WWE Extreme Rules 2014 Review

WWE Extreme Rules 2014 was the post-WrestleMania 30 pay-per-view with Daniel Bryan defending the WWE Championship against former friend Kane and The Shield trio facing off against the reunited Evolution group.

This was written live on the night of the show and remains unchanged. I’ll add some updated 2022 thoughts in blue font as well.

WWE Extreme Rules
From the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey
May 4, 2014 (Twitter @johnreport)

The announce team of Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler & John Bradshaw Layfield was ringside. There was a mini announce team for this match. Their names were WEE-B-L, Jerry “Mini King” Lawler, & Micro Cole. There was a little person as the ring announcer and also as the referee. El Torito made his entrance first and then Hornswoggle.

WeeLC Match: Hornswoggle w/3MB vs. El Torito w/Los Matadores

Torito hit a dive over the top onto 3MB. Hornswoggle tried to do one, but he couldn’t get through the ropes. Poor guy. Mahal took a bump into the referee. Then he got sent out of the ring by Torito. Hornswoggle got a ladder that had two steps on it. He wanted a bigger one that had four steps. Cole: “It’s like Raw – they’re not calling the action” on the mini announcers. Good comment. Hornswoggle missed a dive off the ladder and then he got a Powerbomb. They went to a commercial promoting the event that is coming on.

Back from that break, 3MB was brawling with Los Matadores. Hornswoggle did his sloppy version of the Rolling Thunder. Lawler told Micro Cole to plug the WWE App. Maybe the names are JB-Elf and Jerry Smaller now. Hornswoggle put Torito on the mini announce table and hit a splash off the apron. The crowd was chanting “this is awesome” for it. Hornswoggle hit Torito in the back with a mini chair. They set up a big spot outside the ring with tables and ladders stacked up as Los Matadores held Mahal and Torito knock them all down with a splash. Hornswoggle wanted Drew to take out Torito, so he did a dive over the top and went through a table. Torito hit Hornswoggle with a chair and then a seated Senton off the top led to the pinfall win by Torito at 10:55.

Winner by pinfall: El Torito

Analysis: **3/4 I don’t really know how to rate it because it was basically a comedy match, but I was entertained by it. The commentary was full of little people jokes, which were funny a few times and also insulting at the same time. The match was entertaining for a comedy match with the crowd cheering for much of it. Hopefully it’s the end of this rivalry. There are dozens of wrestlers on the roster that could benefit from having a 12-minute match like that.

(It had some fun moments. I remember talking to a couple of wrestlers on the roster at the time and they were so happy to see Hornswoggle do well in a match like that because he didn’t get a lot of chances to have matches like that in his career.)

Zeb Colter did a promo backstage with Jack Swagger standing beside him as he talked about the three-way elimination match that also includes Cesaro and Rob Van Dam.

The panel went over the lineup once again and then ended by talking about The Shield vs. Evolution. That’s the end of the kickoff show.

WWE Extreme Rules Main Card

The opening video package focused on the storylines involving the main matches on the card like it usually does.

Michael Cole said there were 15,907 fans in attendance and it’s a sellout, which isn’t a surprise for a hot wrestling market like New Jersey. Rob Van Dam entered first. Cole welcomed us to the show with Lawler & JBL at his side.

The great Paul Heyman did a promo saying WWE only gets “extreme” right one night per year. He mentioned that Brock Lesnar conquered The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. He introduced the “new King of Extreme” Cesaro.

Triple Threat Elimination Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter vs. Cesaro w/Paul Heyman

Cesaro unloaded on Swagger with forearms, but then Swagger hit a powerslam. RVD did a monkey flip on Cesaro onto Swagger. Swagger hit Cesaro with a boot to the face. RVD gave Swagger a back body drop over the top to the floor and then did a crazy sunset flip into a Powerbomb spot on Cesaro outside the ring. Swagger nailed RVD with a clothesline. Swagger Bomb on RVD got a two count. Cesaro entered the ring and delivered the Cesaro Swing on Swagger only for RVD to break it up with a spinning back kick to Cesaro for two. The crowd didn’t like that. RVD went up top, but Swagger brought him down and quickly applied the Patriot Lock on him. Cesaro nailed Swagger with a springboard forearm shot. Cesaro gave Swagger a suplex while Swagger was standing on the apron, which is always impressive. RVD hit a Five Star Frog Splash and that was enough to eliminate Swagger after 8 minutes.

