WWE 2012 Extreme Rules 2012

Falls Count Anywhere Match: Randy Orton vs. Kane - You knew exactly where this match was going from when the pipe (that both men had been using against each other for weeks) in the ring & used within the first minute. As expected with a Falls Count Anywhere Match, they went into the crowd & brawled up the steps with Kane even doing a move unfamiliar to him in a charging low dropkick before going to the stage & backstage where someone who had his own issues with Kane got a few shots in himself before the cameraman even got knocked down because of the action. They fought back to the ring where everything they could get their hands on was used from the steel steps to a chair to even Orton's hanging DDT off the announce table. Both men were able to keep escaping & countering each other's signature moves but it took one move hit on the chair to finally put one man out. This was a very entertaining brawl as we've seen in the match that started this feud months earlier to their WrestleMania rematch on SmackDown that they work the best in these "no rules" environments.

Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler - Dolph had Swagger & Vickie in his corner while Hornswoggle & the Funkettes were in Brodus. Dolph had the strategy of grounding Brodus & was dominate throughout the bout with even Swagger getting a shot on the outside but had the tide turn when Brodus delivered a running headbutt through Dolph which Cole described perfectly as "like a cannonball." This was the usual of what we see from Brodus but no doubt that Dolph was working hard with what he was given & not to mention was heavily over with the crowd as well for his effort.

Tables Match: Intercontinental Champion Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes - Big Show completely dominated Cody right from the start as he was chopping & tossing Cody both in & out of the ring to the point where he threw him from the crowd over the barrier to half way across the outside floor. Cody was able to hit minimal offense in like his disaster kick when avoiding going through a table but it was him delivered a dropkick that caused Show's leg to slip off the apron through the outside table that payed off for Cody as he won on a technicality while Show was had this "Oh Crap!" look on his face because of what happened. The match itself wasn't much as it was the same type of "fluke" win that we've usually gotten in these tables title matches (think back to the first two TLC PPV's) where it's eventually the champions beat themselves but stay tuned afterwords as Show definitely proved that he won't be without the last word...twice.

2 Out Of 3 Falls: World Champion Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan - Although Bryan tried to heel the crowd earlier, they were heavily behind him in this town that was a regular stop during his days in Ring Of Honor while Sheamus came out with a shirt reminding them of their last encounter at WrestleMania. Sheamus went for the kick early which Daniel avoid but later catching Bryan in a sharpshooter/boston crab combination submission before catching Bryan coming off the apron & slamming him into the barrier. Bryan was able to mount some offense including a unique pinning combination locking Sheamus' shoulders with his legs & heavily targeting his shoulder with a grounded hammerlock & using the ringpost to his advantage. Bryan from there kept beating on Sheamus with his aggression eventually coming back to haunt him but that didn't stop Bryan from being able to get the YES-lock with Sheamus able later to be get his kick in that turned Bryan inside out. This was the yearly match on this PPV that was the quality of match we SHOULD have gotten WrestleMania (in this case, the previous two Mania's they had a scheduled match) because this was both men's best performance in recent memory & you saw just by how exhausted they were they gave you everything & told a story along the way.

Ryback vs. Aaron Relic & Jay Hatton - If you have no clue who the tag team is, don't even bother trying to figure it out as they were nothing more than bodies for the squash match for "Goldberg" (watch the match to get the joke).

Street Fight Match: WWE Champion C.M. Punk vs. Chris Jericho - Punk not only returns home but also returns of "the scene of the crime" of where he first became a WWE Champion close to a year earlier in Chicago with Punk's family at ringside & both men dressed in their street clothes for this match. You knew where this match was going when Punk brought in a kendo stick during the first minute of the match with Jericho kept going outside to break Punk's momentum & even went as far as to hide behind the referee to gain the advantage & use the stick himself. Both men brawled on the outside with Jericho going as far as to taunt Punk's sister which made Punk "snap" resulting in Jericho getting slammed through the announce table hood before Jericho retaliated with the monitor & breaking the rest of the hood over his back before Jericho got too cocky & began pouring beer on Punk's back with Punk coming back with a low blow using the stick. They went back & forth after this with counters to the Lionsault & GTS along, the unique escapes from the Walls Of Jericho & Anaconda Vice, a SAVAGE elbow through the announce table followed by a Codebreaker with a steel chair, and attempting to use the other's finisher. They topped their WrestleMania match which was quality in it's own right as it really did come off as a brawl between two men who wanted to beat the hell out of each other with the added drama of Punk's sister being the crowd definitely helped.

