Extreme Rules 2013 Review

Extreme Rules 2013 Review


Fandango vs Chris Jericho
How come this match doesn't have a gimmick, on a night of gimmick matches? Could have easily made it something like a Falls Count Anywhere match. Anyway the match itself worked well as an opener since it was fast paced and fun. There was a noticeable botch in there at one point, but that was the only real one. Jericho hits a huge codebreaker for the win. **3/4



Kofi Kingston vs Dean Ambrose
If Kofi had walked out of here with the championship, WWE would have made a big mistake. It'll be good to see Ambrose as a singles competitor, and he showed that he has what it takes. Hopefully he, along with the Shield, can make the US Title mean something again. The match itself was a lot of fun, with some nice moves and even nearfalls. ***



Sheamus vs Mark Henry : Strap Match
I wasn't looking forward to this match, because I'm not really fond of these matches. This wasn't a very good one. It had its moments, but it was mostly just a dull match and completely forgettable. Hell I almost forgot to include it here. At least it had a different finish than the one we're used to seeing in this kind of match. Sheamus is the victor here. *1/2



Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger : I Quit Match
I was very disappointed when Dolph Ziggler was taken out of this match. I was even more disappointed when they changed it from a ladder match to an I Quit match. However, they did surprise me by have a little gem of a match here. They didn't get as much time as most other I Quit matches do and the finish was overbooked, but before all that they were having a great match. After the match restarts, Del Rio locks in the cross armbreaker to make Swagger say the magic words. ***1/4



Team Hell No vs The Shield : Tornado Tag Match
I'm not a huge fan of tornado matches, but even after a messy start, this one was very entertaining. After Ambrose's win earlier, I fully expected the Shield to win and have all three members hold gold, and that they did. They all look great with gold in their hands. Anyway, the match was a lot of fun and a good way to start off the Shield's title reign. **1/2



Randy Orton vs Big Show : Extreme Rules Match
At first, this felt like a filler match, or a way to get Randy Orton onto the show for his home crowd. However, as the match went on, it got better and better. There was no way that I thought that Show would kick out of the RKO. He took another on a chair and it still wasn't over! Nice to see the punt kick make its return as well. A good match overall, even if it didn't really mean anything. ***



John Cena vs Ryback : Last Man Standing
I know that people don't like this match because of the ending, and yes it was a big copout finish. But before that, it was going really well. It made up for the weeks of Ryback looking like a coward, and made him look like a beast here, just getting up after taking everything. I guess we'll see these two fight again, and I'm looking forward to it. ***1/2



Triple H vs Brock Lesnar : Steel Cage
I really enjoyed this, sue me. This was easily the best of the matches that they've had together. It started off really well with HHH not even waiting for his entrance and going straight out to fight Lesnar. The work on Lesnar's leg was well done and was sold throughout the match. I could've done with less Heyman to make Lesnar look a bit better, but at least he still won. I may be a Bret Hart fan, but I did enjoy HHH's subtle 'fuck you' to Bret when he applied the sharpshooter. All in all a very good main event that definitely delivered in my view. I know other people didn't enjoy it, but I certainly did. Great stuff. ****




7.5/10. Overall, a very enjoyable show here. There were no real dull spots apart from the Strap match and the finish of the Last Man Standing match. Some nice highlights though, including a surprisingly good I Quit match, The Shield winning the US and Tag Titles, a very good WWE Championship match and a main event that exceeded my expectations. Worth a watch in my eyes.