Rob Van Dam eliminated Jack Swagger.

Analysis: That was a very creative pinfall with two big moves consecutively like that.

Cesaro was in control as he faced off with RVD. Cesaro hit a bridging German Suplex that RVD was able to kick out of. Cesaro threw RVD into the barricade outside the ring. They could use weapons in a match like this, but they are not. Cesaro went to the top of the barricade, RVD tripped him up and hit his spin kick off the apron. RVD hit Rolling Thunder as Cesaro rolled back into the ring. RVD hit his moonsault for two. Heyman was trying to encourage Cesaro. RVD brought a trash can in, but Cesaro hit a dropkick on the can to knock down RVD. Back in the ring, two count for RVD and then a kick to the trash can that went into Cesaro’s face. RVD went for the 5 Star Frog Splash, but Cesaro moved out of the way and RVD went into the trash can. Cesaro hit the Neutralizer onto the trash can for the win at 12:34.

Winner by pinfall: Cesaro

Analysis: **1/2 It was a good opener with superstars the fans wanted to see early on. Cesaro winning was the obvious outcome because RVD’s not going to win too many matches at this point in his career and Cesaro’s a star on the rise. It would have been better if they used a weapon earlier, but using it for the finish made it stand out. It will be interesting to see where Cesaro goes from here. As long as his ascent continues that’s all that really matters. I’m a huge fan of his and even though he’s booked as a heel with Heyman, he will be a babyface star at some point.

(The right man won since Cesaro was gaining momentum after winning the Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30. Sadly, they didn’t really push him that much after this and his union with Heyman just went away.)

Daniel Bryan was getting looked at by a trainer. Stephanie McMahon showed up. She said she can’t control Kane and said he could surrender the WWE Title if he wanted to. Bryan: “Get out of my face. I walked into this match as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and somehow I’m going to walk out exactly the same way.” Stephanie said he’s not going to walk out WWE WHC, he’s going to be walking out as Kane’s bitch.

Analysis: I don’t mind heel Stephanie these days. She’s good in the role. Bryan had a serious look on his face. It was a solid segment to set things up for later.

The ravishing Russian Lana introduced Alexander Rusev. She said Russian President Vladimir Putin was her idol and they put his picture on the screen to get the crowd to chant “USA.” She even said Rusev resides in Russia. Heels lie.

Alexander Rusev (w/Lana) vs. R-Truth & Xavier Woods

Rusev attacked before the match really started. He tossed Woods into the steel on the side of the ring. Overhead suplex by Rusev on Woods outside the ring. The bell finally rang. The crowd chanted “we want Lana” and then cheered when she was on screen. Good crowd. Truth got a jumping side kick and then corner splash followed by a dropkick off the middle rope. Truth hit a flying forearm and then an ax kick. Doctors were tending to Woods outside the ring. Rusev hit a jumping side kick. That’s impressive. “Rusev…Crush!” Lana has a way with words and anything she wants really. Rusev hit a Powerslam. Rusev applied the Accolade submission (Camel Clutch) for the win at 2:53.

Winner by submission: Alexander Rusev

Analysis: * It was a very predictable matchup that went as we thought it would. Rusev continues to roll as a dominant heel that squashed two babyfaces that aren’t really going anywhere. Lana looked amazing like usual.

After the match, Rusev picked up Woods, Lana told him to “crush” and he hit a fallaway slam on Woods on the floor.

(The “Alexander” part of Rusev’s name was dropped. He was pushed very strongly at this point and dominating two guys in a match like this was pretty common for Rusev in 2014. The push would continue.)

