Bayley and Sasha came out to gloat about Sasha’s “win” last night at Extreme Rules.
Sasha said last night she fought for the title, unlike Asuka, who literally got handed the title when Becky Lynch went on maternity leave. Bayley said that she had to do what was right because she is a role model, so she borrowed the ref’s shirt and counted the pin for Sasha.
Asuka and Kairi Sane came out and Asuka was irate, saying that Sasha wasn’t ready for her and that the title is hers. And that’s when Stephanie McMahon popped up on the tron and said that Sasha was not that actual winner of the match last night, and called the ending a “true horror show” (which is what that promo was as well!) But, next week, Asuka and Sasha will have a rematch to determine who the rightful champion is, and Bayley can’t help.
Abeyance is back!
Okay so Stephanie didn’t actually say abeyance like WWE did way back in 2013 during the Bryan/Orton feud. But she also technically didn’t call Asuka the champion. So, no one is champion! (Abeyance is the champion.) In all seriousness, I don’t quite get why Asuka isn’t the champion since the match was just erased after the referee was blinded. The mist isn’t a DQ, but Bayley is also not a referee. Couldn’t another referee have just come down and continued the match?
Apparently Asuka was supposed to retain her title at Extreme Rules but there was a last minute change in plans. A last minute change of anything in WWE is usually a bad sign, as we saw with parts of this show.
Another legend falls
Orton cut a great promo earlier in the evening saying 175 days ago when he swung a steel chair down on Edge’s surgically repaired neck was one of the best moments in his life. Being in Evolution and being the youngest heavyweight champion weren’t as good.
Big Show followed up with his own promo later, saying he hoped and prayed for a long time that the Legend Killer would never come back, but he guesses the voices in his head just got a little too loud.
Show decided he wanted to partake in a little bit of extreme rules himself (it was unsanctioned after all) and got a table from outside and set it up in the right halfway through the match, but Orton got out of the way and Show went through. One RKO didn’t put him away, but a second did the job. In between all this Andrade and Garza came out to help Orton, but the Viking Raiders took care of them I guess because when we came back from break they were all gone. Don’t really know what the point of that was.
The RKO wasn’t good enough for Orton, and as Show struggled to get up, the punt kick made its return. Now that Big Show is out of the picture, Orton should be primed and ready for a shot at Drew McIntyre. You know… once Drew is done with his current stupid feud, which I’ll briefly touch on later.
Messiah’s wrath continues
Seth told us that he understood the rules for his Eye for an Eye match, and what happened will stay with him for the rest of his life. Seth asked if the WWE Universe regrets making him the Monday night Messiah.
Seth blamed us for Rey Mysterio’s downfall and said we shouldn’t dwell in the past. Now no one stands in his way and then Aleister Black interrupted and said he would rectify the situation and charged the ring. Murphy tried to stop him but Aleister wiped his behind around the ring and tossed him over the announce table.
I love that this is somewhat based in reality. While it technically was WWE’s fault with the dreadful Fiend booking at last year’s Hell in a Cell, it finally led to a pivot in Rollins’ stale character as the Monday night Messiah.
Rollins targeted Aleister’s right arm throughout the match. Aleister hit a Black Mass early but Murphy prevented him from pinning Rollins and Rollins rolled out. He grabbed Aleister’s right arm from the top rope and pulled it down. He hit the curb stomp and won.
After the match Rollins and Murphy kept attacking the right arm and probably have “injured” it. No help from Humberto Carrillo, or… anyone.
My disappointment from last night has carried over. Again the match was good, but the ending was not. That was Aleister’s first loss in a long time and it wasn’t even mentioned. His strong booking has actually never been mentioned at all. Also, if Humberto is out for reasons, why couldn’t KO or someone come out to assist? I don’t know if this was planned or part of the rewrite of the show but there were better ways to do this. Seth has now won twice when he shouldn’t have in my opinion.
