BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

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Big Red Machine
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BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 4th, '17, 21:39

WWE Extreme Rules 2017 (6/4/2017)- Baltimore, MD

PRE-SHOW:
I wasn’t paying attention to most of this but one thing I did pay attention to was Nia Jax’s appearance. I didn’t like this one bit because everyone- the panelists as well as Nia herself- seemed to be under the impression that the “friendship” between Nia and Alexa is real. When I watched the segment where they established said friendship it seemed clear to me that Nia was only interested in the title and Alexa was only interested in Nia not immediately kicking her ass- and that both women knew what the other was up to and were perfectly happy to use the other- while knowingly letting themselves being used by the other- in order to accomplish their short-term objectives. No one was acting like that in this segment.
Oh. And Nia herself was pretty bad. Otunga is back, though, so that’s good. I really don’t understand why people dislike him so much. I do think he would be helped by trying a bit harder to establish his own “character” as a commentator. Maybe he could use his law experience to be a kind of pro-heel rules lawyer a la Veda Scott.

KALISTO vs. APOLLO CREWS (w/Titus O’Neil)- 6.5/10
They got enough time to have a good match and were given a very good finish for what they want to do with this situation. That being said, I think there is more potential in Titus helping Crews get the win without Crews’ knowledge so that Crews’ eventual choice to play within the rules and earn his victories fairly will be a tougher decision to make, thus a better story. The more enticing the temptation, the greater the hero is for rejecting it.


MAIN SHOW:
INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH IN WHICH THE TITLE CAN CHANGE HANDS ON A DQ: Dean Ambrose(c) vs. The Miz (w/Maryse)- 7.25/10
Great storytelling here, with lots of great twists and turns. Props are definitely due to referee John Cone for doing his part to add to the tension. The only thing that would have made this better was if one of the announcers had explained why the referee thought Dean would have run into him on purpose- because Dean was upset about only getting a two-count on that O’Connor Roll.

CHARLY CARUSO INTERVIEWS BAYLEY- Steve Blackman got name-dropped!
This pretty great promo aside from the whole Wonder Woman bit. It came off as completely forced… and if Bayley is going to be watching wrestling matches to learn how to be extreme or whatever, maybe we can plug, like, Jazz? Or that Trish vs. Victoria match from No Mercy 2002? You know… something that feels a lot more natural than telling everyone that a woman who is a professional combat athlete needs to go see a f*cking superhero movie to feel empowered. In the world of kayfabe, Bayley is a real-life Wonder Woman.

MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH: Rich Swann & Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar & Alicia Fox- 5.75/10
I spent a few minutes thinking about this earlier today, and I have officially come to the conclusion that Alicia Fox and Noam Dar’s names are too short for there to possibly be a fun portmanteau for them. The match was decently short, but also quite fun. Swann got the shocking babyface win his home town. Dar and Fox are wonderful heels, and I really, really hope that they do some sort of marriage angle at some point because they need to remain together for as long as possible.

THE F*CKING DRIFTER WASTES OUR TIME BY PLAYING A SONG ON PPV- If this doesn’t end with that guitar shattered over his head within a minute, I will be very unhappy.
Wait. AMAZING DREAM SCENARIO:
Imagine The Drifter starting to play his song but then Natural Born Killaz (or some sort of WWE cover of it) starts to play from the sound system and New Jack comes out and beats up The Drifter and gives him the El Kabong.

So… what was the end result of this segment? NOTHING. No one came out to attack him, he didn’t beat up a jobber or anything. Nothing. He just played a song burying the city of Baltimore and hyping up the main event. He did say that he had a “plan,” though, which probably means he’ll interfere in the main event, so we’re getting a run-in finish that will result in THE F*CKING DRIFTER feuding with a main event wrestler.

KENDO STICK ON A POLE MATCH FOR THE WWE WOMEN’S TITLE: Alexa Bliss!(c) vs. Bayley- 4.25/10
Well… they went in there, they told their story, and they got out. But yeah, this was kind of disappointing in that they didn’t really up the level of Kendo Stick use from what I assumed were just supposed to be teases on TV. Also, Bayley failing to get extreme here despite her assuring us that she could and once again losing makes her seem extremely pathetic. Perhaps irredeemably so. Alexa was right: Bayley is just a child in an adult’s world.

STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR THE WWE RAW TAG TEAM TITLES: The Hardy Boyz(c) vs. Sheamus & Cesaro- 6.5/10
Cole plugged the Hardys vs. Edge & Christian cage match for the tag titles from Unforgiven 2000. I, too, will plug that match here because of the excellent telling of a rather unique story.
Well… in retrospect the story there was similar to the story in this match where one Hardy got isolated inside the cage and the other had to try to get back in to even things up except without the door so you didn’t have Matt looking like a dumbf*ck for not just letting Sheamus escape. Also, they had some other really cool I idea which I don’t want to spoil for you. And, unlike this match, they had a finish that was actually satisfying so go watch that match.

They played a video highlighting upcoming things on the WWE Network, including the Mae Young Classic, which Steph proudly referred to as “the first women-only tournament” in WWE. Really? So I guess the tournament for Divas Championship that Maryse won doesn’t count? Or the one to crown a new champion after Trish Stratus retired? Or the one Alundra Blayze won to win the Women’s Title for the first time? Or BOTH NXT Women’s Title tournaments?
And, aside from Blayze’s, all of these can, ironically, be seen on the very WWE Network that they were trying to plug with this very commercial.

SUBMISSION MATCH FOR THE WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE: Neville(c) vs. Austin Aries- 7.5/10
Lots of good work on the body parts and very good storytelling. Aries’ loss felt very surprising, as it feels like there is no one left for Neville to face, but in reality I should have seen this coming because the only natural conclusion to the TJP angle is TJP turning babyface on Neville when he isn’t given his promised title shot. That being said, I think I would have rather seen TJP influence the outcome of this match to build to a Triple Threat match next month so that not only would be get a new match-up but also Aries’ would be protected in the loss.

FATAL FIVE-WAY EXTREME RULES #1 CONTENDERSHIP MATCH: Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor- 8.5/10
They told an excellent story with the alliance between Joe and Wyatt, and the babyfaces all got some chances to run wild on everyone before Joe eventually choked Balor out, meaning that WE’RE GETTING JOE VS. BROCK! As Corey Graves said, this is a true “dream match.”

This was a pretty great show from WWE. Everything that was given time delivered at least decently well (you can maybe argue about the tag title match), and the matches that weren’t did a good job of going in there, throwing everything into their story, and going home efficiently. I might not agree that some of the finishes were the right calls, but for where WWE seems to be going, they are all at least solid.


STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. Booker T referred to the Ambrose vs. Miz match as “no disqualifications rules.” I know what he meant, but by that definition, EVERY non-gimmick match is contested under “no disqualifications rules.”
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 4th, '17, 21:40

Also, everyone should check out Miz and Maryse with Renee Young on Raw Talk. Miz is SOOOOOO f*cking great.
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by KILLdozer » Jun 4th, '17, 21:55

Joe? He's not been shown to be anywhere NEAR Brock's league!
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by NWK2000 » Jun 4th, '17, 23:18

Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 4th, '17, 21:39



MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH: Rich Swann & Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar & Alicia Fox- 5.75/10
I spent a few minutes thinking about this earlier today, and I have officially come to the conclusion that Alicia Fox and Noam Dar’s names are too short for there to possibly be a fun portmanteau for them.
Dar Fox 64?
NWK Reviews is closed for business for now.

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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by XIV » Jun 5th, '17, 00:06

KILLdozer wrote: Jun 4th, '17, 21:55 Joe? He's not been shown to be anywhere NEAR Brock's league!
It's Samoa fuckin Joe.

Everyone knows he's in Brock's league.
Have A Nice Day!

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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Serujuunin » Jun 5th, '17, 00:58

I was upset Balor didn't have a typical big-match entrance in all his getup! I was rooting for him to win (in my family, it's a "heart pick"), but I was totally expecting it to be Roman because WWE (my "head pick"). I'm pleasantly surprised it was Joe though.

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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 5th, '17, 01:00

NWK2000 wrote: Jun 4th, '17, 23:18
Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 4th, '17, 21:39



MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH: Rich Swann & Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar & Alicia Fox- 5.75/10
I spent a few minutes thinking about this earlier today, and I have officially come to the conclusion that Alicia Fox and Noam Dar’s names are too short for there to possibly be a fun portmanteau for them.
Dar Fox 64?
I stand corrected.
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by KILLdozer » Jun 5th, '17, 07:52

XIV wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 00:06
KILLdozer wrote: Jun 4th, '17, 21:55 Joe? He's not been shown to be anywhere NEAR Brock's league!
It's Samoa fuckin Joe.