There were athletes from the Special Olympics team from New Jersey that were shown in the front row.

The lovely Renee Young interviewed Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton. They were wearing the new Evolution t-shirts. Hunter mentioned they have big egos, but they also have 31 World Championships. He called Batista the most powerful and destructive man in WWE history. He called Orton the most naturally gifted athlete ever. Hunter said tonight we’d find out why he’s called the Cerebral Assassin. Orton said you have to adapt or perish and The Shield will perish “and you can believe in that.” They did The Shield’s pose as Renee looked awkward as a part of it.

Analysis: It was a solid promo from Evolution. Batista didn’t say a word. I found that to be interesting.

Bad News Barrett said he’s afraid that he’s got some bad news. He spoke about a virus that we’d be suffering from, but that won’t be as bad as what Big E is going to feel. Big E made his entrance as the Spanish announce team was shown on camera.

Intercontinental Championship: Big E vs. Bad News Barrett

Fans were chanting “Bad News Barrett” early on even though he’s a heel. Big E hit a shoulder tackle to the stomach while Barrett was outside the ring. Barrett hit an elbow off the apron while Big E was on the floor. Back in the ring, Big E hit a suplex so Barrett came back with a suplex of his own. Cross body by Barrett for two and then a boot to the face for two. With Big E tied up in the ropes, Barrett hit another running boot to the face. Big E made a comeback with an overhead belly to belly suplex. He hit another belly to belly to the side this time. Running body attack by Big E. With Barrett on the apron, Big E ran the ropes and took him down with a Spear that sent both guys to the floor. He’s done that move before and it’s always impressive to see. That earned Big E a two count in the ring. Barrett came back with Winds of Change for two. Big E missed a corner charge, so Barrett hit him with Wasteland for two. Barrett went for his elbow finisher, but Big E slammed him down to counter. Big E hit the big splash. He wanted the Big Ending, but Barrett slipped out of it, they ran the ropes and Barrett hit the Bull Hammer elbow for victory at 7:55. That’s his 4th IC Title win.

Winner by pinfall and New Intercontinental Champion: Bad News Barrett

Analysis: ** It was a competitive matchup for the time given. Big E really wasn’t on offense much until the comeback towards the end. Fans have started to turn on him because he’s barely been on TV for the last month. They set up the finish really well. In my predictions, I actually picked Big E just because I thought the Barrett win was too obvious. Sometimes when I write about WWE I’m guilty of overthinking. I have no problem with Barrett as the IC Champ. I’m happy about the new direction he’s going in. For Barrett’s sake, I hope he’s booked well because that title killed any momentum that Big E had.

(I don’t think Big E’s IC Title reign at this point was very memorable, so having him drop the title to Barrett was a sensible decision. I remember a lot of shorter IC title reigns in this era.)

A video for Adam Rose let us know he’s debuting on Raw.

There was a video package for Evolution vs. The Shield, so that’s up next.

Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista made their entrance together. Cole said they look better than ever. They also look older and with shorter hair. That’s not a knock on them. I like seeing Evolution together again. There was a bit of a delay before The Shield made their entrance through the crowd. If you’re wondering, no sign of Ric Flair anywhere.

Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton & Batista) vs. The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins)

The Shield cleared the ring early on. Rollins was aggressive as he sent HHH out of the ring with a clothesline and then hit a dive between the top/middle ropes to take him out. Back in the ring, Hunter hit a clothesline and Rollins did a flip bump because he’s awesome. There were quick tags by Evolution as they worked over Rollins in their corner. Knee to the face by Triple H for two. Batista hit a boot to the face on Rollins for two. Orton grabbed his patented chinlock on Rollins. Rollins hit a suplex to create some space, but he couldn’t tag out because HHH and Batista knocked Ambrose & Reigns off the apron. Rollins hit an impressive kick to the head on Orton, which led to Ambrose tagging in. Ambrose hit a dropkick and cross body on Orton. Clothesline by Ambrose. He applied the Figure Four Leglock on Orton, but that was broken up. Reigns saved his buddy and tossed Batista into the barricade. Hunter avoided a Spear, which led to Reigns going hard into the steps. Triple H tagged in as they isolated Ambrose in their corner.

