WWE: Extreme Rules (2009) Online

As we know the WWE has strayed a little more towards the entertainment side of wrestling as opposed to the wrestling side of wrestling. This meant that not much hope was held up for extreme rules as the matches weren't going to be that extreme. While this was the case for some matches it didn't prevent them from being entertaining.

The highlights for me were the NO HOLDS BARRED MATCH between CHRIS JERICHO and REY MYSTERIO. A great match between 2 fantastic experienced wrestlers and it was probably the second best match of the night in my eyes. Chris Jericho in the weeks leading up to the match vowed to remove Rey's mask and reveal him for who he truly was. Was he going to succeed or was the 619 being dialed up for mysterio retaining the title?

Another highlight was the TRIPLE THREAT HARDCORE RULES MATCH for the ECW title in which if TOMMY DREAMER lost then he would leave wrestling. Was the ECW original going to capture the title which meant so much to him? Was JACK SWAGGER going to ruin things and become a 2 time ECW champion or was captain charisma Christian going to somehow retain his title? This match was true to its name as a HARDCORE RULES match as almost from the get-go weapons were introduced and used much to the viewing pleasure.

The HOG PEN match deserves a mention as it was just damned hilarious. SANTINA MARELLA and VICKY GUERRERO rolling around in mud and slop. Lovely.

The match of the night however was the LADDER match for the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP. EDGE and JEFF HARDY put on a treat for the audiences with a variety of eye catching moves and high risk in a match that really lived up to its hype. Was JEFF HARDY able to prove that his first title reign wasn't a fluke or would the ultimate opportunist regain his title yet again. A great match with a (small) shock ending.

The only disappointment for me was the CAGE match for the WWE title between BATISTA and RANDY ORTON. I just felt that with the amount of hype that there was going into this match what with the storyline with RIC FLAIR, this match should have provided more and frankly it was disappointing and far far to short.

Other matches included a FATAL FOR WAY match between WILLIAM REGAL, MATT HARDY, MVP and KOFI KINGSTON for the UNITED STATES championship. A SAMOAN STRAP MATCH between UMAGA and CM PUNK and a SUBMISSION match between JOHN CENA and THE BIG SHOW which was actually very boring as most CENA/SHOW matches tend to be because its the same old thing. End the feud and start something new.

All in all i was impressed with the matches and the performances put it. Nearly every match lived up to expectation in what was a solid display by the WWE. Roll on to THE BASH

The first match(Kingston vs MVP vs Hardy vs Reagal) was a pretty good opener, with a few great moves from Kofi, MVP was also pretty good, Hardy and Regal were just there so it wouldn't be 1 on 1.

Mysterio vs Jericho: good match, Rey shined as always, Jericho didn't really do anything special, and I also didn't like the ending.

Umaga vs Punk: good, but if it was a no holds bared, it would have been much better. The strap limited Punks mobility, it slowed down the match.

Christian vs Dreamer vs Swagger: all three competitors were great. Swagger is a very talented youngster, Chirsitan and Dreamer have a lot of experience in these kind of matches. I think this was the second best of the show.

Vickie Guerrero vs Santina- just wrong. I fast forwarded through most of the match.

Orton vs Batista: it was surprisingly good, ended a little early.

Cena vs Big Shown: come on these guys know about 8 moves between them. Cena is just awful against another heavyweight.

Edge vs Jeff Hardy: best match. These 2 are clearly the best in ladder matches! The ending of the match was great. I wasn't happy to see Punk, but the Edge-Hardy-Punk match will be fantastic.

So it was a very good show, many lightweight matches. . But they made 2 huge mistakes: the Hog Pen match and the Cena-Show match.

US champion Kofi Kingston d. MVP, Matt Hardy & William Regal, Trouble in Paradise — pin Regal (**1/2). This would've been more interesting without Regal. Nice match, though a bit short. I guess that means more air time for Vickie and Santina!

Chris Jericho d. Intercontinental champion Rey Mysterio in a no holds barred match, roll up — pin (***). Your winner and NEWWW Intercontinental Champion and now the NINE time IC champ… and the greatest IC champ of all time dammit… Jericho! End came when Jericho countered the 619 by stripping Rey of his mask and pinning him with a roll up. Great ending as I thought Rey was going to win after he smacked Jericho with the chair. The crowd was into it and it was good back and forth match-up.

