Review for WWE Extreme Rules 2019

Extreme Rules 2019 was almost the most perfect PPV I have ever seen. Then... to quote Mr McMahon 'YOU RUINED IT! YOU RUINED IT DAMMIT!!' By the end I was stunned by how stupid the WWE could be and it felt like all the goodwill of this excellent PPV was just thrown away with the flick of a hand.

It was surprising that they started the PPV with the big match of the No Holds Barred Match between The Undertaker and Roman Reigns against Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre. This match proved that it wasn't Undertaker's fault that the match against Goldberg failed so hard. I enjoyed the match, but it did feel as though it was a Paint by Numbers Shane McMahon match with his typical checklist of things he does in every match. A good way to start the PPV.

The Raw Tag Team Championship Match between The Revival and The Usos was great as always and the two teams worked really well together. Which is more than can be said for Aleister Black and Cesaro which I understand was a way to build up Black, but this wasn't a good match from either and it is shame.

The 2-on-1 Smackdown Women’s Championship Match between Champion Bayley against Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross was a great match and I really like the character of Nikki Cross, but feel more could have been made of this. The Last Man Standing Match between Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley was insane and that is all I can say about it. This feels like an old skool Extreme match and I loved every second of it.

The Triple Threat Match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship between Daniel Bryan and Rowan, The New Day and Heavy Machinery was a good match despite my hatred for the Triple Threat in a tag match, but all three teams worked well together.

The United States Championship Match between Ricochet and AJ Styles was just fantastic and possibly one of the best matches of the night. Both worked really well and though I was not a fan of the Heel tactics of Styles and the OC (Gallows and Anderson) it showed just how great Styles is in either role.

The Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler was pointless and the only low point of the PPV so far. Should have just been a Kickoff match.

WWE Championship Match between Kofi Kingston and Samoa Joe was great and the ending which seemed to come out of nowhere was just fantastic. Finally, the Winners Take All Extreme Rules Mixed Tag Team Match for the Universal and Raw Women’s Championships
featuring the team of Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch against Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans was really good. There was a lot of entertainment throughout the whole match and the moment when Corbin hit his finisher on Becky and then Seth just went insane was perfect.

This could have ended the PPV here and I would have been hugely satisfied...

BUT
WWE wouldn't want that.

Out came Lesnar cashing in his MOney in the Bank briefcase he didn't need or deserve and I sat there praying this was going to either be Brock announcing he would cash it in at Summerslam or him failing and cementing Seth as the man...

BUT
WWE wouldn't want that!!

A 1, 2, 3 and I sat there head in hands in despair. WWE just didn't want me to enjoy a PPV.

This set comes with a number of extra features. These include the two Kickoff matches. The Intercontinental Championship Match between Finn Bálor and Shinsuke Nakamura should have been on the main card and certainly should have been given more time. Both work great together as always, but could have been much better. The WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match between Drew Gulak and Tony Nese was fine as always, but it did feel more like a 205 Live match than usual.

There are also two extra moments the Undertaker cutting a promo on Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston facing off with Samoa Joe. Both are fine, but nothing special. With these sets being two disks it would be nice to have more to build up some of the matches.

Extreme Rules 2019 could have been one of the best PPVs and if it hadn't stumbled at the end it could have been. There was a lot to enjoy from the PPV and if WWE had just trusted that we will watch without Brock Lesnar it could have been perfect. That being said, this was just another example of WWE falling into their old tricks and with competition from AEW rearing its head this year, this can not be the year where the company does not try to take risks. Risks give up new opportunities which will lead to interest and a better product.