback doing power moves. He pressed Cena overhead and
dropped him behind him like the Road Warriors used to do. He delivered a hard power bomb.
Ryback missed a charge and went over the top. Ryback came back and gave Cena a fall away
slam into a table. Ryback did his meathook clothesline and Cena got up at nine. Cena ducked
a second clothesline and used the STF. He had it on for a long time. Ryback struggled to get
up, then stopped selling immediately. Cena gave Ryback an Attitude Adjustment through a
table. Ryback again got up at nine, and again stopped selling and was beating on Cena. Given
Ryback didn’t do this on his own, I’ve got to really question the agent who laid this out. This
wasn’t a Road Warrior/Hogan no sell spot for drama. This was a guy put through a table, and
then got up after a nine count and just went on with his business like nothing had happened,
like he was just rushing to get to his next spot. Ryback used the shellshock and Cena was up
at nine. Ryback went to hit Cena’s bad heel with a chair but Cena kicked him and speared
him through the barricade. Ryback then hit Cena with a gimmicked part of the barricade near
the music set. Cena put Ryback in a long sleeper. He then jumped off an elevated riser
section of the building (not that high nor a scary jump) and put Ryback through the table.
Cena then got a fire extinguisher. He sprayed Ryback in the face twice with it. They ended up
on the stage and Cena sprayed the hell out of the fire extinguisher until Ryback was covered
in chemicals. Cena hit Ryback twice with the fire extinguisher because the first show wasn’t
really that solid. Ryback then picked Cena up and drove him into the light gridding wall and
sparks flew. The place went into a panic. Ref Charles Robinson ran to the back. Neither guy
could continue. Cena went out on a stretcher while Ryback was helped out. So the story was
that Ryback did more damage but didn’t win the title. Fans were chanting “bullshit” at the
finish. ***½
9. Brock Lesnar pinned HHH in a cage match in 20:07. This was the strongest match of the
three these guys have had. HHH came out and jumped Lesnar, decked Paul Heyman and
threw Lesnar into the cage. HHH hit a spinebuster and went for the pedigree but Lesnar back
dropped HHH into the cage to get out of it. John Layfield pointed out Matt Hughes at
ringside and called him for one-time pound-for-pound greatest fighter in the world. Lesnar
threw HHH into the cage. Michael Cole noted that Lesnar was 6-foot-3 and 266 pounds (he
looked more like 300), just a few minutes after Lesnar was announced at 286. Must be the
Dolce diet doing wonders. Layfield talked about how Lesnar beat Randy Couture in his third
pro fight (actually fourth). It’s notable because WWE announcers may reference him as a
former UFC champion, but they never go into detail on his fights. Layfield also talked about
how Lesnar lost to Frank Mir, learned from it and beat him the second time. Lesnar used a
German suplex and slammed him into the cage. Lesnar went for a flying knee, HHH missed
and Lesnar’s knee went into the cage. Lesnar did a great sell job on his knee the rest of the
match. He did it so well he was really the in-ring star of the show, which is notable
considering the talent underneath. Lesnar hit an Oklahoma Stampede but started screaming to
Heyman that his knee was out. HHH started punching and kicking the left knee. He went for
a pedigree, but Lesnar tried the Kimura. HHH was able to smash him into the corner to get
out. HHH chop blocked Lesnar (it was funny because he called the spot so loud ahead of time
you could hear it on TV easily) and tried to go out the door. Heyman jumped over ref Charles
Robinson and slammed the door on HHH’s head. Lesnar hit the F-5 and HHH kicked out.
Heyman panicked. The announces explained that Lesnar didn’t have his usual torque
delivering the move due to his knee being out. Lesnar told Heyman to give him a chair.
Heyman threw in a chair and then closed the door. Heyman knocked down Robinson when he
tried to keep the chair out of he cage. Lesnar used several chair shots and went for the F-5
again, but he collapsed because his knee gave out. He was screaming and HHH went to chop
blocking the knee. HHH used the chair to the gut and back and went back to working on the
knee. Lesnar went for the Kimura again but HHH smashed him into the corner to break it.
HHH delivered a kneedrop to Lesnar’s leg, draped over the bottom rope. He put on the figure
four, but Lesnar reversed. It’s usual protocol not to use the finishing move of another top guy
in the company. Lesnar tried to climb out using his arms and climbing only with the right leg.
As he got near the top, HHH smashed his left leg with a chair. HHH rammed Lesnar into the
cage twice. HHH then got a sledge hammer that he had hidden on top of the cage. But Lesnar
pulled him off the cage and the sledge hammer went flying. Lesnar tried to hit HHH with the
sledge hammer, but HHH ducked and put on the sharpshooter. Heyman ran into the cage.
HHH let go of the hold and gave Heyman a pedigree. Lesnar got the sledge hammer again but
HHH kicked him in the gut and gave Lesnar a pedigree. Lesnar kicked out for a great near
fall. HHH then picked up the sledge hammer, but just as he was about to hit Lesnar, Heyman
revived and gave HHH a low blow. Lesnar got the sledge hammer and nailed HHH with it.
Lesnar then delivered the F-5. He put the sledge hammer over HHH’s chest, folded his arms
like Undertaker would do after he delivers a tombstone and is pinning them, and got the pin.
HHH sold being knocked out and stayed down for a long time. Really good main event that
came across like a war. ****
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_________________ Drop In wrote: I'm picturing a 12 year old Bob Loblaw bitching out a Randy Savage Wrestling Buddy for botching his finisher. Also envisioning Bob Loblaw getting bitched at for lighting the living room table on fire for said finisher.
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