CM Punk d. Umaga in a Samoan strap match, Punk got the GTS on Umaga — hit the final turnbuckle (**). This show has been ridiculously Smackdown heavy so far (not that I'm complaining, Raw has sucked, though I do like Raw's beating on senior citizens). Anyways, this is my most hated stipulation; confusing for the audience and just very dull. Kind of like TNA's matches. Anyhoo, this was a pretty boring match; kind of a downer after Jericho-Mysterio. Surprisingly, the crowd was more into Umaga than Punk.

Meanwhile, Gregory Helms (why is Hurricane doing the interview?! What's up with dat?!) is backstage with Christian. Xian says he's going to miss Tommy Dreamer, then Dreamer cuts in and says Xian will not be the ECW Champion, then Jack Swagger cuts in, but Christian and Dreamer just walked away when Swagger started talking. LOL @ the Swagger diss. I always wanted someone to walk away like that.

Tommy Dreamer d. ECW champion Christian & Jack Swagger in a Hardcore match, DDT — pin Swagger (**). WWE put the last remaining 5 ECW fans in the front row as Dreamer went straight to them after he won. Anyways, this is Dreamer's first title in like a gazillion years, aside from some throwaway Hardcore title runs. This is also his longest reign as ECW Champ. He's earned that second third slice of cake. Speaking of which, I guess they're going to have to break out the old Mark Henry belt extensions for Tommy.

Santina d. Vickie in a hog pen match to become Miss Wrestlemania, roll up — pin (DUD). The filler/bathroom break and if this match follows Santina's Raw ratings, this might be the first PPV match to lose buys. Why is this even on pay per view anyway?! And they wonder why Smackdown is the better show. This is what I don't like about WWE; the stupid soap opera 'funny' matches. Shame, Chavo is a clown now. Speaking of which, those pigs were scared when Chavo got tossed over the fence. Sadly, this goes on longer than the first few matches of the night.

Meanwhile, Chavo and Vickie Guerrero run into Goldust and Hornswoggle. Goldust asks her to sign a paper and launches into a torrettes spasm. OK, tourettes Goldust is pretty awesome.

Batista d. WWE champion Randy Orton in a cage match, powerbomb — pin (*1/2). Both guys delivered a turkey of a cage match that was over quick. Big Dave just roided up and won clean. So far, the longest match of the night has been the Hog Pen match.

John Cena d. The Big Slowww in a submission match, STF — submission (**). Once again, it's up to Edge to save the PPV. Anyways, I don't need to know Show's ring and shoe size every time he wrestles. We get it, he's the largest athlete in the world and it's physically impossible for C-na to make him submit. Cena tries to overcome the odds, but the odds are too big! Then again, Cena has ALWAYS shown indomitable spirit and heart when it has mattered most! So, if anyone can do the impossible, Cena can! OMG! Cena once again showed his superhuman ability to overcome the odds! It's a miracle! Cena inspires the world again!

Jeff Hardy d. World champion Edge in a ladder match, Jeff yanked Edge's whole body in between two of the rungs — retrieves the title (***1/2). Sweet Jesus, did there REALLY need to be about 30 ladders out there?! And what's the deal with the champions coming out first nowadays? Anyways, both may have snapped their careers in half, BAH GAWD! End came when Edge went for a spear and Jeff mid-airs a Twist of Fate! This was a GREAT match as Smackdown's roster delivered in tonight's show.

CM Punk d. Smackdown champion Jeff Hardy, two GTS's — pin (DUD). PUNK WINS!!! PUNK WINS!!! PUNK WINS!!! Holy crap! Punk cashed in! Money in the Bank, son! Punk is now a 2 time champ. Smackdown saves show again! Hardy just had the shortest world title reign probably ever. And one can only hope this means a Punk heel turn as it looked like Edge was starting to go face earlier on. I want WWE to bring back the "Better than you" gimmick.

Final Thoughts: Action action action! Five title changes in one night! Nobody's got more surprises and twists and turns than us! This was the greatest night in the history of Nitro~! *guitar* WWE really needs a crusier tag belt to fully complete the evolution to 2000 WCW.

