WWE's Extreme Rules pay-per-view took place on Sunday night, with John Cena beating Brock Lesnar in the main event at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illnois.
Here's how Extreme Rules played out, featuring a shock result in the main event as the returning Brock Lesnar LOST to John Cena...only for Cena to afterwards announce that he would be taking some time away from WWE.
Pre-show:
U.S Title match - Santino Marella (c) vs. The MizMiz cut a promo on his way to the ring, crying about being stuck on the pre-show when he was in the main event last year. He said he'd make tonight the most popular pre-show in WWE history. Like there's a lot of competition. We're not sure if WWE had a number in mind for the number of people who would watch the pre-show, but as this match got started, 55,000 people were watching.
This was an ok match given their position on the card. The crowd were warmed up nicely while Cole and Striker mainly discussed the PPV. Marella got the win at around the five minute mark with the Cobra. Big pop for the finish.
A lively crowd. The Spanish announcers have been getting the "Si!" treatment on their way to ringside. Extreme Rules gets underway in the few minutes...
WWE EXTREME RULES
A Cena/Lesnar video package opens the show ahead of our first match...
Falls Count Anywhere - Randy Orton vs. Kane
Crowd really into Orton. They went into the crowd early and brawled around the arena. They went through a series of near falls near the entrance before going backstage (way to keep the crowd hot for the opener). Zack Ryder started beating on Kane before disappearing. They eventually made it back out towards the ring and the first "Yes!" chants of the night appeared. Orton laid into Kane with a load of chair shots to the back. They went to the outside and Orton hit a DDT off the announce table. Kane fought back but Orton hit a suplex from the top rope. He set up for the RKO, Kane countered and hit a chokeslam, but Orton kicked out on two. Kane went for a tombstone onto a chair but Orton countered, hit the RKO onto the chair (even though Orton took the brunt of the chair), and got the pin. Winner: Randy Orton.
Bonus Match! Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler
Crowd massively into Ziggler once the match had got underway. Dolph was on top for most of the match. Brodus made a comeback right at the end and hit the splash for the win. Ziggler was impressive here.
Tables match for the IC title - Big Show (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
Given that on the t-shirt being sold tonight, this match was being billed as a tables match, the fact it was determined by a "random" spin of a roulette wheel during the pre-show isn't much of a surprise. Big Show dominated the match but Cody Rhodes got the win pretty much out of nowhere when he kicked Show on the ring apron. Show fell backwards a step off the apron and pretty much stepped through a table. It looked like it wasn't a planned spot, but it was. And it sucked. Winner and new IC champion: Cody Rhodes.
Post-match, Rhodes got chokeslammed through a table. And then tossed from above Show's head through a table on the outside. Brutal.
Backstage, Striker interviewed Daniel Bryan. Yes chants a plenty.
Two out of Three Falls match for the World Heavyweight Championship - Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
First Fall: Crowd into Bryan way more than Sheamus here although some "18 seconds" chants. The match they should have had at WrestleMania with a load of back and forth action and some great wrestling. Bryan was put over strong on commentary but Sheamus more than held his own with him in the ring. First fall came to an end when the referee DQ'd Bryan for repeatedly kicking Sheamus when Sheamus had told of the ropes. Bit flat given the superb 15minutes up until this point. Sheamus leads 1-0.
Second fall: Bryan locked in the Yes Lock immediately after the restart. Sheamus didn't tap but they played it that he'd passed out. Bryan makes it 1-1. Crowd going crazy with "Yes!" chants as medics attend to Sheamus.
Third fall: After several minutes delay as they played up Sheamus passing out (during which Bryan kept the chants going), Bryan ran straight into a brogue kick. Only a two count though. Duelling Yes/No chants as the third fall continued. Sheamus got the win with another brogue kick. Winner 2-1 and still World champion: Sheamus.
Incredible match. Match of the Year contender without question and one of the best matches in a WWE ring over the past few years.