There was a “Bootista” chant as Evolution continued to work over Ambrose. Orton hit a clothesline on Ambrose and it was time for another chinlock. Dropkick by Orton for two. Triple H hit a Spinebuster on Ambrose for two. Batista applied a body scissors as the crowd chanted “you can’t wrestle” at him. What a stupid chant that is. Boot to the face by Batista and Hunter went back in there. Ambrose hit a back body drop followed by a DDT. Reigns finally got the hot tag and he hit a leaping clothesline on Batista followed by one for Batista. Corner clothesline on Batista and then Orton goes over the top after a clothesline. Running dropkick by Reigns on Batista on the apron. Reigns threw Orton into the barricade. Rollins hit a flying knee to Batista’s face. Triple Powerbomb on Batista. Reigns covered, but Hunter and Orton pulled him out of the ring. Really good nearfall there. Rollins missed a dive outside the ring on Triple H. Hunter went back in the ring and hit a Pedigree on Reigns. Batista put his arm on top of Reigns, but Reigns kicked out because he didn’t cover him immediately.

The crowd chanted “this is awesome” for all the action. Orton went into the ring and hit an RKO on Reigns. Rollins made the save. Orton brawled with Reigns outside the ring. Hunter and Ambrose took each other out by the Spanish announce table. Hunter and Orton were going after Rollins, so Ambrose ran across the announce tables to take them out with a dive. Triple H brawled with Rollins into the crowd. Orton joined with Ambrose. They went a few minutes without showing the ring. Those four guys went brawling up the aisle. Ambrose was getting double teamed by Triple H and Orton. Rollins was in the stands with the fans as he leaped off with a cross body block to take all three guys down. That was great. Back to the ring, Batista hit a Spinebuster. Reigns fought out of a Batista Bomb and hit a Superman Punch on Batista. Spear by Reigns and Reigns covered for the win at 19:52.

The replay of Rollins’ leap from the crowd was more impressive than the live shot. What a tremendous athlete Rollins is.

Winners by pinfall: The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins)

After the match, Reigns found his buddies in the crowd and they did their pose together.

Analysis: ****1/4 That was an incredible tag team match that was one of the best of the year. All of the members of The Shield had a chance to shine. They did a fantastic job of showcasing the athleticism of Rollins, which allows him to stand out. Ambrose is a bit of a wild card that has a fiery spirit. He’s unique, but people know he’s good. Reigns is the power guy that didn’t tag in until the end, which is smart because then it keeps him strong. I love seeing the veterans put over the younger guys like that. Clean too. Exactly as it should be. All three members of Evolution were perfect in their roles. It’s no surprise that Reigns got the pin on Batista since Reigns is going to be booked as the biggest star of the group while Batista may be taking some time off for a few months. I picked The Shield to win the match, so glad I got something right after a few wrong predictions earlier. Was this match better than Shield vs. Wyatt Family at Elimination Chamber? Not sure yet. Both were equally awesome as most Shield matches are.

(It’s a great match. I rewatched it as I was going through this review and I think my rating for the match is fair.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lxLDfHuNRo

The steel cage lowered. A video package aired for the Wyatt/Cena match.

John Cena made his entrance first. The crowd did the “John Cena suuuuuucks” chant as his music played just like we did at WrestleMania weekend in New Orleans. That’s awesome. It’s not because I think Cena sucks. I just think it’s creative. Bray Wyatt made his entrance with Luke Harper & Erick Rowan.

Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (w/Luke Harper & Erick Rowan)

Wyatt was dominant for the first three minutes of the match as the fans did the “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” chant. Harper & Rowan interfered even though they were outside the cage. Wyatt led the crowd in singing “he’s got the whole world in his hands” because that’s just fun to do. Wyatt hit a splash into the cage. He tried to escape, but Cena stopped that from happening and gave Wyatt a slingshot into the steel cage. Cena wanted to climb out over the top, but Harper & Rowan were waiting for him. Wyatt pulled him back in. Cena slammed Wyatt’s head into the cage to knock him down. Wyatt knocked Cena over when Cena was on the top, so Cena got crotched. Insert your Nikki Bella jokes here. Wyatt got a two count and then another slam led to another two count. Cena went for the AA, Wyatt fought out and Cena hit a dropkick. Cena tried to climb out. Wyatt did his upside down crab walk out the door. Wyatt kicked him into the cage (Cena bumped ridiculously to hit the cage) and then Wyatt hit his running cross body block. He threw Cena into the cage.

Cena made the comeback with the shoulder tackles and the spinning suplex. Five Knuckle Shuffle by Cena. He wanted the AA, but Wyatt started to climb. Cena gave him a Powerbomb for two. Cena wanted to walk out the door, but Rowan was holding it. Cena tried to force it open and it was working until Harper showed up to close it. Wyatt hit Cena in the head with a forearm shot as Harper & Rowan slammed the door on him. Wyatt hit a shoulderbreaker variation for two. The idea was that Cena would have won if not for those two guys. Wyatt missed a running senton splash. Cena climbed over the top. Rowan climbed up and put Cena on his shoulders as he set him back in the ring. Cena hit a bulldog off the top rope on Wyatt. Cena climbed again, so Harper went up the other side and knocked him off. Cena brought Harper into the cage and slammed his head into the side of it. The door opened, Wyatt was close to escaping and Cena kicked the door to slam it on Wyatt’s head. Rowan had a chair to prevent Cena from climbing out. Wyatt hit a suplex into a slam followed by a back splash for two. Cena countered Sister Abigail into the STF. Harper was still down in the ring. Wyatt crawled to the door. Cena pulled Wyatt back in. Harper got up, so Cena sent him into the cage again. Wyatt slammed Cena into the cage. Wyatt tried to climb out, but Cena went to the top rope and hit the Attitude Adjustment off the middle rope. He couldn’t cover right away, so Harper was able to save Wyatt on the pinfall. Cena knocked Harper down again.

Cena climbed up, met Rowan on the top and slammed him head first into the cage by grabbing his beard. Cena took Harper down again. All three Wyatt Family members were down as Cena was about to crawl out of the cage. He took a while to get out. The Wyatt Family logo appeared on the screen and the lights went out. When the lights came back on, a kid was standing on the steps and sang “he’s got the whole world in his hands” except it was in a man’s voice. The kid was dressed in black. Wyatt hit Sister Abigail on Cena. Then he walked out of the cage for the win at 21:12.

Winner by walking out the door: Bray Wyatt

Post match, Wyatt hugged the kid. Harper & Rowan held the child’s hand as they walked away victorious. The announcers said nothing as Wyatt walked to the back.

Analysis: ** They both worked hard and that’s something we should appreciate, but as a match, it was essentially a 3-on-1 handicap match. That was done to protect Cena. It would have been nice if he could put Cena over clean, but that didn’t happen. Cena had the match won a number of times as the announcers pointed out. Due to the numbers game, Wyatt was able to emerge victorious. It was right for Wyatt to go over and that’s something I predicted as I’m sure most people did. Was the booking right? Not sure about that because Cena was booked too strong. Obviously, there are a lot of questions with that little kid that showed up to cost Cena. This feud is going to continue.

(A weird match. Wyatt lost to Cena at WrestleMania, which upset a lot of fans that thought Wyatt should win, so Wyatt got his win here. It wasn’t some clean or decisive win, though. It was a cheap win, which is usually what happened in Cena matches when he lost in cheap way.)

The Extreme Rules “panel of experts” Mathews, Booker, Sheamus & Riley talked about what happened. They were in shock about what happened. They showed highlights of the WeeLC match from the kickoff show. The same announcers that were so quiet five minutes ago are laughing at little people now.

