WWE Extreme Rules 2017 Results: Best and Worst Moments

Extreme Rules, Source: WWE.com (via Twitter)

Extreme Rules is in the bag for another year. Here are the best and worst moments from this year’s event in Baltimore.

Once a year, WWE decides to throw out the rule book for a major event. That show is the annual Extreme Rules pay per view. This year’s Extreme Rules took place this weekend in Baltimore.

The main event was a fatal five-way match to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship. A quintet of Raw’s top superstars fought it out to see who would face Brock Lesnar in a few weeks. With no disqualifications in the match, it was anything goes for these fierce competitors.

There were also four championships up for grabs during the night. With different stipulations dictating how the matches were contested throughout the evening, it was a wild and chaotic event. Throw in a mixed tag team match featuring the superstars of 205 Live, and there was something for just about everyone at Extreme Rules.

Of course, during an event like this, there are bound to be highs and lows. Even the best wrestling shows have their weak spots. And let’s be honest: despite the variety on the card, much of Extreme Rules was underwhelming on paper. Aside from the main event, there wasn’t a whole lot to inspire confidence heading into the show.

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So what ended up being the best moments of Extreme Rules? And what were some of the lows during the night? Read on to find out our best and worst moments for WWE Extreme Rules 2017.

Source: WWE.com

Best: A Kick Off That Actually Kicks Things Off

Raise your hand if you expected Kalisto vs. Apollo Crews to be in consideration for Match of the Night.

Better yet, raise your hand if you even had a clue that Kalisto was facing Apollo Crews on the Kickoff Show (PRESENTED BY MOUNTAIN DEW KICKSTART).

But, yes, this match was added in the eleventh hour in response to the growing rivalry between the Lucha Dragon and the Titus Brand. At first glance, it was nothing more than a throwaway match. It was almost like WWE looked at the card and said, “Oh no, we forgot about the pre-show!”

The crazy thing is, it was a great match. Kalisto and Crews have a long pre-WWE history as friends and opponents. When given the opportunity to just go out and kind of do what they want, they crushed it.

I think what made the match seem so good was the incredibly low expectations for it, based on context. Just look at the last few weeks of Raw for proof of this. When was the last time either Kalisto or Crews did something noteworthy? Probably the Dumpster Match where Kalisto beat Braun Strowman and got murked afterward, right?

But tonight was different. Both guys – and Titus, too – seemed really excited for the chance to do something before Extreme Rules, and ran with it. And it was great to see the crowd actually get into it, as well. Kalisto and Crews are way too talented to spend their WWE careers bathed in silence, and tonight was a good thing for both.

Source: WWE.com

Worst: A Good Match That Abandons All Sense Of Logic

Starting off Extreme Rules proper was the Intercontinental Championship match. Much like Kalisto and Crews, Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz was a really good match. In fact, were this just a typical match, it would probably be considered one of the best Intercontinental Title matches in recent memory.

But there’s a huge, glaring problem with how the match went down: it was built around a stipulation that ended up barely coming into play.

A quick recap: Ambrose got disqualified in a title defense against Miz a few weeks ago on Raw. Miz got himself a rematch where he would win the title if Ambrose got disqualified. Not exactly the most “extreme” of Extreme Rules matches, but whatever.

Smart money would have been on Miz getting himself immediately disqualified, right? Nope. He fought a good match. Nothing like the weaselly heel playing it straight. And Ambrose was never in danger of being disqualified until the end of the match.

First of all, I refuse to believe that Miz didn’t think of Maryse hitting him until that particular moment. Second, why on earth was the referee waffling on whether to disqualify Ambrose for so long? Ambrose was distracted more by John Cone than he was Maryse, who had been tossed from ringside. Just a truly dumb ending to a pretty good match.

Source: WWE.com (via Twitter)

Best: Whisper In The Wind From The Cage

The story of the night seemed to be stupid and/or poorly explained rules. In the Tag Team Championship match, it was more the former – Jojo explained before the match that both members of one team had to be on the floor at the same time for the match to end. And if you’ve ever watched WWE programming, you’d know that probably meant some kind of wacky, screwy finish.

But who cares about all of that – Jeff Hardy, after all these years, is still nothing more than a crazy, insane, possibly stupid spot monkey.

