Extreme Rules Recap

Philadelphia was the host for Saturday night’s Extreme Rules and it was hit and miss with the exception of how it ended. Here is a match by match recap:

• The Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium: You can give me any iteration of this every week. Inject it into my veins – forever. After Friday’s barn burner between Gunther & Sheamus for the Intercontinental Championship these six men went to war in an Old Fashion Donnybrook match. It was everything you would expect – violence, carnage and brutality. Sheamus getting the pinfall was a bit of a makeup after narrowly losing on Friday night. Kudos to all six men for going all out in this match. This was excellent… and easily the match of the night. Grade: A+
• Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey: This match was… sloppy. There was no real chemistry between Liv & Ronda throughout. It was disjointed and the spots with the weapons looked incredibly weak. The chair spot was badly botched and because neither Liv & Ronda are great at carrying matches and calling audibles that botched chair spot was magnified. Liv dropping the title to Ronda was the right call as Liv’s run with the belt was just very blah. Rousey didn’t look good in this match either. As a matter of fact, it appears Ronda Rousey has regressed since her debut in 2019 but she is clearly the bigger star and someone with a name needs to carry the belt. More on what’s next for the both of them in a bit. Grade: D+
• Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross: The Strap match between these two fell a little flat but it wasn’t because of the effort of these two. The match was physical and these two worked hard but it just felt like something was off. Maybe the match that proceeded it had something to do with it as the crowd was very lukewarm during this match. Kross getting the win was also the right call as it will extend the feud and keep both of them busy. Grade: C
• Bianca Belair vs. Bayley: This match was everything the SmackDown title match wasn’t. In the 1st ever women’s title ladder match Bianca & Bayley delivered. The action was hard-hitting and the spots with the ladders looked wicked. Bianca hitting the KOD on both Io Sky & Dakota Kai was a cool spot and the KOD Bianca hit on Bayley at the end of the match looked brutal. With this win Bianca Belair will become the 1st black woman to hold a major women’s WWE title for 200 days. Grade: B+
• Edge vs. Finn Balor: The cool thing about I Quit matches is you can get some strong storytelling in a match like this. The bad thing about I Quit matches is you can also get some dull spots during the match. Both things were true for this showdown between Edge & Finn. They fought all over the stadium before the rest of The Judgment Day interfered. Rey Mysterio would try to even things up but ended being taken out by Dominik. Just as it looked as though TJD would run roughshod up pops Beth Phoenix to make the save. Edge was on the verge of a win when Rhea Ripley knocked out Beth with brass knuckles. Finn got Edge to say I Quit by having Rhea threaten to hit Beth with the conchairto. Rhea grinned an evil grin before hitting the conchairto anyway. That despicable act generated nuclear heat for The Judgment Day and for the 1st time made them look like a legitimate threat. Grade: B for the match; A+ for the ending
• Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle: The main event featured these two in a Fight Pit match with UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier as the guest referee. It was an interesting match that tried to mix MMA and wrestling and did a decent job doing it. Seth Rollins coming out & paying tribute to RVD was a nice touch as well as the RVD frog splash off of the cage. The two went back & forth before Riddle was able to get Rollins to tap out for the win. The match was decent but never felt like it got into full gear. Grade: B-
• The Return of Bray Wyatt: As Riddle was having his hand raised before heading backstage the arena went dark and what happened below was awesome. After weeks of teases and QR codes, the return of The Eater of Worlds, the OG Bray Wyatt was the absolute chef’s kiss. Grade: A++

Human versions of Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Fun House characters appear in the crowd at #ExtremeRules.

Originally tweeted by WWE (@WWE) on October 9, 2022.

After weeks of mysterious vignettes, Bray Wyatt returns in jaw-dropping fashion at the end of WWE #ExtremeRules.

Originally tweeted by WWE (@WWE) on October 9, 2022.

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SmackDown Women’s Division in Shambles

The SmackDown Women’s title match at Extreme Rules highlighted what’s wrong with the women’s division on the blue brand. While Liv Morgan is an internet darling she is not a real needle mover. The championship title made Liv and not the other way around. She is a decent wrestler but not a dynamic one who can’t cut dynamic promos. With Ronda Rousey she was forced into being a face when she returned in January when in truth she is a heel. Her promos, like Liv’s, leave a lot to be desired and her wrestling has regressed since her return. Ronda’s name still carries legitimacy and weight but she is not a fan favorite either.

And therein lies the problem with the division. These two women are currently the top heel & babyface in the division. The other wrestlers in the division have been devalued in the attempt to bolster both Liv Morgan & Ronda Rousey. The roster is extremely thin and lacking credibility. Here is the roster as it is currently structured:

Ronda Rousey	Liv Morgan	Natayla	Lacey Evans
Shayna Baszler	Raquel Rodriguez	Aliyah	Shotzi Blackheart
Sonya Deville	Xia Li	Scarlett Bordeaux	Maxxine Dupri
B-Fab	Charlotte Flair	Naomi	Sasha Banks

With Charlotte Flair, Naomi and Sasha Banks still out, the roster is need of a shot in the arm. The roster is likely to get thinner with Charlotte indicating she wants a shot at Bianca Belair for the RAW women’s title. The bottom line is outside of Flair, Banks & Naomi none of the other women are really must see. Baszler is a legit badass whose run on the main roster has been horribly mismanaged by creative. It’s the same case albeit to a lesser degree for Sonya Deville and Xia Li. Raquel is just not believable as a smiling babyface. She thrived in NXT as a heel. Natayla should’ve had 2-3 title reigns before the influx of the Horsewomen, Belair, Asuka, Ripley and others. The rest of the roster are simply enhancement talents. B-Fab, Scarlett and Maxxine Dupri aren’t even wrestling – they’re managers/valets. Compare the SmackDown roster to the embarrassment of riches in the RAW women’s division:

Bianca Belair	Bayley	IO Sky	Dakota Kai
Rhea Ripley	Asuka	Alexa Bliss	Becky Lynch
Candice LeRae	Piper Nevin	Carmella	Dana Brooke
Nikki Cross	Tamina

Even with Becky Lynch sidelined, the RAW women’s roster is stacked. Take away Becky Lynch and the combination of Belair, Bayley, Ripley, Asuka & Alexa Bliss have 15 singles championships. By comparison the entire SmackDown roster minus Flair, Naomi & Sasha have just 4 singles title reigns.

If there is going to be a Superstar Shakeup or draft it’s going to be imperative to bring some star power to the SmackDown roster. The SmackDown roster can’t continue to be this thin and lacking true draws.

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