BONUS MATCH! (Kind of) - Ryback vs. Aaron Relic & Jay Hatton
The jobbers cut a promo before Ryback came out and tried to get a chant going. Huge fail. Ryback came out, destroyed them both as Santino and Great Khali watched on from the monitors. Crowd chanted Goldberg during the match.
Backstage interview with CM Punk. Huge pop from the crowd.
Chicago Street Fight for the WWE Championship - CM Punk (c) vs. Chris JerichoReally good match. Crowd completely into Punk. Some ECW chants early on when Punk brought a kendo stick and chairs into play. Jericho mocked Punk's sister, who was sat front row, and slapped him. Jericho brought out some beer from underneath the ring and poured it over Punk. The match went back and forth with a load of near falls. Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho. Punk made it to the ropes but Jericho didn't have to break, so Punk leaned under the ropes and pulled out a fire extinguisher which he used on Jericho.
Crowd went crazy as Punk hit an elbow from the top rope to Jericho on the announce table on the outside. It wasn't the most graceful flying elbow you'll ever see. Back in the ring, Punk locked in the anaconda vice but Jericho used the kendo stick to escape. Jericho hit the Codebreaker but only got a two count.
Jericho went for a GTS but Punk countered and hit the GTS before getting the pinfall. Winner and still WWE champion: CM Punk.
Backstage, Eve told Beth that she wasn't medically cleared to face Nikki Bella for the Divas title. Nikki thought she had a night off, but Eve told her she had a new surprise opponent, but said "Don't worry, it's not Kharma"...
Divas Title match - Nikki Bella (c) vs. Layla
Layla's back. Short match. Crowd really didn't care about it either. Nikki worked over Layla's knee before the Bella's did the switcharoo. It backfired though and Layla pinned Brie after a neckbreaker. Winner and new Divas champion: Layla.
Backstage, John Laurinaitis said some "business matters" that also concern Triple H will be addressed on Raw on Monday night.
Main event: Extreme Rules Match - Brock Lesnar vs. John CenaCrowd unsurprisingly more pro-Lesnar than Cena. Cena charged at him on the bell, but Lesnar took him down and landed some elbows, busting him open right away. Cena got a takedown of his own as referee Charles Robinson put on some gloves and tried to attend to the cut. Crowd booed as the match was stopped so they could clean Cena up. They showed replays of the elbow that busted Cena open before the match restarted. Cena charged at him again but Lesnar took him down and mauled him. I guess you'd call this a 10-8 round.
They stopped the match briefly again to clean up Cena. When the fight restarted, Cena hit an elbow of his own and went for an FU, but Lesnar countered and hit a couple of German suplexes. Cena shoulder tackled Lesnar, who stumbled back and took out the referee. Looked like Robinson took a pretty hard bump.
Lesnar continued beating on Cena, then tied up his legs using his chain before tossing him to the outside. Cena tried to make a comeback but was tossed into the ring steps. Lesnar then threw Robinson back into the ring. Cena went for an FU but Lesnar countered and hit the F5, but he collided with Robinson again. A second referee came down but Cena kicked out on two.
Lesnar decked the referee. A third referee came down as Lesnar threw the ring steps into the ring. Cena tried to make a comeback again but Lesnar locked in a kimura (which appeared to have done some damage). Cena managed to escape and looked to be turning into Super Cena, but he missed a legdrop off the top rope.
Lesnar came off the ropes and used the steps as a platform to hit Cena with a forearm on the ring apron, but he looked to hurt his knee as he went over the top rope to the outside. They both eventually got back in the ring and Cena busted Lesnar open with the chain. Cena hit Lesnar with the FU on the ring steps and made the cover. 1, 2, 3. Winner. John Cena.
A very good match, but a surprise result given the money spent - $5million - on bringing Lesnar back. The second half of the show was well worth the money, but that main event result will not go down well with many!
After the match, Cena cut a babyface promo announcing that he was "going away for a while", which makes the result look more ridiculous. It looks like he's having some time off as he's been working hurt for a while.
Thanks for joining us for our live WWE Extreme Rules coverage - leave your thoughts below!