Everyone knows he's in Brock's league.
That's not the point. Proper build would be nice instead of just roughing up Seth Rollins a bit. Plus, Brock's still waaayyy ahead of him build wise. I guess I moreso mean they're again back to this point where no one has been made to look anyone near Brock Lesnar at​ all.

If you say he's Samoa Joe again, I'm gonna be pissed lol.
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 5th, '17, 08:27

KILLdozer wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 07:52
XIV wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 00:06
KILLdozer wrote: Jun 4th, '17, 21:55 Joe? He's not been shown to be anywhere NEAR Brock's league!
It's Samoa fuckin Joe.

Everyone knows he's in Brock's league.
That's not the point. Proper build would be nice instead of just roughing up Seth Rollins a bit. Plus, Brock's still waaayyy ahead of him build wise. I guess I moreso mean they're again back to this point where no one has been made to look anyone near Brock Lesnar at​ all.

If you say he's Samoa Joe again, I'm gonna be pissed lol.
He's been made to look enough like a badass that he doesn't feel any more out of place than anyone else would, and really the only two people you can say that about from a positioning point of view are Brock and Roman.
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by KILLdozer » Jun 5th, '17, 08:54

Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 08:27
KILLdozer wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 07:52
XIV wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 00:06

It's Samoa fuckin Joe.

Everyone knows he's in Brock's league.
That's not the point. Proper build would be nice instead of just roughing up Seth Rollins a bit. Plus, Brock's still waaayyy ahead of him build wise. I guess I moreso mean they're again back to this point where no one has been made to look anyone near Brock Lesnar at​ all.

If you say he's Samoa Joe again, I'm gonna be pissed lol.
He's been made to look enough like a badass that he doesn't feel any more out of place than anyone else would, and really the only two people you can say that about from a positioning point of view are Brock and Roman.
Maybe it's because I've just never really liked him at all very much, but I guess I'll give you that one. I suppose you meant Braun BTW?

I forgot until now that I was thinking it could have been possible for Strowman to done back and absolutely destroy the main event, but I guess not.
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 5th, '17, 09:10

KILLdozer wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 08:54
Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 08:27
KILLdozer wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 07:52

That's not the point. Proper build would be nice instead of just roughing up Seth Rollins a bit. Plus, Brock's still waaayyy ahead of him build wise. I guess I moreso mean they're again back to this point where no one has been made to look anyone near Brock Lesnar at​ all.

If you say he's Samoa Joe again, I'm gonna be pissed lol.
He's been made to look enough like a badass that he doesn't feel any more out of place than anyone else would, and really the only two people you can say that about from a positioning point of view are Brock and Roman.
Maybe it's because I've just never really liked him at all very much, but I guess I'll give you that one. I suppose you meant Braun BTW?

I forgot until now that I was thinking it could have been possible for Strowman to done back and absolutely destroy the main event, but I guess not.
Whoops. I forgot all about Braun. He's the guy who has been positioned the best, but he's not a viable option right now.
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by XIV » Jun 5th, '17, 09:34

Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 09:10
KILLdozer wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 08:54
Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 08:27

He's been made to look enough like a badass that he doesn't feel any more out of place than anyone else would, and really the only two people you can say that about from a positioning point of view are Brock and Roman.
Maybe it's because I've just never really liked him at all very much, but I guess I'll give you that one. I suppose you meant Braun BTW?

I forgot until now that I was thinking it could have been possible for Strowman to done back and absolutely destroy the main event, but I guess not.
Whoops. I forgot all about Braun. He's the guy who has been positioned the best, but he's not a viable option right now.
Samoa Joe is an established bad ass, WWE haven't hidden what Joe is about and he is well known for what he is. He's got the backing of Triple H in kayfabe (and probably IRL) terms and I certainly personally see it as a match up where either could win, Joe is a good enough wrestler and striker to go toe to toe with Brock in my mind, so a lack of WWE build doesn't hurt him in my eyes.

