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WWE: Extreme Rules 2011 - Hmm. Looks like they can't live without "wrestling" after all.

  • May 27, 2011
Rating:
+3
Not too long ago, WWE stated that they were distancing themselves from the "wrestling" part of their product, and planned to focus on the entertainment aspect. I wonder what changed their minds? This years Extreme Rules event managed to find all of the good wrestling that was missing from Wrestlemania 27. This time around it felt like a different animal, however, there were a couple of moments to remind us that the "wrestling" still isn't completely there. In any case, this was a very solid event that I could actually watch again.

Last Man Standing Match
 
1- Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

Rules: There are no DQ's, count outs, pinfalls, or submissions. The match can only end when one superstar cannot stand on both feet by the count of 10.

This was the best feud running without a doubt, and this match took it up another level. To start things off, the Nexus were banned from ringside, so no matter what, we were getting a one on one bout to the finish. These two kicked things off very aggressively by slugging it out. There were several really good spots, like the chair Punk brought into play. At one point the chair was folded, then posted in between the second and third turnbuckle, and one of them were tossed completely through it. Punk also took a painful looking backdrop on the barricade. This match was well done with some very good selling, and the stipulation was used very well with some very close count outs. Outside of who I thought to be the wrong man to win. I really don't have any complaints here. 4/5

Tables Match for the United States Championship

2 - Sheamus (Champion) vs. Kofi Kingston

Rules: The first superstar to crash his opponent through a table will be the winner.

It was a no brainer that Kofi was taking this one, because Sheamus was moved to Smackdown and they already had the Intercontinental title. Therefore, RAW needed a mid-card belt of its own. This was a match added at the last minute, with the added bonus of it being a Tables match. Despite the crowd not being into this at all, and the very obvious outcome, it was a decent match that saw some great athlethicism from Kofi as usual. The match began very slow and really wasn't much. Sheamus attempted to maul and gain the advantage, while Kofi avoided the table crashes in some cool ways. The ending came out of nowhere, but it was a cool way to cap this off. 3.25/5

Tag Team Country Whipping Match

3- Jack Swagger & Michael Cole vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler & Jim Ross

For those who may not know, this is a match where leather straps are legal, and are used by the wrestlers to whip each other; shades of the Von Erichs vs. Freebirds.

It's pretty much clear sailings after this, since this is the only unwatchable match on the whole card. This feud had escalated quite a bit, but it was no less ridiculous. As expected and the way it should be, Swagger and Lawler did most of the work here and had a decent outing, that involved a few good whacks with the strap, plus Lawler worked the ankle lock on him. The match had its brief moments of comedy, and the entertainment factor was there. But if you're seaching for a good wrestling match, then it's best to skip this one so it doesn't break your mood like it did mine. 2/5 

Falls Count Anywhere Match

4- Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

Rules: There no count outs or DQ's, and the match can end anywhere in the building by pinfall or submission.

This was a pretty good feud, and this match surpassed their last one at WM27. They had a pretty good brawl that went outside into the stands, and all the way up the stairs through the crowd. Rhodes used the handrails to lock Mysterio up in a submission. The fight went backstage and eventually came back to the ring. I really liked the ending where Mysterio pulled a Tajiri on Rhodes to try and set up the win. 3.75/5

Extreme Rules Match; Loser Leaves WWE

5- Layla vs. Michelle McCool

This was a match that was just waiting to happen, since it became obvious that these two just couldn't get along anymore. They tried their best to work a good match but the crowd just wasn't into it. Which is actually pretty sad, because this was a decent match. They took the fight outside the ring, and Layla would hit a sick neckbreaker on McCool later on. The ending seemed to be too out nowhere, but since this match wasn't even being accepted. The abrupt ending was probably the best thing for it. 3/5

Ladder Match for World Heavyweight Championship

6- Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio

Rules: The first one to claim the championship suspended above the ring by climbing a ladder will be the new champion.

Since Edge was forced into retirement, this made his title up for grabs and Alberto was the number #1 contender due to the rematch clause. Later, there was a battle royal to determine who his opponent would be. He would soon find himself having to compete against the one guy who had his number for the last several weeks; Christian aka Captain Charisma.

Christian brought his ladder match experience to the table and they delivered an awesome match; with some real good ring psycology, really nice high spots, and some sick abuse here and there. The entertainment part was also well implemented, when Christian landed Edge's spear and the crowd going bananas off that. There was also some blood here, and the interference played out very well capping off what I would consider to be Match of the Night. 4.25/5

Lumberjack Match for Tag Team Championship

7- Kane & Big Show (Champions) vs. Wade Barrett & Ezekial Jackson

This is a match where superstars are outside of the ring, and their job is to keep the action inside the ring.

When compared to the last bunch of tag matches we got during Santino and Koslovs run, this was a breath of fresh air, but make no mistake, WWE still don't give a damn about their tag division. In any case, an entertaining bout that had some good moments, with Jackson actually the stand out here by slamming the Big Show. But this match was only meant to push the story, by foreshadowing the internal melt down in the Corre, involving Jackson and Barrett. 3/5


Triple Threat Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship

8- Miz (Champion) vs. John Cena vs. John Morrison

Rules: This is an every man for himself match; that can be decided by pinfall, submission, or escaping the cage by climbing out or leaving through the door.

This was a very good bout that got much better after Cena got his lame ass crowd pleasers out of the way. Everything seemed to click here, and there were some very good high spots; such as Miz taking a sick double man suplex from the top of the cage, that was almost botched. I mean seriously, I thought his neck was probably broken. Morrison stood out a great deal here with his athletic moves set, and Cena actually didn't suck here, as he even looked worthy to be a champion. The match indeed had its share of highlight reels, and even though I enjoyed the Ladder Match more. This was still a solid main event to cap off the show. 4.25/5

This was a very good event, because WWE focused more on the wrestling aspect, something they should have done for Wrestlemania. This is one event I can actually recommend.

Pros:
-Solid card this time around

Cons:
-Only one serious dud

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Post a Comment
May 29, 2011
Could not agree with you more on who should have one the Punk/Orton match, still seeing Christian winning the belt was great.
 
May 27, 2011
I could not believe that the best storyline the WWE had was about Michael Cole LOL! Too bad Christian only held the title for 5 days....
 
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Last Login: Jun 15, 2013 08:21 PM UTC
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Wiki

Extreme Rules was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. It was the third Extreme Rules event.[2][3]
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