WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results and Analysis

WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results and Analysis

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WWE Extreme Rules 2021; Results and Analysis

In the face of increasing competition from AEW, WWE put on a lackluster pay-per-view on Sunday with Extreme Rules. There were no awful matches on the show, but neither were there any outstanding ones. More importantly, both of the main events, Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor and Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair had unexpected endings.

Balor and Reigns were on their way to a fantastic finish in the Universal Championship bout when things went crazy. Balor was revived after being Speared through a barricade by the sound of his theme tune. The top rope snapped for no apparent reason as he set up Reigns for a Coup de Grace. After that, Reigns Speared him for the victory.

Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship after being disqualified. The two performers, like the main event, built to a fantastic conclusion but were let down by poor originality. Lynch’s Disarmer armbar was countered into a KOD by Belair, but Sasha Banks returned after a month’s hiatus, assaulted both women, and prompted a disqualification.

The show was not without its great points. The surprising 6-man opening match between Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods against Lashley, AJ Styles, and Omos, was at least decent. In addition, Alexa Bliss had her greatest match in a long time against Charlotte Flair. The WWE, on the other hand, had a poor showing with both main event matches having bizarre ends.

Read below for full results of WWE Extreme Rules 2021.

Roman Reigns retain the title against Finn Balor

After a bizarre match, Roman Reigns defeated “The Demon” Finn Balor for the first time. Before the ring ropes shattered, Balor had Reigns defeated with a Coup de Grace, allowing Reigns to spear and fin Balor.

Because this was the first and only Extreme Rules match of the night, it didn’t take long for Kendo Sticks to appear. Reigns pulled out a stick, only for Balor to pull a collection of Kendo Sticks bunched together from beneath the ring. He hit Reigns many times with them.

The announcers referred to Finn Balor as “The Demon” throughout the match, as though he and his Demon costume were two separate creatures. It was very inconvenient.

The fans had been chanting for tables all night and erupted in applause when Balor appeared from beneath the ring with one. With loud booing, Reigns cut him off and pushed the table back. It was a cat-and-mouse game, with Balor trying to take the table out again but being stopped by Reigns. Balor eventually succeeded in setting up the table as the two brawled in the audience, but was subsequently slammed through it by Reigns for a two count.

Reigns landed a Superman Punch on Balor and then countered a Shotgun Dropkick with a spear. Balor was knocked out by Reigns with a low punch, much like Reigns was thrown out of the Coup de Grace on SmackDown a few weeks ago.

Balor hit a Shotgun Dropkick and a Coup de Grace, but the Usos intervened to keep Reigns from being counted out. Balor was hit with a double Superkick on the outside by the Usos, who then set up a table. Balor retaliated by power bombing one of the Usos through the announcer’s table, but Reigns speared Balor through the barricade as he awoke. As it was a sick location, the crowd chanted “holy shit!”

This is the point when everything goes awry.

Balor starts spasming on the floor as his “Demon” music plays. As the arena is engulfed in crimson light, he is brought back to life. He blitzed Reigns with chair blows and dropped kicked him through the table the Usos had just set up while the music was still playing. Balor had Reigns set up for a Coup de Grace in the ring, but the top rope snapped. Balor dropped to the ground clutching his knee, then finished the match by eating a massive Spear from Reigns.

The rating was noted as 3.5 out of 5 stars. The wrestling was good, but not quite up to the standard of a Reigns major event. That’s partly because Reign’s pay-per-view fights are always built to a spectacular conclusion, but the conclusion here was the weakest part. It was possibly the worst section of the episode because it was never explained.

Yes, there could be a rematch on Friday’s SmackDown, but it felt like a cheap ending at the time, especially considering the way Belair vs. Lynch went.

Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair ends in Disqualification

Becky Lynch’s first true match since April 2020, the SmackDown Women’s Championship match is one of the most important on the show. The match between Lynch and Bianca Belair was fantastic, but it ended in disqualification when Sasha Banks ran in.

A strong “Becky!” chant started the match, but it was quickly followed by a far louder “E.S.T.” chorus. Lynch attempted a Man-Handle Slam, which she had used to defeat Belair at SummerSlam, but Belair responded with a KOD. Lynch managed to escape, and the crowd erupted in a duel of “Let’s go Becky!” and “E.S.T.” yells.

