For the first time since March 2004, Brock Lesnar returned to in-ring action in the WWE, facing John Cena in an extreme rules match in the main event of the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. After taking a brutal beating that saw both men bleed, it was Cena that somehow managed to rally yet again, handing WWE’s newest signee a loss in his first match to cap off a show where all the big matches delivered in spades.
Extreme Rules was an eight-match affair from just outside Chicago and saw Lesnar battle Cena in a highly anticipated match that capped a show that saw five championships defended.
Lesnar, wearing his MMA shorts with MMA gloves, wrestling boots and knee pads, opens the match with a takedown and then some nasty ground-and-pound, including an elbow that slices Cena’s head wide open. Cena tries to rally, but Lesnar takes right back over, forcing the doctor’s to come in and take a look at the cut.
Cena jumps out and tries to attack Lesnar but Lesnar scoops him up and takes him down and against unleashes some absolutely brutal ground-and-pound. He knees Cena out of the ring and Lesnar tells Cena to bring it. Again the doctor checks the cut and again Cena breaks free and comes to Lesnar, hitting him with an elbow, but Lesnar responds with two German suplexes. They battle and Cena throws a shoulder-block at Lesnar and they end up going into referee Charles Robinson, who falls through the ropes and to the outside.
Lesnar pounds on Cena some more, wiping Cena’s blood on his chest and then licking some of it. Cena goes for his chain but Lesnar quickly puts a stop to that. Lesnar works a Kimura. He throws Cena to the outside and locks it up again and uses it to whip Cena into the barricade. He throws Cena into the ring and then grabs the chain for himself. Well, he throws it down and beats on Cena some more before grabbing it and tying Cena’s feet together with it. Cena stands but he’s a sitting duck for Lesnar, who hits an impact clothesline.
Now Lesnar puts Cena over the post with the chain holding him there. Lesnar goes to town on Cena, smashing his arm against the ring apron multiple times. Cena manages to get out as Lesnar goes to look for Robinson, but Lesnar quickly sniffs out the attack and throws Cena into the steps. He goes back and grabs Robinson with one arm and throws him back into the ring.
Cena crawls back into the ring with chain in hand, but Lesnar steps on Cena’s hand, grabs the chain, gives him the no finger. Cena grabs him for the Attitude Adjustment, but Lesnar escapes and hits the F5, but he hits Robinson in the process. He covers, but another referee comes down, but Cena kicks out at two. Lesnar, in reaction, kills the new referee.
Lesnar grabs the longer bottom step from outside and brings it into the ring. Cena tries to rally but Lesnar grabs a Kimura on the step. Somehow, Cena musters enough strength to dead lift Lesnar and slam him onto the step. Lesnar finally human! Cena goes to the top rope and goes for the guillotine leg drop but Lesnar moves. Lesnar stands up on the step with Cena struggling to pull himself up and into the ring on the outside.
Cena on the apron and Lesnar hits the ropes and launches himself off the steps and into Cena with a flying knee. Cena pulls himself up and Lesnar goes for it again but Cena hits him in the face with the chain! Cena trying to fire up now as a bloodied Lesnar gets up. Cena stalks him and lifts him up for the AA and hits it onto the steps. Robinson in and he counts three. Cena wins.
After the match, Cena grabs a mic and says he thinks he’s heading home. He says the people tonight were supposed to see the extreme. He can’t feel his arm, he’s tasting his blood and he’s happy to say it was in Chicago. He says if he has to take a vacation, he’s glad he went out this way.
The next WWE pay-per-view is Over the Limit on May 20.
On the pre-show, Santino Marella retained the United States Championship, pinning The Miz with the Cobra.
Following a video package, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Booker T welcome us to tonight’s show, a seven-match affair from Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.
Match #1 – Falls Count Anywhere – Kane (Hell, Fire & Brimstone) vs. Randy Orton (St. Louis, Mo.)
Predictably, they brawl all over the place and then start going backstage. They end up in the area where the other superstars are watching and Zack Ryder starts attacking Kane. Kane no sells it completely, but this allows Orton to hit the backbreaker. They eventually head back into the arena and into the ring, where Orton gets rolling. He goes under the ring and grabs a chair.