Match 1: Kofi Kingston (c) vs MVP vs Matt Hardy vs William Regal in a Fatal Four Way match for the United States Championship - The stipulation is by no means extreme, but the match is a very decent opener for Raw's new exclusive United States title. Kingston really shines as a great champion, taking on all three at the same time. Hardy and Regal's partnership sort of fades as they both attack each other at various times. In the end Kingston nails Regal with the Trouble in Paradise to retain his newly won title, decent opener.

Match 2: Rey Mysterio (c) vs Chris Jericho in a No Holds Barred match for the Intercontinental Championship - Jericho makes an entrance through the crowd, giving this long speech about how Mysterio is a phony advertiser, sort of like what he did to John Cena back at Armageddon. Anyway the match is really good, they could have brought in some more weapons, but the match was still exceptional. Jericho attempts to take Mysterio's mask off several times, but to no surprise Mysterio fights out of it. In the end a steel chair is brought in and Mysterio uses it on Jericho. Just as he goes for the 619, Jericho rips off the mask. Once the mask is off Jericho rolls Mysterio up for the win. Mysterio has been unmasked at the event and Jericho is a nine time Intercontinental Champion.

Match 3: Umaga vs CM Punk in a Samoan Strap Match - Their match at Judgment Day wasn't anything special, but this was just alright. Umaga uses his weight to pull Punk around and hit him with Samoan Drops and powerslams. Punk virtually touches all three turnbuckles at one point, but Umaga catches him before he can get to the forth. They battle a little more, then after Punk touches all three corners he is poised at the forth, Umaga runs in but Punk catches and hits him with the G.T.S. After the G.T.S. Punk touches the forth corner for the win. Really no excitement behind this one, but it was good to see CM Punk win this time.

Match 4: Christian (c) vs Tommy Dreamer vs Jack Swagger in a Triple Threat Hardcore Rules match for the ECW Championship - Probably one of the most anticipated matches of the night. Christian cuts a promo backstage, saying he will miss Dreamer, but can't stop from retaining his championship tonight. Swagger uses a lot of really nice mat wrestling maneuvers. He set up a whole pile of garbage cans that Dreamer was eventually tossed on with help from Christian. Dreamer also was pretty innovative as he flipped outside of the ring with a garbage can on his back. The match probably wasn't the most hardcore, but it did deliver in the rights of how it ended. Swagger picks Christian up for his gut wrench powerbomb and Dreamer then seizes the opportunity and hits Swagger with a crutch in the stomach. Christian now falls to the apron and Dreamer lands a DDT on Swagger for the win. Tommy Dreamer is the new ECW Champion, for the second time in his career. What a great ending.

Match 5: Vickie Guerrero (c) vs Santina Marella in a Hog Pen match for the Miss Wrestlemania Title - Just for the laughs. Chavo has to start it off, then Vickie enters in towards the end. She gets slopped by Santina, then Santina pins her to become Miss Wrestlemania for the second time.

Match 6: Randy Orton (c) vs Batista for the WWE Championship inside a Steel Cage - Steel Cage matches have been good, but this one really wasn't at all. The match was a lot better than what they put out at Judgment Day last month, but still nothing to make your jaw drop. Probably the biggest shocker of the night was when Batista nailed his Batista Bomb on Orton side the cage and became WWE Champion. I expected a strong reign from Orton, but wow what a surprise. I am happy about this, Batista is the new WWE Champion.

Match 7: John Cena vs Big Show in a Submission match - Dull, boring match. Just like at Judgment Day they let Big Show dominate the whole thing. If they had made this some other kind of match it would have been watchable, but even for a main event this is more of a bathroom break match. In the end with help from the ropes, Cena locks on his STF for the win when Big Show taps out. Real let down for a Raw main event.

Match 8: Edge (c) vs Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Ladder match - Probably SmackDown's best match of the night. A really innovative ladder match that was showcased by these two. Jeff Hardy really dominated the early going and displayed some nice in ring spots with the ladders. Edge starts to battle back and the two fly through ladder on the outside of the ring. Back inside the ring Edge appears to have the title, but Hardy wedges him into the ladder and grabs the belt. I was personally astonished that all the big name faces won at the same event.

Match 9: Jeff Hardy (c) vs CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship - Very stupid. Now I know I may seem as a Jeff Hardy markout fan for saying that, but that's not why it was stupid. CM Punk should have cashed in at his hometown last month and not at this event. He comes out, cashes in and lands the G.T.S. on Hardy to claim his second World Champion. The fans hated Punk for it.