Another WWE PPV in the books and another solid outing for everyone in the show. WWE has been on a good stretch of good PPV’s here lately and I obviously hope it continues. There were some title changes that were unexpected and we’ll see where we are heading into SummerSlam. My biggest complaint about the show, and I say this about nearly every WWE PPV, it was way too long. There were some matches that didn’t need to be on the card in my opinion, but I think it all worked out. Here is my reaction to the show and the results to go along with them.

- Men’s Singles Match: Intercontinental Championship

Shinsuke Nakamura over Finn Bálor (C)

I don’t get why this was added just a couple hours before the show started to be in the kickoff show. I mentioned in my latest Power Rankings that this should’ve been on the PPV card, but it was unplanned and I think it was disrespectful to give two great performers like these a match in the kickoff show and the fact that it wasn’t announced until the day of the event. After seeing this match advertised, I had a feeling Nakamura would win and he did. Another complaint that I didn’t mention in the intro was the fact that there are commercials during a PPV match. This has happened in the last few PPV’s, but there should absolutely be no commercials during paid programming. The match was good, but the commercials take away value for me.

GRADE: 7.8/10

- Men’s Singles Match: Cruiserweight Championship

Drew Gulak (C) over Tony Nese

I wasn’t really invested in this match at all, but like always they had a solid match. They just don’t get the publicity that they should for anyone to care about the matches and I hate that. Gulak winning here made sense and it was good to see Gulak selling Nese’s attacks for the majority of the match. Hopefully in the future we get to see the Cruiserweight Championship featured more.

GRADE: 8/10

- No Holds Barred Men’s Tag Team Match

The Undertaker and Roman Reigns over Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre

This match was actually a little better than I expected. I knew that if Undertaker could find a way to get momentary rest throughout the match it would be best and he looked great. They did a good job with this match I’d be a little shocked if Undertaker isn’t at SummerSlam in some capacity. Reigns and McIntyre carried the match, which was expected. I was a little surprised to see that this one was going to kick off the show, but they did great. It will be interesting to see what is next for these guys.

GRADE: 8.7/10

- Men’s Tag Team Match: RAW Tag Team Championship

The Revival (C) over The Usos

This match was unnecessary, but like usual, it was a decent showing. The Revival retaining the titles here wasn’t a shock either, so I really don’t know why this was added. I don’t think fans would’ve been upset without this match to be honest. We see this matchup so many times on RAW, so the anticipation for these two teams going against each other is non-existent. I don’t know how much longer The Revival will be champs, but we’ll keep an eye on them.

GRADE: 7.7/10

- Men’s Singles Match

Aleister Black over Cesaro

I don’t think there was a better person for Aleister Black to face than Cesaro in this scenario. The goal was obviously to get Black over by facing a formidable opponent and they did this perfectly. Was it a perfect match? No, but it was a really good one. It wasn’t too short, it wasn’t too long and honestly, I don’t think anyone would be upset if we saw this match again next month.

GRADE: 8.9/10

- 2-on-1 Women’s Handicap Match: SmackDown Women’s Championship

Bayley (C) over Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross

There was nothing special about this match and absolutely nothing to take away from it. Bliss and Cross are still a team and that is kind of a shock to me. I still expect them to split, but it doesn’t appear it is happening any time soon. Bayley is still champ and that is fine, but another thing I was expecting was a Sasha Banks appearance in some capacity, but we didn’t get that either. It was a very average match with nothing accomplished. Next.

GRADE: 7.1/10

- Last Man Standing Match *MATCH OF THE NIGHT*

Braun Strowman over Bobby Lashley

This whole thing was so good. I’d venture to say that it was Braun Strowman’s best showing of his career and one of Lashley’s best also. The Last Man Standing stipulation was perfect for the storyline and the ending was done wonderfully. These two performers are so talented and it was good to see these guys getting the attention that they deserve. I can’t think of anything that would’ve made this match any better than it was.

