WWE Extreme Rules 2009 Review

The 2009 edition of WWE’s Extreme Rules Pay Per View (formerly One Night Stand) delivered both good and not so spectacular results. There were multiple title changes that came from each of the three shows. There was also some very boring wrestling, wrestling that certainly did not live up the show’s name.


US Title Match
Kofi Kingston vs. MVP vs. William Regal vs. Matt Hardy
Fatal 4 Way Rules
Winner: Kofi Kingston
7/10


It was not a surprise to me that this match kicked off the Extreme Rules card. It was the least promoted of all the matches. I’m actually not really sure when they even announced this match. I did miss one edition of RAW between Judgment Day and Extreme Rules, but usually they remind you multiple times (whether you want them to or not) of all the matches for the upcoming PPV. That was not the case with this match.


Along with being woefully under promoted, the performance of these men seemed very limited. None of them wrestled badly per se, but the match did not, in my mind, live up to the whole of its potential. Matt Hardy barely made an appearance in the match. His interaction with the other three men seemed to result in him spending most of the match on the outside of the ring. William Regal got in some good shots but nothing that warrants much discussion. MVP delivered his signature maneuvers; overhead belly to belly Suplex, Ballin elbow drop, etc. Beyond that he didn’t do much. The best performance in the match came from Kofi Kingston, who delivered some very athletic maneuvers.


All in all, I wouldn’t say the match was bad, but nothing to write home about.


Intercontinental Title Match
Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
No Holds Barred Rules
Winner: Chris Jericho
8/10


I expected a very good match out of Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio. I mentioned in my preview and predictions article earlier that these two men have a history and have wrestled each other many times in the past. That was definitely a factor in the quality of this match. Jericho and Mysterio were able—no surprise to me—to put together a very good match. There was some great cruiserweight style wrestling, with just enough hardcore action sprinkled in to justify the no hold barred stipulation. Also, as I predicted Rey Mysterio’s mask did become a factor in the outcome of the match. At one point Jericho tried to remove Rey’s mask during a seated chinlock maneuver, and Rey did not have time to tighten the laces back up. Rey later went for a 619 that Jericho was able to block. During that it move Jericho yanked Rey’s mask off and was able to get a quick pin because Rey was trying to cover his face.


The result of this match leads me to believe that there is still more to come for this feud, including a possible hair vs. mask or mask vs. title match. The Mysterio vs. Jericho feud is one of the better things We has going at this point in time, so I’m interested to see what they are going to do with it next.


CM Punk vs. Umaga
Samoan Strap Match Rules
Winner: CM Punk
3/10


With the exception of a few spots in this match, it was pretty damn boring. I’m not really sure how exciting anybody can make a match against Umaga. It is undoubtedly the fact that WWE has an exceeding amount of control over what their wrestlers do in the ring. I have no doubt that Umaga’s moveset is limited, if not by himself, then by WWE. With that being said, the match was still very boring.


Santaina Marella vs. Vickie Guerrero
Hog Pen Match Rules
Winner: Santina Marella
7/10


You may be wondering why this match gets such a high rating for something that is obviously so ridiculous. It is because I knew exactly what to expect form this match going in. It was meant to be ridiculous and it was. The match did not progress much beyond the five-minute mark, everything included. If it had, its quality would have dropped substantially. Vickie Guerrero did get splashed with a bucket of pig slop, which was probably the best part of the match. This occurrence also set up a very funny vignette later on in the show that featured the old Golddust with tourettes gimmick.


As usual, Chavo Guerrero was involved in one of Vickie’s matches. I cannot help but shake my head whenever I see Chavo Guerrero doing this kind of crap. He is a member of one of the greatest wrestling families in the history of the sport, certainly the greatest Mexican wrestling family of all time, and this is what he has to do to get on Pay Per View. Chavo is currently the youngest and most able bodied of the Guerrero family. He should be wrestling at least in US Title matches, but instead he has to deal with the pointless crap that comes with being associated with Vickie Guerrero.


ECW Title Match
Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian vs. Jack Swagger
3 Way Hardcore Rules Match
Winner: Tommy Dreamer
9/10


Yes, that is right, Tommy Dreamer won the ECW Title. I never in my wildest dreams (pun thoroughly intended) thought that this would happen. As a hardcore old school ECW fan, I cannot help but love Tommy Dreamer. He has selflessly given more for the wrestling business that maybe anybody, with very few expectations. Tommy Dreamer is no less than a Hal of Famer.


