Results, Reaction, Review, and Recap for WWE's 2012 installment of EXTREME RULES!

I will review each match using the following scale: 1 = poor match, 2 = slightly below-average match, 2.5 = average match, 3 = good match, 3.5 = very good match, 4 = great match, 4.5 = amazing match, 5 = all-time match.



Result: Santino defeated the Miz with a Cobra approximately five minutes in their U.S. Championship Match.

Reaction:  Excellent booking here. Santino gets a credible title defense, and the Miz, a complete wuss, gets a deserved loss.

Score: 5/5



Result: Randy Orton pinned Kane after delivering an RKO in a falls count anywhere match.

Reaction: This match went approximately 15 minutes and was an intense brawler. I assume this will conclude the feud between Randal and Kane, and it was an excellent way to go out as these two put forth their best performance yet.

Score: 4/5.



Result: The Funkasaurus Brodus Clay beat Dolph Ziggler with a big splash after a five minute bout.

Reaction: This was a short filler designed to get Funkasaurus another PPV win. I'm a big Funkasaurus fan, however, yet again, Cameron and Naomi were the stars :wub:

Score: 2/5.



Result: Cody Rhodes regained the Intercontinental Championship from Big Show in a Tables Match due to Big Show stepping through a table placed outside of the ring. Big Show took out his frustration by choke slamming Cody through a table, and then by press slamming Cody through a table set outside the ring while Show was standing in the ring.

Reaction: This was the correct result. Big Show adds nothing to the IC title picture. That is not to say that the IC title picture is dynamic, however it deserves better than Big Show. Cody took some big bumps in this match. Bumps Miz and Orton would never take. Big Show looked very strong, and even though I don't like him, that is a good thing.

Score: 3/5.



Result: Sheamus retained the World Heavyweight Championship after beating Daniel Bryan in a 2/3 pinfall match. Sheamus scored the first 'win' due to Bryan getting disqualified by kicking Sheamus in the corner past the 5 second mark. Bryan evened the tally with a Yes! Lock that put Sheamus into unconsciousness. Sheamus recovered and scored the decisive pinfall with a Brogue Kick 22 minutes in.

Reaction: This was a match that, although slightly lacking a sense of drama, was an excellent bout that showed the proficiency of the two combatants in-ring. The crowd cheered Bryan with "Daniel-Bryan" chants and booed Sheamus. It should have been the opposite. The fact is that Sheamus has largely failed as a face. He gets muted crowd reactions. Come to think of it, he elicited only small crowd reactions when he was a heel. Crowds haven't cared about Bryan for the most part either, however that has changed with his recent 'Yes, Yes, Yes' angle. What I'm saying is that Bryan was in the land of irrelevancy, but overcame that by getting the crowd to react to him. Sheamus hasn't been able to do that in his entire WWE tenure. I'm not a Bryan fan, mainly because I despise the IWC, but he has improved and expanded his out-of-ring repertoire. Sheamus is still not cared about, and as a multiple time Champion that needs to change.

Score: 4/5.



Result: Ryback obliterated two local jobbers in a matter of seconds.

Reaction: I am a big Ryback fan, but shouldn't this be on TV?

Score: Meh.



Result: CM Punk defeated Chris Jericho with a Go To Sleep to retain the WWE Championship in a Chicago Street Fight.

Reaction: This match started off  slow and sloppy (sloppy thanks to Punk), but it steadily built into a classic. It was a war that featured multiple big spots such as Punk jumping off the top turnbuckle onto Jericho who was laid out on the Spanish announce table which of course was destroyed, a fire extinguisher getting released into Jericho's face, and Punk surviving a chair infused Code Breaker. This match, and the feud in general, was better here than at WrestleMania.

Score: 4.25/5. 
 


Result: Layla pinned Brie Bella to win the Diva's Championship even though Nikki was the champion. A failed switcheroo cost the Bella's the title.

Reaction: Uh, Brie or Nikki (does it really matter?), it's longest REIGNING champion, not longest RUNNING champion. Idiot. Layla, boo, you know I love you girl, but the crowd was dead for your return. They must lack testosterone or something.

Score: Does it matter?



Result: John Cena defeated Brock Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match with an Attitude Adjustment onto the steel ring steps.

Reaction: It's not surprising Cena won, although it is slightly surprising Lesnar lost. Lesnar busted Cena's skull apart in the opening stanza and looked to be working very stiff. Cena got beat up for the entire match until Lesnar ran into a chain wrapped right hand, which cut Lesnar open, and the aforementioned Attitude Adjustment. Is blood back in the WWE? I hope so. Lesnar, although working in a stiff style, looked excellent in-ring. This feud clearly isn't over, and I expect Lesnar to get his revenge. Although as I was typing that Cena said he would be taking some time off. It sounded like he will be legitimately off WWE for some time. Regardless of what happens, this match was one of the most intense I have seen, it gave Cena the win he desperately needed, and gave Brock an out as he could have pinned Cena multiple times if not for the referee being incapacitated.

Score: 4.5/5.


Overall: One of the top PPV events of the past few years. Nearly every match was a 4+ star effort, which is unheard of in the usually top heavy WWE cards. Extreme Rules 2012 deserves at least a 9/10.