Extreme Rules (2015)

Extreme Rules (2015)

Promotional poster featuring John Cena
Tagline(s) The One Day of the Year the WWE Goes Extreme
Theme
song(s)		 "Irresistible" by Fall Out Boy
Information
Promotion WWE
Sponsor Mountain Dew Kickstart
Diet Mountain Dew
Date April 26, 2015
Attendance 14,197
Venue Allstate Arena
City Rosemont, Illinois
Pay-per-view chronology

WrestleMania 31 Extreme Rules (2015) Payback (2015)
Extreme Rules chronology

Extreme Rules (2014) Extreme Rules (2015)

Extreme Rules (2015) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on April 26, 2015, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.[1] It was the seventh event under the Extreme Rules chronology. Extreme Rules was available for free to new subscribers on WWE's monthly subscription service, the WWE Network in over 140 countries.[2][3]

Eight matches took place at the event with one match on the pre-show. In the main event, Seth Rollins defeated Randy Orton in a Steel Cage match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Background

Extreme Rules featured professional wrestling matches that involved wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown. Wrestlers portrayed heroes or villains as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4][5]

At WrestleMania 31, John Cena defeated Rusev to win the United States Championship, marking Rusev's first loss via pinfall.[6] On the March 30 episode of Raw, Cena announced that he would begin a weekly open challenge, in which anyone on the roster would be allowed to face him for the title.[7] On the April 2 episode of SmackDown, Rusev invoked his rematch clause to face Cena for the title at the event.[8] On the April 13 episode of Raw, after Cena retained the title against Bad News Barrett, Rusev attacked Cena with a chain. Lana then announced that the match would be a Russian Chain match.[9]

At WrestleMania 31, Daniel Bryan won the ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship.[6] On the March 30 episode of Raw, previous champion Bad News Barrett attacked Bryan after Bryan retained the title against Dolph Ziggler.[7] On the April 2 episode of SmackDown, Barrett attacked Bryan during his match against Sheamus, causing Sheamus to win by countout.[8] On the April 6 episode of Raw, Barrett invoked his rematch clause on the WWE App to face Bryan for the title at the event.[10] On April 26, it was announced on WWE.com that Bryan would be unable to compete at the event due to injury, but it was announced that Barrett would instead face Neville on the Extreme Rules pre-show.

At WrestleMania 31, Randy Orton defeated Seth Rollins. Later in the event, Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during the scheduled WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns and pinned Reigns to win the title.[6] On the April 6 episode of Raw, Orton defeated Ryback and Reigns in a triple threat match to face Rollins for the title at the event.[10] On the April 13 episode of Raw, Orton defeated Tyson Kidd and Cesaro in a Handicap match to earn the right to choose a stipulation, while Rollins defeated Kane to also earn the right to choose a stipulation. Rollins chose to ban Orton's finisher, the RKO, while Orton announced that the match would be a Steel Cage match.[9] On the April 20 episode of Raw, Triple H announced that Kane would be the gatekeeper to the cage for the match.[11]

On the April 13 episode of Raw, Paige won a battle royal by last eliminating Naomi to earn a title shot against Divas Champion Nikki Bella at Extreme Rules.[9] After the match, Naomi turned heel by attacking Paige, who suffered a storyline injury and was later deemed unable to compete at the event.[12] Thus, Naomi replaced Paige as the title challenger for the pay-per-view event.[13]

On the March 30 episode of Raw, Sheamus returned from injury, appearing to save Bryan and Ziggler from an attack by Bad News Barrett, but then attacked Bryan and Ziggler, turning heel in the process.[7] On the April 13 episode of Raw, Sheamus attacked Ziggler after Ziggler defeated Neville.[9] On the April 16 episode of SmackDown, Sheamus announced that he would face Ziggler in a Kiss Me Arse match at the event.[14]

