All 8 WWE Extreme Rules PPVs, Ranked
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
3. Extreme Rules 2016
Much like the 09 Extreme Rules, the 2016 PPV was the tale of two matches. The reason this show ranks a little higher is basically because these two matches were collectively just a little bit better. The main event pitted WWE Champion Roman Reigns taking on AJ Styles in an Extreme Rules Match. It was, in a word, awesome. Reigns, the habitually chided baby face who people consistently chant “you can’t wrestle” at, did a great job in this 22-minute battle. But who are we kidding? Styles was the reason this match was so good. The guy is a once in a generation type talent and even at 39 is still one of the very best in the world. Throw in the return of Seth Rollins to attack Reigns after the match and that’s a very great way to send people home.
Mixed throughout the show was some ho-hum kind of stuff. Rusev won the U.S. title from Kalisto, The Club won a Texas Tornado Match again The Usos, Charlotte beat Natalya in a Submission Match, The New Day beat The Vaudevillains, and Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho partook in one of the most confusingly boring fight of all time in an Asylum match.
But the real gem of the night was the Fatal Four-Way Match for the Intercontinental title between The Miz, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Cesaro. This match will go on a lot of top 10 lists, and it’s the best Extreme Rules PPV match ever, the best fatal 4-way ever, and it was one of the best matches of 2016. Each man played their role perfectly and even managed to further a couple of feuds. A match of this magnitude for a secondary belt is so important for the company. It not only elevates that title, but every belt above it. Even if it wasn’t for the wonderful main event, this match would’ve carried this show to or near this same rank.