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With Cesaro having just returned from injury, and Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens a hot program WWE wasn't quite ready to go away from yet, with The Miz in need of new challengers for the Intercontinental title with Zack Ryder not a viable option, a solution was found: throw them all in together in a Fatal 4-Way.
That's exactly what they did at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey at tonight's (Sun., May 22, 2016) Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
The match was worked like most 4-Way matches: One guy would get knocked out of the ring, then another, then it would become like a one-on-one before another guy got back in to change it up and create some chaos. Wrestle. Repeat.
That's not to say it was bad -- it certainly wasn't. There were multiple great spots, like Cesaro hitting the running uppercuts in the corner on all three before Owens returned the favor with the cannonball. There was also a perfect sequence that led to Miz hitting a Skull Crushing Finale on Cesaro with the others cleared that absolutely looked like the finish.
But it wasn't.
That should have come just after, when Cesaro had Miz in the Sharpshooter and tapping but the referee was distracted by Maryse. That led to Cesaro getting pissed and holding Miz up near the ropes so Owens could hit a Frog Splash only for Cesaro to hit him with a Neutralizer that got a two count before Zayn jumped in at the last second to break it up. Then he got a super close near fall on Cesaro and that's when the "this is awesome" chants hit.
A dumb chant, but fitting.
They didn't let off the gas either, alternating near falls bringing guys in and out of the ring to tease literally all four possibly winning. By the end of it, you were certain any of them could win the title. There was a point where Cesaro sent Miz out of the ring and Zayn hit the Helluva Kick on Cesaro and the victory was his if it weren't for Owens showing up at the exact right time to pull him out. That led to an enraged Sami attacking KO and not paying attention to what was happening in the ring.
That's when The Miz got in and stole the pin to retain his title.
What a match.
For complete Extreme Rules results and coverage of every match on the card click here.