One day removed from Sheamus and Gunther fighting in their second Intercontinental Championship Match, the two led their respective factions into a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook Match.
Donnybrook theater this was not, as the two factions used every weapon they could find to deliver heart-racing carnage.
Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) controlled the early minutes, dispatching The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland & Butch) with haste and dropping the former ECWWE champion onto the bar at ringside.
Holland turned the tide by showcasing his impressive power, when he dropped Ludwig and Giovanni onto the mat. The upper hand was short-lived, though, as the former NXT UK Tag Team champions struck Holland with an Imperial Bomb to the floor outside the ring.
With the WWE Universe at a fever pitch, The Celtic Warrior and the Intercontinental Champion began to trade haymakers in the center of the ring, with Ol' Laoch hitting 10 Beats of the Bodhran on The Ring General, before connecting with the Brogue Kick. Vinci broke up the pinfall, possibly saving the match for Imperium.
As the former WWE World champion locked the Intercontinental champion in the Clover Leaf, the win seemed certain for The Brawling Brutes... until Kaiser jumped into the ring and struck Sheamus with a Shillelagh.
It again reared its ugly head, when Butch and Holland held Gunther down long enough for Sheamus to hit his rival in the face with the weapon. The former WWE champion doubled down on the rampage by planting the Intercontinental Champion with a Celtic Cross through a table, taking the former NXT UK champion out of the match.
Unlike the previous night when Gunther reigned supreme, The Brawling Brutes delivered in their match, coming out with the victory after Ol' Laoch knocked out Vinci with the Brogue Kick.
With Liv Morgan trying to make it 3-0 against Ronda Rousey, The Baddest Woman on the Planet was right in her element in an Extreme Rules Match, not for the faint of heart.
The SmackDown Women’s Champion tried to blind her challenger with a fire extinguisher, but Rousey came back, emulating Bryce Harper with a home run blast to the midsection of Morgan with a baseball bat.
Liv had her best chance of victory when she hit Code Red with the assistance of a steel chair, but Ronda kicked out before the three-count, before again escaping a loss after the former Riott Squad member hit a senton to smash the Baddest Woman on the Planet through a table.
The champion couldn't enact enough damage to defeat the challenger, as Rousey put her into a Bicep Crusher while pressing the side of the broken table against her opponent’s face, which made the SmackDown Women’s Champion pass out.
With the victory, Ronda Rousey became a two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, while Liv Morgan seemed to be bizarrely smiling after the contest.
In the first Strap Match held at WWE Extreme Rules since the 2013 edition, Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross collided for the first time ever, with only 12 feet of leather between the two.
Before the bell, Kross initiated mind games, throwing the strap outside of the ring to Scarlett, who pulled McIntyre into the corner and allowed The Doomsday Superstar to beat down the former WWE Champion.
The fight then erupted into the raucous Philadelphia crowd, with the two former NXT champions beating each other to bits, before finally getting back to the ring to officially start the match.
Karrion went straight to Drew’s weak shoulder, slamming him shoulder-first into the ring post, before using the strap to brutal effect, silencing the Philly crowd with the sound of leather onto skin.
The Celtic Warrior fought back, winning the “strap-off” before planting The Harbinger of Doom with the Future Shock DDT.
Scarlett, however, once again got involved, stepping in front of McIntyre as he was about to connect with the Claymore. In a hideous act, Scarlett then blinded Drew McIntyre with pepper spray, allowing Karrion Kross to connect with the Kross Hammer and pick up the victory.
In the first one-on-one Women’s Ladder Match in WWE history, Raw Women's champion Bianca Belair and Bayley went toe-to-toe in a demolition derby of a title fight.
Much like past Ladder Matches, titlist and challenger went to new heights, as Belair used the hard steel to aid her in a maniacal Moonsault.
Bayley took umbrage with the Philadelphia faithful, tearing up a fan’s sign before connecting with an elbow to the heart of The EST onto a ladder.
The Role Model removed a hinge from her knee brace to use as a weapon, but the Raw Women’s Champion hit her challenger with the K.O.D. Just as Belair looked to grab the title hanging above the ring, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY attacked her, but she nailed both Damage CTRL members with a double K.O.D.
The mayhem gave Bayley enough time to recuperate and shock the champion with a Rose Plant. The challenger then trapped Bianca with the ladder, but the EST of WWE muscled her way out of it by lifting the ladder with The Role Model still on it.
In the closing moments, the champion used a broken half of a ladder to hit the challenger with a vicious K.O.D., driving her face-first into the steel. With Bayley out of commission, Bianca Belair had the last laugh, scaling the ladder to retrieve her Raw Women’s Title.
A battle in the making since The Judgment Day turned on WWE Hall of Famer Edge, The Rated R-Superstar finally got his hands on the main perpetrator, Finn Bálor.