As for Braun... He comes back. He wins the Rumble. That's how they push him.
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Serujuunin » Jun 5th, '17, 09:58

XIV wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 09:34 Samoa Joe is an established bad ass, WWE haven't hidden what Joe is about and he is well known for what he is. He's got the backing of Triple H in kayfabe (and probably IRL) terms and I certainly personally see it as a match up where either could win, Joe is a good enough wrestler and striker to go toe to toe with Brock in my mind, so a lack of WWE build doesn't hurt him in my eyes.
This was exactly how I explained Joe to my family who was watching with me and knew nothing about him (except both of them thought his performance in the five-way was a little sloppy, so maybe not the best intro to Joe). Honestly, the only one out of that match that wouldn't have really made as much sense was Wyatt.

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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 5th, '17, 10:40

Serujuunin wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 09:58
XIV wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 09:34 Samoa Joe is an established bad ass, WWE haven't hidden what Joe is about and he is well known for what he is. He's got the backing of Triple H in kayfabe (and probably IRL) terms and I certainly personally see it as a match up where either could win, Joe is a good enough wrestler and striker to go toe to toe with Brock in my mind, so a lack of WWE build doesn't hurt him in my eyes.
This was exactly how I explained Joe to my family who was watching with me and knew nothing about him (except both of them thought his performance in the five-way was a little sloppy, so maybe not the best intro to Joe). Honestly, the only one out of that match that wouldn't have really made as much sense was Wyatt.
Yeah. This match definitely stratified the roster. It made it clear that these were the five top guys, and rather than hurting everyone else it really felt like doing this raised these guys up.
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by KILLdozer » Jun 5th, '17, 11:53

So I've read Sampson was there just to "kill time " You know, instead of doing that with more wrestling or things that actually matter or will make sense.

I mean, who cares about the whole Enzo Amore thing and what Angle and Graves are actually up to?

Did I really just say "Who cares about Enzo Amore?" And use it like that...?
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Serujuunin » Jun 5th, '17, 16:21

KILLdozer wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 11:53 So I've read Sampson was there just to "kill time " You know, instead of doing that with more wrestling or things that actually matter or will make sense.

I mean, who cares about the whole Enzo Amore thing and what Angle and Graves are actually up to?

Did I really just say "Who cares about Enzo Amore?" And use it like that...?
Both of these would have been WAY better, even though we're basically sure it was The Revival who attacked Enzo, and the WWE isn't clever enough for a swerve at this point I think. Or maybe give some of the matches already on the card more time. All four of us who were watching thought the women's match could have gone longer... so why give the time to Sampson for anything?

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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 5th, '17, 18:24

Serujuunin wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 16:21
KILLdozer wrote: Jun 5th, '17, 11:53 So I've read Sampson was there just to "kill time " You know, instead of doing that with more wrestling or things that actually matter or will make sense.

I mean, who cares about the whole Enzo Amore thing and what Angle and Graves are actually up to?

Did I really just say "Who cares about Enzo Amore?" And use it like that...?
Both of these would have been WAY better, even though we're basically sure it was The Revival who attacked Enzo, and the WWE isn't clever enough for a swerve at this point I think. Or maybe give some of the matches already on the card more time. All four of us who were watching thought the women's match could have gone longer... so why give the time to Sampson for anything?
Right. The fact that they felt the need to kill time and they chose to do so with THAT rather than giving Bayley time to not look like a pathetic failure says SOOOOO much about them. Meltzer said he thinks that it's them trying to repeat the Bryan formula by legit f*cking over the babyfaces by making them look bad in order to create a fan backlash to support those wrestlers (he says they're doing it with Zayn, too), but if that's the case then WWE is even dumber than I thought. If you know what the hardcores want and you think the casuals will like whatever you tell them to like then why not just push these babyfaces the hardcores want to see as top-level babyfaces and make everyone happy rather than trying to make a very vocal and sizable portion of your fanbase very angry?
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Re: BRM Reviews WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Post by KILLdozer » Jun 5th, '17, 19:43

^ That actually makes more sense than the stuff we've been thinking... legitimately trying to make her look bad as hell , going completely out of the way to do so at every turn. Zayn I'm not so sure about. He actually at least defeated Corbin not that long ago.

I mean, he's just another vanilla midget so what do you expect?
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