Divas Champion Nikki Bella vs. Layla - Beth Phoenix was suppose to get her rematch here but wasn't medically cleared resulting in a mystery challenger in the returning Layla. Nikki focused on Layla's previously injured knee while Bree would get involved when the referee wasn't looking including doing the "twin magic" at one point while Layla looked like she didn't miss a step including doing some new lucha styles moves like the armdrag & top rope crossbody. This was too short to really made a note of anything but it was good for what it was but keep out for the ending as the ending came as a results of the "Rude Awakening" neckbreaker that looked like it really hurt.

Extreme Rules Match: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - For those trivia fans, this is a rematch from 9 years earlier this same month (called "Backlash" back then) with Cena having the rival chants again before the first entrance was made while it should be noted that Cena wore his own chain & lock to the ring from this "Thuganomics" days. Cena charged Brock right away to take him down only for Brock to knock Cena right back down with a powerful clothesline going into his "ground & pound" offense bust Cena open at the top of his head within the first minute causing the match to be stopped twice. Brock came back with back & back suplexes as Brock countered the second attempt & dominate Cena pounding on that open cut & his ribs. Cena's arm was the next target for Brock with his kamara armbar in the ring & on the outside while also throwing Cena into the barrier & ringpost shoulder first. The referees kept falling like flies from either getting in the way or getting knocked out themselves as everything they could get their hands on was used from the steel steps to Cena's chain that ended with both men bleeding. Normally I don't like the "Cena gets beat the whole match only to come back to win" matches but that wasn't the case here as Cena definitely sold the beating from his head to his arm throughout & even after the match while Lesnar came off like the ruthless monster heel & with the the asskicking (don't know how else to put it) he gave to the point where it was believable that Cena had to use his old tactics to get an advantage.

This was one of the best top to bottom WWE events in a long time as there were so many standout matches (Kane/Orton, Sheamus/Bryan, Punk/Jericho, Cena/Brock) while some matches were good for what they were (Divas, Ryback squash, Brodus/Dolph) so I would give this a 4.5 but I'll go ahead & bump it up to 5 as this is probably going to be the best effort we can get from WWE at this stage so this is definitely a PPV I would check out.

Daniel Brian vs Shamus two out of three falls is amazing match. Brian really pulls every trick out of his bag to try to defeat the Celtic Warrior. Cena vs Lesnar was a good match also. Lesnar spends most of the match destroying Cena yet a dissapointing ending when "super Cena" pulls out a win out of no where.

I decided to get Extreme Rules because of interest in the World and WWE title matches, and having heard that they and the main event delivered. Overall I was pretty happy. You're milage will depend on how much you like each performer.

In more detail:

Orton vs. Kane: OK falls count anywhere match, but as I'm not really a fan of either guy I was a bit bored here. *1/2

Clay vs. Ziggler: A showcase for Clay with Ziggler doing the usual and bouncing all over the place. A couple nice spots, but two short to be much. *1/2

IC title - Show vs. Rhodes: A very short tables match with a unique ending that I didn't mind, but a lot of people will hate. **

Sheamus vs. Bryan: A great two out of three falls encounter finally showing what these two can do together. My personal favorite of the night. ****1/2

Ryback vs. two jobbers: Yep. You know what you're getting here.

Punk vs Jericho: Slow start but built into a frenzy by the end. Some neat uses of the street fight stipulation. ***3/4

Bella vs. ???: They took the belt off Beth Phoenix for THIS surprise?! Not what was expected, and not a good match. Zero stars.

Lesnar vs. Cena: An intense, brutal, unusual style match which is brought down by a couple of drawn out stoppages due to blood and an out-of-nowhere finish. ****1/4

A solid ppv offering. Not sure I would have been happy ordering at ppv prices, but well worth picking up the dvd.