Extreme Rules

Hi all,

So I made my Extreme Rules predix on Wednesday and have been slow on the uptake since as the mini computer problems I'd been having morphed into major ones over th weekend; but I'm back online now (or will be in a matter of hours - on the hubby's comp right now), and I just wanted to quickly post my thoughts on last night's PPV, along with a promise that all that bumpiness truly is now behind me and I'm ready to refocus on blogging now that it's not a chore just to log in. So. Extreme rules:

This was actually a very newsworthy show, and I've got to say given several pundits in the Online Wrestling Community were surprised by some of the results, I was quite pleased that my predictions weren't very far off, I don't remember them off the top of my head now but I think I did predict several of the title changes which occured, and those I might have gotten wrong I certainly said had the potential to be close and acknowledged I was coming down off a fence for them. Newsworthiness and my thoughts include (and I might get the order wrong ...) -

• US Title match was not bad, but predictable; honestly I don't know why they had Kofi Kingston win the belt on Monday, making his retention so obvious. They had, in this match, 4 men who legitimately could have won the belt, and it was absolutely unpredictable until Kofi's win Monday. They took any mystique out of this match, which was unfortunate since, while good, it also wasn't as good as it could have been, and it could have benefited from the unpredictability factor.
  
• Tommy Dreamer, the day his contract ends, wins the ECW title; this was expected and a great way to begin Tommy Dreamer's 'goodbye' run after 20 years in the industry. He's the last of the ECW originals in ECW, and it will be the end of an era when he retires. Here's hoping he reminds everyone what ECW once stood for.
• Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho was good, as any outing by these two will be, and Jericho won the IC belt as I know I predicted; I didn't foresee Rey Mysterio's unmasking and I still think that's kind of dumb given he wrestled sans mask for years in WCW, but all that's old is new again in the world of wrestling. Will be interesting to see where that goes. I agree with Jason Powell's assessment this should have gone later in the card though as it was definitely the match of the night until Hardy-Edge, and the 3-4 matches in between suffered for it.
• Hog Pen match was exactly what I expected, no better or worse. The interaction between Vicki and Edge afterwards was interesting although I wonder how they'll be able to play the 'divorce' angle out as they're on two brands. Or if that's kind of the point and they'll just have them quietly go their separate ways 'offscreen', then that's fine too. But since it was a marriage of convenience and a business arrangement anyway, it makes no sense for them to still be married.
• The two Raw main events were alright - I believe I predicted a Batista win which was alright enough, and John Cena vs. Big Show was exactly the same tune and lyrics as any other 'John Cena vs. Big Man' match. Which is not a complaint in and of itself.
• SD main event is where things got interesting; I predicted Edge for the win here, while saying I wouldn't be surprised at a Jeff win; one of the most unique endings for a ladder match later, and Jeff had won the World Title. Here's where things go awry, however; CM Punk comes in, cashes in his Money in the Bank, beating Jeff Hardy for the title. So here's what we're left with: Jeff fans should have been able to celebrate his world title win, and didn't get the chance. If Punk were to win the title, his fans should have had the same opportunity, but instead it was too much a 'what the heck?' moment. It did none of the wrestlers involved any favours ... UNLESS (a) Punk is turning heel, in which case it would make sense for his 'Straightedge' character to have issues with Jeff Hardy's lifestyle, and/or (b) if Jeff Hardy is indeed taking a leave of absence this summer, although then I don't quite understand why they didn't just have Edge retain.
• Bottom Line: if Punk is staying face, I don't understand why they couldn't have played things out the exact same way, following an Edge win.

Nonetheless an entertaining and newsworthy PPV: I question how they handled the SD title/MITB situation, but that's not un-rectifyable. We'll see where things go over the week ahead - be sure and stay tuned here for all the action!