On the April 6 episode of Raw, Big Show attacked Reigns during his triple threat match against Orton and Ryback.[10] On the April 13 episode of Raw, Big Show attacked Reigns after Reigns's interview and chokeslammed him on a taxicab.[9] On the April 16 episode of SmackDown, Big Show announced that he would face Reigns in a Last Man Standing match at the event.[14]

On the April 20 episode of Raw, The New Day defeated The Lucha Dragons by countout to earn a WWE Tag Team Championship match against champions Tyson Kidd and Cesaro at the event.[11]

On the April 2 episode of SmackDown, Dean Ambrose fought Luke Harper to a no contest after Harper put Ambrose through a table.[8] On the April 13 episode of Raw, Ambrose attacked Harper after Harper lost to Ryback by disqualification.[9] On the April 20 episode of Raw, Ambrose and Harper once again fought to a no contest. Later in the night, it was announced that Ambrose would face Harper in a Chicago Street Fight at the event.[11]

Event

Pre-show

With Daniel Bryan injured and unable to compete, Bad News Barrett instead faced Neville on the pre-show. Neville won the match after hitting Barrett with the Red Arrow.

Extreme Rules 2015 set

Main card

The first match of the night was a Chicago Street Fight between Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper. After brawling in the backstage area, Harper got into a car and was followed by Ambrose, and the two drove out of the arena. Due to the street fight stipulation meaning no count-outs, the match was deemed to be continuing as the event progressed.

The second match of the night was a Kiss Me Arse match between Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus, where the loser would be forced to kiss his opponent's arse. Ziggler won the match with a surprise roll-up. After the match, Sheamus refused to kiss the arse of Ziggler. Sheamus tried to escape through the audience but was brought back by the referee. Sheamus then pretended to perform the deed, only to execute a low blow on Ziggler. Sheamus then made Ziggler kiss his arse by rubbing his arse on Ziggler.

The third match of the night was Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (with Natalya) defending the WWE Tag Team Championship against The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (with Xavier Woods). Kofi won the match for his team by pinning Cesaro with a roll-up, thus winning the WWE Tag Team Championship, his third reign and Big E's first.

While The New Day were being interviewed following their win, Ambrose and Harper pulled up in the car that they had earlier left in, and their street fight match continued as they made their way back to the ring. Ambrose eventually won the match via pinfall after hitting Dirty Deeds. The official match time was recorded as just under an hour.

The fourth match saw John Cena defending his United States Championship against Rusev in a Russian Chain match. The ending of the match came when Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment to Rusev and touched the fourth corner after both men had touched three corners.

The fifth match was Nikki Bella defending the WWE Divas Championship against Naomi. The ending came as Nikki executed an elbow and springboard kick to the face from the corner to Naomi who was holding the ropes. As the referee pulled Nikki away, her sister Brie, at ringside, kicked Naomi in the face for a distraction. Nikki executed a Rack Attack for the pinfall victory, thus retaining the WWE Divas Championship.

The sixth match was Big Show taking on Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match. During the match, Reigns was thrown from the ring through two tables on the outside, while Big Show also went through a table and was later speared through the Spanish announce table. The ending to the match came when Reigns overturned the English announce table, trapping Big Show underneath for the 10 count.

Next, Bo Dallas came to the ring and mocked the Chicago crowd. He was met by Ryback, who attacked him and then led the crowd in a "Feed me more!" chant to end the segment.

Main event

The main event featured Seth Rollins defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton in a Steel Cage match, with Orton's RKO finisher banned. Kane was appointed the gatekeeper in this match, responsible for opening the cage door. Midway through the match, Kane prevented Orton from leaving the cage but was then accidentally kicked by Rollins. This caused Kane to enter the ring and chokeslam J&J Security (Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury), who had tried to interfere, and both Orton and Rollins. Orton then attacked Kane with an RKO, before Rollins hit Orton with an RKO. Rollins escaped the cage and won the match, thus retaining the title.