The audience had been enthralled throughout the event, but this was by far the most enthralling. It’s wonderful to see Becky again.

Belair’s long braid was woven into the action, as it had been in her prior title fights. Belair had Lynch mounted on the turnbuckle and was clobbering him with the legendary 10 punches. Lynch snuck out from beneath the turnbuckle, grabbed Belair’s hair, and yanked her off. This sparked a hair tug-of-war, which ended with Belair pulling Lynch into an atomic drop.

Belair then unleashed a barrage of assault, including a JBL-style Fallaway Slam. Lynch countered Belair’s cradle pin attempt with a Disarmer armbar. Belair was able to get his hands on the ropes. Lynch drove Belair into the ring steps on the outside, then delivered a top-rope Leg Drop for a two-count.

Lynch attempted a Man-Handle Slam, but Belair countered with a suplex, which Lynch countered with a small package, which she then transitioned into an armbar. Belair wriggled free and launched Lynch into a modified spinebuster.

After that, Belair and Lynch traded blows before attempting to pin each other with rollups. Lynch locked on to the Disarmer, but Belair utilized her strength to hoist her up and place her in a KOD position. As the fans grew more excited for the match, Sasha Banks entered the ring and attacked both ladies, resulting in a DQ.

The rating was noted as 3.5 out of 5 stars. Great match, but a poor conclusion. On the plus side, Becky Lynch looked incredible in her first match since her comeback. It’s always wonderful to see Sasha Banks, but this was a lackluster way out of a major pay-per-view event.

Damian Priest win over Sheamus and Jeff Hardy

The first half of the bout went like this: Priest and Sheamus would brawl, then Hardy would appear out of nowhere and take one of them out. Jeff Hardy’s movements aren’t as fluid as they once were, and I can only imagine how his body feels after so many years of jumping off ladders.

The priest was on the apron at one point and attempted to apply Sheamus’ 10 clubbing strikes to himself, but he slipped off the apron and onto the floor. The crowd didn’t seem to notice the gaffe, but the announcers did. Hardy comes out of nowhere with a massive dropkick on Sheamus before you could even think about it.

But that wasn’t the only misstep in the match; Hardy tried a Twist of Fate on Damien Priest, but someone tripped over in the middle, making it appear more like a reverse DDT. Hardy picked up Priest and successfully struck the Twist of Fate, according to Corey Graves, who claimed Hardy was looking for a Dragon Sleeper. He then attempted a Swanton Bomb but was shoved over the top rope by Sheamus.

Sheamus attempted a Brogue Kick on Priest but missed, causing him to become tangled in the ropes. Damian Priest then applied a top-rope Chokeslam to Sheamus, but Hardy countered with a Swanton Bomb. Huge “Hardy!” chants erupted as a result.

Hardy was teased twice, with Sheamus hitting a great pump knee to Priest and Hardy sending Sheamus out to attempt a pin on Priest, followed by a rollup near fall on Sheamus.

Sheamus then used a Brogue Kick to take out Hardy, allowing Priest to roll up Sheamus for the victory. Hardy shook Priest’s hand after the match.

Charlotte Flair beat Alexa Bliss

This was a rather brief match, lasting a little over 11 minutes, but it was really entertaining. Although the post-fight angle was bleak, it was the first Alexa Bliss match in a long time that wasn’t embarrassing to watch. Charlotte pinned Bliss and tore up the Lilly doll, causing Bliss to sob anguish fully on the rampway. That part was bad, but the one before it wasn’t.

Bliss Hurricanrana’d Flair into the bottom turnbuckle early in the match, which looked like a terribly difficult landing. Flair, on the other hand, got her back with a massive outside swing that slammed Bliss into the barricade.

Once the play started, there was plenty of great back-and-forth action. Charlotte attempted a moonsault, but Bliss moved away, forcing Charlotte to perform a standing moonsault. Bliss rolled out and then nailed Charlotte with a great-looking knockout punch, so she went for the Natural Selection. The women then traded roll-ups, with Charlotte converting one into a massive powerbomb. The crowd erupted in applause when Bliss nailed a Sunset Flip Powerbomb.