The student employed a new viciousness, wearing a fabulously spiked beauty of a mask to signal to his former Judgment Day teacher that touching him would be harmful.
After a heated brawl through the arena that featured a wild melee at the Kickoff set, as well as Edge wielding a hockey stick to try to get Bálor to give up, the rest of Judgment Day charged the ring.
Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio helped their brethren after Finn was locked in an Edgecator. The WWE Hall of Famer dispatched the dark group by hitting a Spear on the former Prince Devitt through the ropes onto the rest of The Judgment Day on the ringside floor.
Rhea Ripley showcased her cunning, handcuffing the Ultimate Opportunist to the top rope and allowing the Judgment Day to begin a 3-on-1 beatdown. The Rated-R Superstar’s friend Rey Mysterio came down to provide backup, but Dominik viciously assaulted his father, sending the Biggest Little Man into the ring post.
As the former Bullet Club leader was unloading a Kendo Stick beatdown on Edge, fellow WWE Hall of Famer "Glamazon" Beth Phoenix came to her husband’s aid and took the Kendo stick away from Finn, before pummeling Judgment Day with the weapon. The former NXT UK & NXT Women's champion then interrupted the proceedings, engaging in a fist fight with the former WWE Diva's & Women's champion.
After taking care of Rhea, the Glamazon unlocked the handcuffs and allowed her WWE Hall of Famer husband to kick Dominik below the belt, before executing three Spears on Bálor. As the former WWE & World champion was about to hook in a submission on the former NXT & Universal champion, Ripley blindsided Phoenix with a brass knuckles strike. This let Finn hit three Coup de Graces on his WWE Hall of Fame opponent.
The Prince then turned to the Ultimate Opportunist’s family to secure the win, forcing Edge to choose between winning the match or seeing his wife be struck with a Con-Chair-To. The Rated-R Superstar chose family and uttered the two words he said he would never say: I Quit.
The WWE Hall of Famer’s admittance was for naught, however, as Rhea struck down the steel chair on Beth Phoenix anyway, stunning the WWE Universe.
In another grudge match befitting of Extreme Rules, Matt Riddle and Seth “Freakin” Rollins tore each other apart Inside the Fight Pit, the first-ever match of its kind at a Premium Live Event.
Riddle had previously stepped Inside the Fight Pit, competing in one during his time in NXT. Muddying the waters was the inclusion of Daniel Cormier, the Special Guest Referee for the contest.
The Super King of Bros looked to his MMA roots, hitting Rollins with a side kick while using the cage as momentum.
As Philadelphia was singing Rollins’ tune, The Visionary used devious tactics to get out of a Triangle Hold, thumbing Riddle’s eye. As Cormier was checking on Matt, Seth pushed Daniel out of the way, drawing the ire of the official, who repeatedly told the former WWE champion, “Do not touch me.”
Rollins then emulated WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam, hitting a Five-Star Frog Splash off the top of the catwalk.
Much like a few weeks ago, The Revolutionary locked in the Peruvian Necktie, but the former UFC champion countered with an RKO. After Riddle attempted another RKO, Rollins escaped and struck him with the Stomp.
Seth scaled the catwalk, leading to a fist fight on top of the Fight Pit. Using the catwalk to his advantage, The Architect then hit The Original Bro with a Buckle Bomb {or rather a “Fight Pit Cage Wall” Bomb}.
The former Shield turncoat connected with a Pedigree on the catwalk, barking at Cormier to start counting, even though he couldn’t win that way under Fight Pit rules. An RKO onto the former WWE champion on the catwalk gave some breathing room to the Super King of Bros.
In an insane feat, Riddle flew from the catwalk, hitting The Visionary with a Broton. Matt then locked in a triangle hold, forcing Seth to deliver multiple Buckle Bombs in an attempt to get out of the submission. Riddle weathered the storm and kept the hold locked in, forcing his opponent to tap out.
On this night, experience proved key as The Original Bro garnered retribution in his rivalry with The Visionary, coming out on top Inside the Fight Pit.
In the weeks leading up to WWE Extreme Rules, a mysterious presence seemed to be stoking the imagination of the WWE Universe: the white rabbit.
This mysterious persona left clues and messages hidden all over WWE programming with QR codes sending the WWE Universe spiraling down the rabbit hole.
As WWE Extreme Rules was going off the air, the white rabbit revealed himself to be none other than a returning Bray Wyatt, who seemed to be bringing back his whole Firefly Fun House entourage.
After catching brief glimpses of The Fiend and a broken down Firefly Fun House, the WWE Universe erupted into a roar as Bray entered the arena, with the former WWE & Universal champion blowing out his signature lantern and simply stating, “Run.”
One of the most unsettling, unpredictable and downright creepy Superstars in WWE history, what does the sinister Devourer of Worlds have planned after making his jaw-dropping return?
Source: WWE.com
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