The Rest
Kairi Sane def. Bayley - After the unofficial celebration for Sasha, Bayley and Kairi Sane had their scheduled match. Unfortunately I was unable to see a chunk of this one but I did see the magnificent ending. I don’t think I have ever seen such a cool transition out of a belly to belly like I did when Kairi schoolboyed Bayley for the upset. Kairi was apparently done with WWE but unless this was just a one off to send her home on a high note, this would technically mean (in WWE world) that she could challenge for the SmackDown women’s title, right? I know they will have Bayley and Sasha on for follow up with Nikki Cross, but really, why show up? I sure as hell wouldn’t if an unhinged person like Cross was mad at me for cheating.
Mustafa Ali, RicoRic def. MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin - MVP claimed once again that he is the new US champion. He praised Lashley for putting Apollo on the shelf and said he’s the champion because Apollo is home nursing his neck and eating humble pie. He called RicoRic dumb and dumber, which prompted them to come out and say that joke was funny in 2006, the last time MVP was relevant. They also said that they have a returning superstar to help them out. That returning superstar - MUSTAFA ALI!
… AliCoRic? Yes? No?
The Hurt Business once again rag dolled Ricochet around. MVP telling Ricochet to smile for the camera was a great spot. Benjamin and Lashley kept him away from the other side and worked him over. Ali and MVP got the hot tags and it all broke down. Benjamin took out Ced, Ric took him out, Ali sent Lashley over the announce table. Ali hit a neck breaker and 450 for the win. I am incredibly happy to see Mustafa Ali back and this trio could be a stable and make me happy, please!
Ruby Riott def. Peyton Royce - The EST of WWE was being interviewed and the very evil Peyton interrupted her. You don’t interrupt Bianca Belair. Peyton said Bianca is the dumb-est for showing back up. Bianca said that wherever Billy is, she hopes she enjoys watching her get whooped. God I love Bianca Belair.
Peyton had a nasty submission stretching Ruby’s arm, stretching the 5 count as well. Peyton dominated the first few minutes. She went up to the top but Ruby ducked her and hit the Riott kick for the win. She looked shocked that she won, which is sad because she never should have been on a losing streak. This was quick but it’s great to see Ruby winning. I hope that the “business” Billy is on is a healthy one.
Street Profits def. Angel Garza and Andrade - This was unexpected, considering the tired trope of non-title matches with champions. Andrade and Angel Garza subscribed to the Street Profits “talk shit, get hit” pamphlet before the match.
Interestingly, there was no miscommunication between Garza and Andrade in this match. They worked over Montez and Dawkins got the hot tag and cleaned house. Montez got AIR as usual for a frog splash and won. After the match, Zelina was irate at her men backstage but they said that they were on the same page.
Who cares? - I don’t give a shit about Dolph Ziggler. I can only hope that a forced rewrite led to Drew McIntyre accepting a rematch. He gets to pick the stipulations, and he ain’t tellin’ Ziggler because he doesn’t deserve to know until the bell rings. Yeah cool. Dolph didn’t deserve the match at Extreme Rules, and he damn sure doesn’t deserve a rematch. This is so dumb.
Shelton Benjamin is the new 24/7 Champion - Lashley and MVP were in the back finishing a conversation with Ron Simmons, and Truth pulled up with a frying pan. MVP asked the 24/7 champion to join them in the ring and Truth declined, but Lashley clarified that he meant the “new” 24/7 Champion. Shelton attacked Truth and pinned him. Fine segment and it’s nice to see Shelton with some gold around his waist after a while.
A few surprises and a few negative points for this show. Dolph and Drew part two I couldn’t care less about, even with another surprise stipulation. Aleister Black was criminally mishandled tonight. He has been on a long hot streak but was saddled with this Rollins/Mysterio feud. Mustafa Ali’s return was a highlight for me. I love that dude and I’m so happy to see him back. I’m most interested in what happens with the title held in abeyance next week.
I promise I’m done saying that word.
Grade: B-
What were your thoughts, Cagesiders?