Divas Championship: Paige vs. Tamina Snuka

Paige was in control early, but Tamina got the advantage after a kick to the face when Paige was on the top rope. I think Tamina likes her “throw the jacket at her opponent” spot too much. Tamina hit three body slams in a row. Paige was going for a hurricanrana on the floor, but Tamina slammed her into the barricade. Wow. Really good move right there. Tamina went for something off the top as they battled by the turnbuckle, but Page countered into a Powerbomb. Paige slammed her head first for two. Tamina hit a spinning slam for two. Tamina wanted the superkick, but Paige caught her. Paige applied the Scorpion Cross Lock and Tamina tapped out at 6:19.

Winner by submission: Paige

Analysis: *1/2 That was an entertaining match for the time given. Tamina hit a couple of big moves when she slammed her into the barricade and then that power slam. Paige winning was obvious. No reason to take the Divas Title off her so soon.

(A simple match to give Paige a win to keep her title reign going. Nothing wrong with it.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v59uDpcPcr8

Wyatt did a promo backstage with the Wyatt Family including that kid that was involved with the match. Wyatt spoke to the kid who he called “Little Johnny” about others joining them and then the kid put the sheep mask on. I didn’t catch it live, but the kid said “follow the buzzards” to end it.

Analysis: That story is interesting at least. It’s bizarre, which fits the Wyatt character perfectly.

The video package started up for Bryan vs. Kane. That’s the main event.

The WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan entered first. I’ll just stop complaining about how they should have the champion come out last because they seem to be doing it that way now. Kane entered second, so Bryan went after him in the aisle. That’s probably why he entered first.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship (Extreme Rules): Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

An Extreme Rules match means that anything goes. Bryan was really aggressive early on and when they got to the ring he hit a hurricanrana off the top. Clothesline by Bryan sent Kane outside the ring. Kane was waiting for it for about three seconds before Bryan hit it. It was too obvious. Outside ring, Kane hit a boot to the face and then threw Bryan into the barricade. Kane picked up a chair that he used to drive into Bryan’s back. Kane tried to throw a chair into the ring, but it hit the ropes so he tossed it one more time as well as bringing another chair inside. Bryan grabbed a kendo stick that he used to hit Kane in the shoulder. Kane came back with an uppercut followed by a chair shot to the back. Sidewalk slam by Kane into the chair for two. Bryan gave Kane a drop toehold into the chair that was wedged between the ropes. Missile dropkick by Bryan and then the Flying Goat dive to take Kane out outside the ring. The crowd erupted in “yes” chants. Bryan hit Kane with a monitor from the Spanish table. Both announce tables were cleared off. Bryan hit Kane with a knee to the face followed by a Tornado DDT that he hit after leaping off the announce table. Awesome move right there.

Kane slammed Bryan into the steel steps. Bryan shoved Kane into the ring post to counter a Tombstone. Bryan attacked Kane with a series of shots with a kendo stick. Kane gave him an uppercut to stop the attack. Kane threw Bryan into the screen by the entrance and then he took Bryan backstage. The ref followed them out because it was all allowed in this match. Kane threw Bryan into the parking lot where the production truck was. Bryan hit him with a snow shovel. Is that Ezekiel Jackson on the production truck? It is. He doesn’t work there anymore. Kane gave Bryan a back body drop onto the hood of a car. Bryan dodged an attack on the car and then Kane missed a punch that led to him hitting a car window. Bryan nailed Kane in the head with a tire iron. Kane looked like he was knocked out. Bryan put Kane on a forklift and drove him back towards the arena. That’s so nice of him. JBL mentioned he has to bring him to the ring to beat him. Bryan put the lift to the top and dropped Kane into the ring over the top rope. Bryan climbed to the top of the lift, led the crowd in “yes” chants and hit a headbutt off the forklift. That was good for two. Bryan was doing some “yes” chants, so Kane just popped right up and hit a Chokeslam as if nothing happened to him earlier.