Jeff had actually escaped the cage several minutes prior to the end of the match. However, Matt was left alone in the ring with Cesaro and Sheamus. It looked less likely by the minute that he’d be able to escape the cage when faced with a 2-on-1 disadvantage. Jeff climbed back up to try and pull him down, but it wasn’t enough.

After an assisted Super White Noise, Matt looked to be in pretty bad shape. So Jeff did what any good brother would do – he climbed back up the cage to try and help his partner. (Well, maybe a really good brother would use the door to get in quicker, but I digress.)

Related Story: Jeff Hardy Jumps From The Cage At Extreme Rules

Rather than just jump in and go to town on the challengers, Jeff delivered one of his signature moves from the top of the cage – a Whisper in the Wind. It’s the kind of spot that makes highlight reels for years to come, but also one that ends up costing your team the titles because you now have to re-escape the cage. Oops!

Source: WWE.com

Worst: Whatever The Women’s Title Match Was

Look at Baltimore, trying to get over as a “smart” city! So adorable. (Although, the way things have been going lately, booing Bayley and cheering Alexa Bliss may not be as smarky as one would think.)

All that aside, this match was a steaming pile of something. It was just not good at all. The rules either weren’t conveyed clearly or they just didn’t make sense (I’m thinking the latter). And the whole “will Bayley get EXTREME” talking point made the whole match seem like a waste of time.

The match was exceedingly short, especially for pay per view standards. It’s almost as if the producers knew that this entire storyline was hot garbage, and any more than the few minutes given here would be an assault on the audience’s good taste.

But the absolute worst part was the “winging it” when it came to rules of the match. During the entire lead-up to the match, the rules were expressly stated that the first woman to grab the kendo stick from the pole would be allowed to legally use it. Makes sense, until Bayley grabs the stick, doesn’t use it, drops it, and Alexa uses it with no trouble. Huh?

At Extreme Rules, professional wrestling’s streak of pole matches that were no good continued. It was as if the creative team had booked themselves into a corner and just wanted to end the story as quickly as possible. Well, hopefully this is the end of this feud, because I definitely don’t want to see anymore.

Source: WWE.com (via Twitter)

Best: That Spear

It may have almost been by default, but the fatal five-way main event was the best match of the night. It was the only time where “Extreme Rules” described more than just the event itself. And though the match may have dragged in spots, the latter portion really picked things up.

Look at everything that happened throughout the main event. We got a brief union of two of the best hosses in WWE today, Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt. Finn Balor put the match on his back and carried it for stretches. Roman Reigns – armor aside – continued his run of making me not hate his being on my screen. And Seth Rollins was there, too!

But if we’re looking for a best moment of the show, it would have to be Roman hitting the spear on the outside of the ring. Samoa Joe had locked Balor in the Coquina Clutch on the floor, with Bray Wyatt lying prone on the announce table. As Joe dragged Balor along the arena floor,  they ended up in fron of the timekeeper station.

Enter The Big Dog, stage right. Reigns came flying into the picture, hitting a spear on both competitors. The impact sent all three men through the barricade, lying in a heap amidst chairs and pieces of the wall.

Out of everything that happened in the fatal five-way, this was definitely the top spot for me.

Source: WWE.com

Worst: A Cruiserweight Submission Match With Too Many Rules

Continuing the theme of “really stupid rules that make little sense,” in a match where the only way to win is via submission, the referee was threatening disqualifications and issuing a ten count when the action was outside the ring. Uh, what?

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Yes, now WWE officials will disqualify someone for not breaking a hold in a submission match, even though literally the only way to win is by getting your opponent to give up. Maybe it’s one of those semantics things, where you can only win by submission, but you can lose by disqualification? I don’t know, my head hurts trying to figure it out.

But Neville and Austin Aries deserve better than a match that (presumably) ends their long-standing feud with rules that make zero sense. And, even though it fit the storyline, the official stipulation of the match wasn’t really the best thing for a bunch of cruiserweights.

For better or worse, when the average WWE fan thinks of cruiserweights, what’s the image in his or her head? Probably high flying, exciting maneuvers – you know, everything Drew Gulak is campaigning against on 205 Live. (Now, if Gulak was in this match, it would have probably been straight fire.) So how do you get a pay per view crowd excited for the cruiserweight action? Take the time to change the color of the ropes, and remove most of the high flying offense from the equation.

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What did you think were the best and worst moments from WWE Extreme Rules 2017?