I was thoroughly prepared to shed a tear at the end of this match. Dreamer had previously released a statement on his WWE Universe page saying he would not be returning as the ECW general manager if he did not win this match. That led me to believe that he would be wrestling his final match at Extreme Rules. I’ll give it to WWE on this one; for once they got one right. Tommy Dreamer is the last remnant of the true ECW spirit flowing in the lifeblood of the current reincarnated ECW. For him to hold this belt maybe doesn’t mean much to some people but to myself and others like me, it means a hell of a lot.


The match itself was not the most hardcore thing I’ve ever seen, but the result is really all that matters her. Swagger put on a good performance, adapting fairly well from a technical style to a hardcore one, and even incorporating some of that technicality into the match. Christian, being the true professional that he is, put one a good performance as well.
All I can say is…EC dub, EC dub, EC dub!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


WWE Title Match
Batista vs. Randy Orton]
Steel Cage Rules (Pinfall, submission, or escape)
Winner: Batista
3/10


While the beginning of this match started in exciting fashion, and made it look promising, the end result had a very high snore factor. There was no Ric Flair involvement in this match, and as much as I hate to say it, it was really needed. A small portion of the crowd seemed to share the same thought pattern as I do when they broke out in a short-lived, but very noticeable “you can’t wrestle” chant during this one. The end result was the third title change of the night, but that really doesn’t mean anything to me after the sheer boredom I had to endure to get to the end result.


John Cena vs. Big Show
Submission Match Rules
Winner: John Cena (big surprise right?)
1/10


The best part of this match, as seems to very often be the case with matches featuring John Cena, was the end. Cena and Big show set up a nice spot that involved a rope-assisted STF by Cena that made Big Show tap. However, the match was much the same as any off Cena or Show’s other match. It consisted of mostly punches and the same cliché arsenal of moves from Cena and Show. Beyond the end spot, there’s no reason to dignify the existence of this match with any further comment.


World Heavyweight Title
Jeff Hardy vs. Edge
Ladder Match Rules
Winner: Jeff Hardy
10/10


I am not going to say that this match was the best ladder match I’ve ever seen, not by a long shot, but it did contain one of the best ladder spots I’ve ever seen. While Jeff Hardy was on one ladder attempting to reach the belt, Edge went for a spear off a second ladder, and Jeff caught him in mid air with a Twist of Fate. Is the best part of the entire match? There were also multiple other great high spots in this match. Both Jeff and Edge performed to optimum standards. I gave this match a perfect rating because it really shined in contrast to the two boring matches that I had to endure to get to it.


While I’m not going to say that either Jeff or Edge are the faces of hardcore wrestling, not with guys like Dreamer, Raven, Terry Funk, Mick Foley (even as idiotic as he is today), and multiple other around, I will say that they are definitely two of the three most hardcore wrestlers in the WWE today. The other being new ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer. Christian Cage also gets a decent nod in this category. Any time you put one or both of these men in a match under any hardcore stipulation (with the obvious exception of Matt and Jeff’s I Quit match at WM25) they deliver in spades.


World Heavyweight Title Match
CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
Winner: CM Punk
10/10


Again, you are reading correctly. After Jeff’s war with Edge, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot and beat Jeff for the World Title. I know a lot of fans are going to be pissed about this, but I love it, ad not just because I’m a CM Punk fan. The psychology behind this angle made it the perfect swerve. With the amount of anticipation for this match, almost nobody could have seen this coming, except for the most astute of wrestling junkies. Even fans like myself, fans that stay in touch with the wrestling news and study matches in a way that sometimes defeats their entertainment value didn’t see this one coming. I particularly didn’t see it; because as much as I dislike marks, the reality is that every wrestling fan is a mark in one way or another. I myself mark out for any kind of hardcore stipulation, particularly ladder matches. I love them. I’ll give the WWE a lot of props for pulling the swerve here.


It’s also pretty obvious that this is going to be the beginning of a CM Punk heel run. I think it will be good for him. CM Punk was fairly controversial during his heel period in ROH and think he can do a good job as a heel in WWE as well. Whether or not this will lead to a Punk vs. hardy feud is questionable, and very contingent on Jeff’s contract status. Of course, that status is still uncertain Jeff, WWE, and the fans that follow these things. I would love to see a Punk vs. Hardy feud. It will be a good break from Edge vs. Hardy—even though they do work well together—and good be very mutually beneficial to both men.


All right, I should have more stuff coming up this week. Possibly a RAW review tomorrow, I’ll possibly get another Flair piece out this week as well. If it’s not the Flair piece, it will be a Ken Kennedy piece with a little more rational info than I delivered when I originally addressed the subject. I will be co writing either one or both of these pieces with one of my collaborators in this blog and the possible podcast that might result form it.


Just keep your baby blues peeled for some more opinionated commentary.