Extreme Rules 2013

Extreme Rules 2013 Re-Review


This isn't going to be like the old re-do reviews that I did a while ago with red italic font to show my new thoughts, this is just going to be a completely new review.


We're coming up on the 2014 edition of Extreme Rules, so I felt that this was appropriate and I'll be doing the other ones as well. (I'm also working on three different Greatest Hits for those interested)


Let's begin.





Fandango vs Chris Jericho
I still don't get why this match didn't have a gimmick attached to it. Falls Count Anywhere or just a plain old No DQ match could have sufficed. I also don't understand why Jericho went over cleanly while they were trying to push Fandango. 50/50 booking at its finest I guess. Fandango was still green here (I think he still is today) and Jericho seemed to carry most of the match. It was a good opening match and better than I remembered with an exciting finishing sequence. Jericho made Fandango look good. ***



Kofi Kingston vs Dean Ambrose
US Title is on the line. It didn't seem likely that Kingston would get a clean win over Ambrose who was kept strong as a member of Shield, so Ambrose was definitely the favourite here. Ambrose has now held the Title for a year even though he's only defended it a few times. Ambrose pulling out a crossface chickenwing was a cool moment. Another good match here as these guys showed chemistry and gave us some nice counters and nearfalls. Good stuff. **3/4



Sheamus vs Mark Henry : Strap Match
The first 'extreme' match of the night. I can't recall how this feud even began. I'm guessing that Sheamus made some bad jokes about Henry. I've never really like the four corners rule with these matches with the exception of Austin/Vega. I was hoping that I underrated this one last year as I thought it was boring, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. It was a little dull at times but they kept it short and both guys worked hard to make it entertaining. **



Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger : I Quit
The winner will go on to face Ziggler at Payback. This was originally meant to be a triple threat ladder match for the World Title until Swagger gave Ziggler a concussion on Smackdown, so it was changed to this. I originally thought that this was a good match, but its pretty dull for the most part and wasn't very exciting or dramatic. It was only when both guys locked in their finishing submissions that it looked as if the match could end, but that was about it. A mediocre match overall. **



Team Hell No vs The Shield : Tornado Match
The Tag Titles are on the line and all four guys are in the ring for this one. Team Hell No had held the Titles for around eight months at this point, so a Title change was in order and the Shield was the perfect team to give them to. The match was a lot of fun and felt very chaotic due to all four men being in the ring at once. It was a bit too short for my liking but there was non-stop action throughout and they used the time well. A good tag match. ***


All three members of the Shield stand in the ring holding Titles.


Randy Orton vs The Big Show : Extreme Rules
Orton got a nice reaction from his hometown crowd. I think this feud stemmed from Show punching Orton at Wrestlemania. It was pretty forgettable. The match, however, was surprisingly good and both guys seemed very motivated. The crowd was hot for it too, mainly thanks to Orton's involvement. Why the hell couldn't they have been this good for last year's Survivor Series? Anyway it was a good match overall that gave Orton a nice win in his hometown. ***1/4



John Cena vs Ryback : Last Man Standing
The WWE Title is on the line. Ryback had just recently turned heel. It seems odd that Ryback would get the big match instead of Mark Henry who beat Ryback at Wrestlemania. Cena had a hell of a job to get Ryback to a good match, but this ended up being a damn good match and probably the highlight of Ryback's singles career. Power moves were used a lot in this one and it wasn't boring at all. Ryback was made to look like a monster. It's too bad that didn't last long. All in all a great match, even if it had a cop out finish. ***1/2



Triple H vs Brock Lesnar : Steel Cage
The rubber match of this (way too long) feud. Both of their matches at Summerslam and Wrestlemania were pretty underwhelming so the expectations weren't high for this one which worked to its advantage. This is definitely the best match of their feud and they finally had an excellent contest. This one started quickly with HHH attacking Lesnar before the match even began. I think this took place during the time of Bret Hart bad mouthing HHH, and so HHH locking in the sharpshooter was a fun 'fuck you' moment. Overall an awesome cage match and a fitting end to the long feud. ****



7/10. A good show here as the two main events delivered (except for the finish to the Cena/Ryback match) and the undercard was solid with a few good matches worth watching like Jericho/Fandango and Orton/Show. There were a couple of dull matches but overall I'd say that this show is worth a watch.