Results

No. Results Stipulations Times[15][16]
1P Neville defeated Bad News Barrett Singles match[17] 10:36
2 Dean Ambrose defeated Luke Harper[Note 1] Chicago Street Fight[18] 56:10
3 Dolph Ziggler defeated Sheamus[Note 2] Kiss Me Arse match[19] 9:16
4 The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (with Xavier Woods) defeated Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (c) (with Natalya) Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[20] 9:47
5 John Cena (c) defeated Rusev (with Lana) Russian Chain match for the WWE United States Championship[21] 13:35
6 Nikki Bella (c) (with Brie Bella) defeated Naomi Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship[22] 7:18
7 Roman Reigns defeated Big Show Last Man Standing match[23] 19:46
8 Seth Rollins (c) defeated Randy Orton by escaping the cage Steel Cage match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with the RKO banned and Kane as the gatekeeper[24] 21:02
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • P – indicates the match took place on the pre-show
  1. ↑ Ambrose and Harper left the arena during the match, with the next two matches starting and ending before Ambrose and Harper returned to the ring to finish their match.
  2. ↑ Sheamus refused to fulfill the stipulation, and instead made Ziggler kiss his arse.

Reception

The event received a mixed reception from critics. Nolan Howell of Canoe.ca awarded the event 2 out of 5 stars, adding that it was "thoroughly average" and "a show worth missing".[25]

Kenny Herzog of Rolling Stone praised the Last Man Standing match between Reigns and Big Show, calling it "thrilling" and "the match of the night". However he was critical of the show's production, the Cena-Rusev match and the steel cage main event, which he described as "inconclusive" and "lifeless".[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Johnson, Mike. "WWE EXTREME RULES 2015 WILL BE IN....". pwinsider.com. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Middleton, Marc. "More Details On WWE Network Subscriber Count, Full Announcement, Watch Extreme Rules For Free". Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "New Subscribers Get April Free Including Extreme Rules". Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WM31 PPV RESULTS 3/29: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of WWE World Title match, Taker's return, Sting vs. Triple H, Cena vs. Rusev, Rock/UFC surprise, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 3/30/15 (Night after WrestleMania 31)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Smackdown Results - 4/2/15 (Bryan vs. Sheamus)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Martin, Adam. "WWE RAW Results - 4/13/15 (Extreme Rules PPV stipulation)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 4/6/15 (New No. 1 Contender)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 4/20/15 (Final hype for Extreme Rules)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "UPDATE: Paige injured in attack on Raw". 14 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Several updates on the Extreme Rules PPV line-up". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Martin, Adam. "WWE Smackdown Results - 4/16/15 (Tag team main event)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S EXTREME RULES PPV REPORT 4/26 (pre-show): Complete coverage of Barrett vs. Neville, Dean crashes set, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S EXTREME RULES PPV REPORT 4/26: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live PPV - Rollins vs. Orton steel cage, Cena vs. Rusev, Last Man Standing, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Daniel Bryan unable to compete tonight at Extreme Rules". WWE. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper (Chicago Street Fight)". WWE. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Taylor, Scott. "Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus (Kiss Me Arse Match)". WWE. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  20. ↑ Vaccaro, Robert. "WWE Tag Team Champions Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. The New Day". WWE. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  21. ↑ Vaccaro, Robert. "United States Champion John Cena vs. Rusev (Russian Chain Match)". WWE. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  22. ↑ Melok, Bobby. "Divas Champion Nikki Stella vs. Naomi". WWE. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  23. ↑ Vaccaro, Robert. "Roman Reigns vs. Big Show (Last Men Standing Match)". WWE. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  24. ↑ Clapp, John. "WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton (Cage Match, with the RKO banned)". WWE. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "Rollins beats Orton at his own game in less than Extreme Rules". canoe.ca. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  26. ↑ "WWE 'Extreme Rules': Roman Reigns' Windy City Heat". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 April 2015.

External links