Flair finished the job by grabbing Bliss’ doll, Lilly, and throwing it at her. For the 1-2-3, Charlotte used the distraction to assault Bliss with a nasty flurry, including a massive kick and a great-looking Natural Selection.

Charlotte tore Lilly up after the game. Charlotte then assaulted Bliss, who Charlotte annihilated and threw over the announce table. Bliss then grieved for a minute over her doll, but it felt like an eternity.

It appears to be setting up a rematch with more of Bliss’ “magic.” Hooray.

The Usos defended their SmackDown Tag Team Title

The Usos successfully defended their SmackDown Tag Team Championships with a strong performance against the Street Profits. It was all about Montez Ford’s ribs, which had been hurt by Roman Reigns on SmackDown.

The Usos take off Ford’s wrapped-up ribs to start the match. As the fight begins, the crowd is behind the Profits, yelling “We want the smoke!” The Usos isolate the injured Ford from partner Angelo Dawkins in this classic tag team psychological move, leading to an explosive hot tag.

Dawkins was tagged, and he went on a rampage that ended with a superplex into a twisting neckbreaker. (It’s not quite as impressive as Seth Rollins’ superplex into a Falcom Arrow, but it’s still impressive.) We witnessed a terrific scene where Dawkins prepares for a Doomsday Device by pulling Jimmy Uso onto his shoulders, but instead of a splash, Ford planted a neck breaker on Jimmy Uso. It’s not breaking news, but Ford can jump a long way.

Ford attempted a top-rope splash with Jimmy Uso on his knees, but Uso got his knees up. When Dawkins set up another Doomsday Device a few moments later, Ford was too damaged to scale the turnbuckle, allowing Jimmy to counter. Before Dawkins is tagged in, they swap cradles and rollups, but he takes a superkick and Uso splashes him for a great near fall, prompting a cry of “This is awesome!”

On the outside, the Usos attack Dawkins, but Ford interrupts them with a sick moonsault dive over the turnbuckle. He flung one of the Usos back into the ring and landed a big Frogsplash for another near fall, prompting another chorus of “This is wonderful!”

Ford is blasted with a superkick to the ribs and then taken out by stereo Uso Splashes for the pin, but it was not to be for the Street Profits.

3.75 out of 5 stars The crowd was into this match thanks to these four, but it suffered from the fact that it followed the last tag match, which had some comparable maneuvers.

New Day beats Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, and Omos

The main program opened with this six-man match, which was announced minutes before Extreme Rules began. Following a Big Ending, Big E pinned Bobby Lashley to bring the match to a close.

To begin, the crowd erupted for a brief showdown between Big E and Lashley, as The New Day cycled in. Things slowed down when the bad men got a hold of Kofi, beating him down and isolating him from his New Day teammates. When Omos was tagged in, things slowed even more. After a few slogs, AJ is tagged in, and the crowd rallies around Kofi. Lashley knocks Big E off the apron and throws him into the steel steps before Kofi can tag him.

In the center of the ring, Kofi found himself alone, but he eventually managed to tag in Woods. Woods lands a tornado DDT on Lashley after a terrific hot-tag flurry. Eventually, The Almighty Lashley cuts him off, but Woods manages to tag in Big E just as Lashley tags AJ Styles.
Lashley had Big E down in the ring after some outside shenanigans, which included Kofi being slapped down in mid-air by Omos, but AJ tagged himself in before he could finish things. Lashley was irritated, but he switched places.

Lashley tagged himself back in as AJ went for his Phenomenal Forearm. Lashley attempted to spear Big E, but Big E moved, causing Lashley to spear AJ unintentionally. For the win, Big E blasted Lashley with the Big Ending.

Rating 3.75 out of 5 stars It was a good start, though it carried on a little longer than it needed to. Big E shone in the match and put on a show (and needed intensity). It’s a step toward a rematch between Big E and Lashley, but the highlight of the match was undoubtedly Big E’s confrontation with AJ Styles. That’s the match I’m interested in watching.

Kickoff Show results

Liv Morgan defeated Carmella in an 8-minute match at the Extreme Rules Kickoff Show. After planting Carmella with her Oblivion finish, Morgan pinned her.
More importantly, Big E was confirmed to be performing at Extreme Rules. In the first bout, he’ll team up with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to face Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, and Omos.

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