He hits Kane in the gut and then in the back with it. And again. A long series of chairshots to the back here. They head to the floor and Orton starts tearing apart the announce table. He puts Kane’s legs on the table and hits the draping DDT onto the floor. The move hurts Orton, too, though, and he’s unable to capitalize. They rise and Kane throws him into ring. He goes to the top, but Orton crotches him. He goes up and hits a superplex for two. He goes for the RKO but Kane counters into the choke slam, but Orton kicks out at two.
Now Kane picks Orton up and goes for the Tombstone onto the chair, but Orton slips out and hits the RKO onto the chair and that’s it.
Winner via pinfall: Randy Orton
Match Rating: 6/10
Match #2 – Brodus Clay (Planet Funk) vs. Dolph Ziggler (Hollywood, Fla.)
Ziggler quickly uses a distraction from Jack Swagger to take over, giving Clay his toughest test yet since his return. Swagger again gets involved, knocking Clay down on the outside. Ziggler locks in the sleeper, but Clay works his way back up and slams Ziggler to the mat. Ziggler goes for a suplex but Clay shucks him off. Now Clay gets rolling. Ziggler jumps into him but eats the big headbutt. Clay follows with the splash and that does it.
Winner via pinfall: Brodus Clay
Match Rating: 4/10
Match #3 – Tables Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship – (c) The Big Show (Tampa, Fla.) vs. Cody Rhodes (Marietta, Ga.)
Show takes control and he goes to throw Rhodes into a table propped in the corner, but Rhodes pushes off and leaps up the table and comes back with the Beautiful Disaster kick. The momentum from that doesn’t last long, though, as Show takes over. But then, out of nowhere, Show is on the apron and goes to climb over the rope and into the ring but Rhodes drop kicks his leg and Show steps on the table right next to the apron and breaks it. The referee takes a look and calls for the bell, as Show’s foot had gone through the table.
Winner via breakage and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion: Cody Rhodes
Match Rating: 4/10
After the match, Show spears Rhodes and the place starts booing him. Show sets up a table and choke slams Rhodes through it. Then he press slams Rhodes over the top rope and through a table on the floor. Ouch.
Match #4 – 2-of-3 Falls Match for the World Heavyweight Championship – (c) Sheamus (Dublin, Ireland) vs. Daniel Bryan (Aberdeen, Wash.)
After a back-and-forth start, Sheamus locks in a cloverleaf that forces Bryan to squirm for the ropes, but he does make it to break the hold. Sheamus ends up on the outside and Bryan goes for his flying knee off the apron but Sheamus grabs him and spears him into the barricade. They head back into the ring and Sheamus goes to the top but Bryan knocks him off the top and Bryan takes over.
Now Sheamus starts to get going, landing the big clubbing forearms on Bryan, followed by a fallaway slam for two. Sheamus charges him in the corner, but Bryan drop-toe holds him into the turnbuckle and starts going back to work. Bryan loads him up on the top rope and goes for a ‘rana but Sheamus hangs on, sending Bryan flying. Sheamus comes down with the battering ram for two. Sheamus runs at Bryan, but Bryan low bridges him. Bryan tries to come through with a suicide dive but Sheamus steps up and clubs him. Sheamus goes for the Celtic Cross, but Bryan slips out into a sunset flip for two. Bryan going for the Yes Lock but Sheamus keeps fighting him off. Bryan throws Sheamus shoulder-first into the post and continues throwing him into it on the outside.
Bryan going to work on the shoulder, working it over onto the post. Bryan with kicks to the shoulder. Bryan refuses to break and is disqualified.
Sheamus leads 1-0
Bryan has a smile on his face, making it clear it was intentional. Sheamus gets up and the second fall begins. Bryan with a dropkick to the shoulder and he locks in the Yes Lock. Sheamus doesn’t tap, but passes out and the referee calls for the bell.
Match tied 1-1
The doctors come to check on Sheamus and he is in bad shape. He says he can continue. Bryan comes rushing in and Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick. He’s not so quick to cover, though, and Bryan kicks out at two. Both men slow to their feet now. Bryan goes back to the kicks and Bryan lands one to the head for two. Bryan goes to the top but gets cut off. Sheamus goes for a superplex but Bryan head butts him off. He goes for the diving headbutt but Sheamus moves.
