5 Worst WWE Extreme Rules Match Gimmicks
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
3. The Asylum Match
Now unlike the other four match types in this article, I actually thought the Asylum Match between Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho at the 2016 Extreme Rules was going to be pretty good. Ambrose and Jericho are very good workers and a hardcore match between them had the potential of being a show-stealer. However, like the aforementioned House of Horrors, the WWE had no idea what an Asylum Match meant. In fact, fans only got clarity one week in advance on RAW when Ambrose explained it.
So what did the Asylum Match entail? Well it was a cage match with a booby-trapped ring complete with a bunch of weapons hanging from the ceiling. Ok, still thought it could be good. But then guess what happened? It was bad. Like really bad. Ambrose and Jericho went back and forth over an excruciating 26 minutes where both men basically winged it until Jericho fell on a pile of thumbtacks thus ending the charade.
So yes, the idea was lazy but the execution was more to blame for the match’s shortcomings. This trend of just yelling out a type of match and then figuring out what it means afterwards needs to come to an end. It’s like a microcosm of everything wrong with the product right now. For the past few years it just seems like the booking decisions are being made on a week to week basis and if it keeps up, it’ll be nearly impossible to find and book the next top star.