Kane was going for a Tombstone on a chair, but Bryan countered into a DDT on the chair for two. Bryan destroyed Kane with about a dozen chair shots to the back. Bryan applied the Yes Lock in the middle of the ring, which Kane tried to break out of. Bryan used the kendo stick on Kane’s face to increase the pressure. Kane made it outside the ring to break out of the hold. Bryan went for the Flying Goat dive again, but Kane gave him a Chokeslam through the English announce table. Kane set up a table and pulled out some gasoline to pour on it. Kane lit the table on fire. They brawled on the apron, so Bryan sent Kane off the apron and Kane went through the table that was on fire. Two guys at ringside had fire extinguishers handy (that’s pretty random!) and Kane wasn’t burning for too long. It was maybe two seconds. When they went back into the ring, Bryan hit the running knee to the face. He covered for the win at 22:28.

Winner by pinfall: Daniel Bryan

Analysis: ***1/2 The effort was there. Some parts of it were a little too silly with the forklift in the back leading to the drive all the way to the ring. Then Kane just sat up as if he wasn’t hit in the head with a tire iron as well as a headbutt. The fiery table spot was something that I’m sure they’re going to hype up as this crazy moment but was silly to have two dudes with fire extinguishers right there. It’s understandable that they don’t want Kane to burn. However, it was too cheesy to do that and then have Kane simply walk back into the ring to take the knee for the finish. Bryan was the star like usual. His energy is amazing. He always finds ways to put on an entertaining match even when he’s working with a guy in his mid-40s that is much larger than him. Credit to Kane for busting his ass and putting Bryan over clean like the true pro that Kane is.

(It definitely was silly at times. Basically it was the story of the monster heel character Kane tormenting Bryan while Daniel managed to fight back and get the win. It was pretty obvious that Bryan would win since he won the WWE Title at WrestleMania. Sadly, Bryan would end up having to give up the WWE Title after injuries slowed him down again.)

After the match, Bryan celebrated with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship titles. Kane sat up and started another fire as Kane’s music started to play. Kane lost the match, yet his music ended the show. That’s weird. I guess he’s still got some buddies in production from his Director of Operations days? I don’t even know.

Analysis: They likely ended with Kane’s music because they might do this match again at Payback although I hope not. It was fine, but we don’t need to see it again.

This event had a runtime of 2:41:02 on WWE Network.

Five Stars of the Show

1. Seth Rollins – That leap he did was amazing. Hopefully they replay it on TV this week so everybody can see it.

2. Daniel Bryan – Continues to be the best performer on the show. I just had to give credit to Rollins.

3. Roman Reigns – Every week it seems like he becomes a bigger star. It’s great to see that.

4. Cesaro – It’s awesome to see him getting the spotlight. More please.

5. Kane – He’s in his mid-40s and still putting on entertaining 20+ minute main event matches. That’s not easy to do.

Final Thoughts

I’m giving it a 7 out of 10.

Look at the winners on this show: Bryan, Paige, Wyatt, The Shield, Barrett, Rusev and Cesaro. All of them are people that WWE wants to push going forward. You don’t need to read that on the internet to know it. Just watch the shows. They tell you by how much they feature all of them. Most of them can be considered young talents too. It’s a great sign for WWE’s future.

The Cena/Wyatt match disappointed me just because it was too overbooked, but perhaps that’s my own fault for forgetting that’s how they like to book Cena matches when he’s losing. The creepy kid “Johnny” does open up some intriguing possibilities, though.

The best match was definitely Shield vs. Evolution. That’s the one the crowd loved the best too. A clean win by the younger guys is exactly what should have happened and it did. We’re not sure what Batista’s schedule is going to be like, but since he got pinned it’s likely that he’ll be taking his break for a few months.

In terms of the booking, I liked the majority of it with my only complaint about the Cena match. The right people won. I’m intrigued by who might be Bryan’s next challenger if it’s not Kane and what might be next for The Shield too.

That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.

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John Canton

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