GRADE: 9.9/10

- Men’s Triple Threat Tag Team Match: SmackDown Tag Team Championship

The New Day over Daniel Bryan and Rowan (C), Heavy Machinery

I didn’t expect the result, but that is a good thing. Bryan and Rowan were the favorites, but Heavy Machinery wasn’t far behind. I didn’t see anyone predicting New Day to take the titles here. Now we have all of The New Day with titles and that is a cool moment. I wasn’t sure if it was going to last past last night, but they are all still champs. Big E was the star of the match here, but every competitor got their shots in. The finish of the match was really good and there was a lot going on, which built suspense for the finish. Heavy Machinery is certainly not out of the title picture with this loss, but I’m interested to see if they get a shot at SummerSlam.

GRADE: 8.8/10

- Men’s Singles Match: United States Championship

AJ Styles over Ricochet (C)

This was a solid match, but I don’t think it lived up to what people were expecting. I had a feeling Styles would win here, but I hate to see Ricochet lose the title so quickly. I do get why they did it though, because they have to give a sufficient build for The Club. I still don’t know what their plans for them are, but there is a lot of potential there.

GRADE: 7.8/10

- Men’s Singles Match

Kevin Owens over Dolph Ziggler

There was absolutely no need for this contest. The only reason this happened was so that Owens could trash Shane McMahon, but why couldn’t he do that anyway without a squash win? I don’t get this spot at all, but I think we will see Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens match at SummerSlam. They had a Hell in a Cell match back in October of 2017 and Owens won that bout, it will be interesting to see where Owens goes from here. The only reason it is getting 5/10 is because of the promo after the match.

GRADE: 5/10

- Men’s Singles Match: WWE Championship

Kofi Kingston (C) over Samoa Joe

This match didn’t stand out, but I personally thought it was a really decent match. I thought they did enough in terms of storytelling, but many critics didn’t care for this match. I really enjoyed the spot where Samoa Joe placed Kofi’s middle finger in between the steel steps, but as far as a match goes, it was a little more than average. I feel like some of Kofi’s magic is wearing off from WrestleMania and I think a lot of fans would agree, so look out for his SummerSlam opponent.

GRADE: 8.4/10

- Winners Take All Extreme Rules Mixed Tag Team Match: Universal and RAW Women’s Championship

Seth Rollins (C) and Becky Lynch (C) over Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans

There was a lot going on here and it was a really good match. They had a little help with the Extreme Rules stipulation and I’m glad they made this the main event. It appears that Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans will be out of the title picture for at least one PPV, but I thought they did really well. Evans catches a lot of flak for her in-ring ability, but I thought she looked great her. Her turnaround popup moonsault was absolutely gorgeous.

Something that was out of the ordinary was Baron Corbin hitting The End of Days on Becky Lynch. It was a little unexpected and it completely added to Corbin’s heel heat. Rollins wasted all of his energy defending his girlfriend and was exhaust before someone else decided to appear.

😮

➡️ https://t.co/E0MswUzX3G pic.twitter.com/Pk6fsD3TuT
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) July 15, 2019

GRADE: 9.6/10

- Money in the Bank Cash-In: Universal Championship

Brock Lesnar over Seth Rollins (C)

Paul Heyman teased a spoiler and it was true. Lesnar is now a 3-time Universal Champion. Although I expected when he decided to cash-in his briefcase the fans would hate it more, but to my surprise I think this was the perfect time to do it. I thought they would hold off a little longer, but Philly got to witness the cash-in last night. There is a certain aura surrounding Lesnar that is difficult to explain. He is a once-in-a-lifetime caliber athlete and every time he steps inside a wrestling arena, there is genuine excitement. I don’t know what is next for the Universal Championship picture, but you have to think that Rollins gets a rematch.

GRADE: 9.1/10

Yacs

2019 Extreme Rules Results and Reaction