Sheamus starts to fire up and hits the Irish Curse backbreaker and follows with the Brogue Kick and that’s it.
Winner via pinfall (2-1) and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Sheamus
Match Rating: 9/10
Match #5 – Aaron Relic & Jay Hatton (Jobberville, USA) vs. Ryback (Sin City)
I’ll give you three guesses what happened here, but you’ll only need one.
Winner via pinfall: Ryback
Match Rating: NR
Match #6 – Chicago Street Fight for the WWE Championship: (c) CM Punk (Chicago, Ill.) vs. Chris Jericho (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Jericho gains the edge and takes the protective covering off the turnbuckle, but it doesn’t come into play just yet. They go to the outside and Jericho beats Punk up in front of his family and gets into Punk’s sister’s face. She slaps him, but Punk just goes bonkers. He leaps onto Jericho and starts punching him, then tears the announce tables apart. He goes for a piledriver on the floor but Jericho back drops him.
Jericho grabs a monitor and hits Punk with it, then he hits him with some more plunder. Then head back in the ring and Jericho lights Punk up with a kendo stick. He goes under the ring and gets a can of beer. He pours it all over Punk. He goes and grabs another one and drinks some of it but this moment allows Punk to kick him in the gut and now it’s Punk going to town with the kendo stick. He follows with the corner knee and bulldog, then a low blow. He calls for GTS but Jericho escapes.
| WHAT YOU THINK |
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What did you think of WWE Extreme Rules? It was great – 42% It was okay – 11% Didn’t like it – 4% Didn’t see it – 43% |
Punk goes to the top but Jericho cuts him off. Jericho goes for the superplex but Punk puts a stop to that with a double mongolian chop. Now Punk rises and hits the big elbow for two. Punk goes for GTS but can’t get it as Jericho counters with a facebuster. He goes for the Lionsault but Punk grabs him and goes for the GTS but again Jericho escapes and throws Punk into a chair in the corner.
Out of nowhere, Jericho hits the Codebreaker. Jericho gets a big smile on his face and goes for the Walls of Jericho and he gets it. Punk crawls for the ropes but it doesn’t matter as it’s a street fight. But he does get there and reach under the ring, grabbing a fire extinguisher, which he blasts in Jericho’s face. Now Punk hits Jericho in the gut with it, sending him to the outside. Again to the gut. He drills him with a head kick that puts Jericho onto the Spanish announce table. Punk takes a look at the top rope and goes up. He almost falls once he gets up there, but gains his balance and hits an elbow drop that sends both of them through the table.
After several moments, Punk rolls Jericho back into the ring where he gets just a two count. But he transitions it into the Anaconda Vice. Jericho grabs the kendo stick while in the hold and is able to hit Punk with it several times to break the hold. Both men back to their feet and Punk has a chair. Jericho grabs Punk and the chair and hits the Codebreaker with Punk’s face going into the chair but Punk managers to somehow kick out at two.
Jericho badmouthing Punk now. He pulls Punk up by his hair and loads him up for the GTS. He trots around the ring with Punk on his shoulders. He tosses him up, but Punk lands on his feet, grabs Jericho’s legs and slingshots him into exposed turnbuckle. On the rebound, he grabs him and hits the GTS, which is enough to put Jericho down for good.
Winner via pinfall and STILL WWE Champion: CM Punk
Match Rating: 9/10
Match #7 – WWE Divas Championship – (c) Nikki Bella (Scottsdale, Ariz.) vs. Layla (Miami, Fla.)
Brie Bella gets involved almost immediately and Nikki goes to work on the knee. Brie tries to get involved again but Layla knocks her off the apron, but shortly after, they pull Twin Magic, but this time, it backfires and Layla counters the X Factor and hits a neckbreaker and wins the title.
Winner via pinfall and NEW WWE Divas Champion: Layla
Match Rating: NR
Match #8 – Extreme Rules Match – Brock Lesnar (Minneapolis, Minn.) vs. John Cena (West Newbury, Mass.)
Match Rating: 9/10
Event Rating: 9/10
- Matt Bishop can be reached at bishop20@msu.edu. Please include your name and hometown. Click here to follow Matt on Twitter. Should be a good one!.
