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WWE is getting hardcore at Extreme Rules. The promotion touches down in Philadelphia on Saturday night with six matches all contested under special stipulations incentivizing violence, a significant departure from how this event was built just one year ago under a different creative regime.
A trilogy match between Liv Morgan and Ronda Rousey is expected to headline the card with Extreme Rules stipulations at play. Morgan, the SmackDown women's champion, has won both of their previous encounters; however, both outcomes were less than decisive. Extreme Rules also features a number of stipulations atypical to WWE: an MMA-themed Fight Pit between (one-time UFC star) Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins, a strap match between Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross, and an Irish-themed Donnybrook match, among others.
WWE Extreme Rules will be presented live on Saturday evening from Wells Fargo Center. It is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET with a kickoff show starting one hour earlier at 7 p.m. on Peacock. CBS Sports will be with you the whole way through the event, providing updates and highlights as the action goes down in the live blog below.
It doesn’t matter the time or the place, @WWESheamus, Butch & @RidgeWWE guarantee they will always bring the ultimate Fight Night. #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/vglzBEH5Kk
Quite the look from @FinnBalor #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/93BDtHhk2i
Next up is an "I Quit" match between Edge and Finn Balor.
WWE announces a U.S. championship match between Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins, plus Johnny Gargano vs. Theory for the Raw season premiere this Monday night.
Raw Women's Championship -- Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley (Ladder Match): Belair and Bayley got off to a quick start. Duelling crossbodies sent both women outside to retrieve ladders. Bayley took a moment to be delightfully evil and berate a young fan for shouting, "You suck!" The superstars made the most of the stipulation. Belair ran up a ladder propped against the ring apron. The champion laid out the challenger on a flat ladder and creamed her with a standing springboard moonsault. Bayley returned the favor with a modified sunset flip into a ladder leaning in the corner. One of the bout's most impactful moments came when Bayley ran along the ring apron and landed an elbow drop to Belair across a ladder outside. Bayley removed a piece of her knee brace to attack Belair with; however, Belair flattened Bayley with the KOD.
Belair nearly captured the title before Bayley's Damage CTRL cohorts Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky intervened. Belair fended them off with a messy double KOD but the distraction was enough for Bayley to gain the upperhand. The strategist Bayley tried to pin Belair under a ladder as the challenger climbed to victory. The champion's renowned strength was on display as she managed to tilt back the ladder from underneath and send Bayley crashing into the ropes. The foes jostled for momentum and the match came to a close when Belair landed an impressive KOD on Belair while simultaneously carrying a ladder. Belair climbed the ladder and retrieved the Raw Women's Championship.
This was a solid match with plenty of good spots. You can forgive Belair for having difficulties with the double KOD and she more than made up for it with the closing ladder sequence. I was a little miffed to see Belair so easily fend off all three members of Damage CTRL but it's great to see WWE continue to rally behind the champ. Belair (c) def. Bayley to retain the title. Grade: B+
What a performance by The EST of WWE!@BiancaBelairWWE is still the #WWERaw Women's Champion! #AndStill #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/508ZnnYt9z
You just knew #DamageCTRL was going to have a say in this match but @BiancaBelairWWE is the EST for a reason!#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/JJDGxB4gKq
What a move by @itsBayleyWWE! #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/UQAg5LKJ85
History makers@BiancaBelairWWE @itsBayleyWWE #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/QUWvbRcWmD
The Raw Women's Championship is on the line. Bianca Belair and Bayley will fight in what WWE is promoting as the first one-on-one women's ladder match in the company's history.
Welcome to #ExtremeRules, @nikkita_wwe! pic.twitter.com/2ZP9yt8agq
Karrion Kross vs. Drew McIntyre (Strap Match): The brawl kicked off before the bell. Kross played mind games with McIntyre and repeatedly refused to wear the strap. The two fought everywhere from the ring to the crowd with McIntyre selling a dislocated shoulder before finally strapping in Kross. After months of being blindsided by Kross, McIntyre finally had his foe within reach. McIntyre whipped Kross mercilessly until Scarlett's intervention gave Kross the opening to take over. Kross drove McIntyre into the announcer's table which held up better than it did in the opening six-man tag. Boos erupted from the audience as Kross viciously beat McIntyre with the strap as Scarlett commanded.
McIntyre finally had enough abuse and roared to life. He chucked Kross across the ring and landed a nice strap-assisted neck breaker. The tethered foes tormented each other with lashes. McIntyre got the better of the exchange and landed a Future Shock DDT. McIntyre attempted to close out the match with a Claymore, but Scarlett once again intervened. She blinded McIntyre by spraying his eyes with pepper spray. A compromised McIntyre was helpless as Kross clocked him with a fight-ending Kross Hammer forearm to the back of the head.
Your mileage may vary based on your expectations. I think very highly of both men and was expecting a physically gruelling, emotionally heavy contest. Kross' attempts to avoid the stipulation made sense considering his tactics in the lead-up to the match and his general penchant for mind games. The whipping was wonderfully horrific. Beyond that, it felt like the match was missing about two gears of intensity. Still, a strong showing for Kross in his biggest main roster match to date and a good sign of things to come. Kross def. McIntyre via pinfall – Grade: B
Time's up for @DMcIntyreWWE, @realKILLERkross is your winner!#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/Ke7Lp0Zo9c
😬😬😬@DMcIntyreWWE not holding back on @realKILLERkross.#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/JJX6PRaAVJ
A strap match between Karrion Kross and Drew McIntyre is underway.
UP NEXT @DMcIntyreWWE vs. @realKILLERkross in a Strap Match!#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/VXvNAhSrI0
SmackDown Women's Championship – Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey (Extreme Rules): A particularly intense Rousey did not take her eyes off Morgan from the moment the champion made her entrance. The opening moments revolved around the idea that Morgan needed an equalizer, a.k.a the Extreme Rules stipulation, to level the playing field against a superior wrestler. Morgan tried (and failed) to misdirect Rousey in the opening exchange and grab the baseball bat she brought with her. Rousey snatched the bat and considered using it before sliding it outside of the ring. Morgan introduced a fire extinguisher into the match and all hell broke loose. Rousey left a deep, baseball bat-shaped welt on Morgan's stomach. Morgan cracked Rousey with a chair more times than I could count.
The match hit a period of disjointedness as the superstars struggled through a pair of spots. Morgan drove Rousey through a table with a crashing senton bomb. Rousey expertly turned the subsequent near fall into a triangle armbar that had the champion in agony. The ending sequence was somewhat deflating. Rousey switched techniques into some sort of chokehold that even commentator Michael Cole failed to pick up on. Morgan passed out as the referee called for the bell. In an apparent heel turn, Rousey then trash-talked Morgan and the fans as she stepped on her stomach and walked out to boos.
It was a step up from their SummerSlam match but not by much. Things started well with their commitment to telling a story about Morgan's equalizer. Unfortunately, the match disintegrated into a brawl way too soon. A pair of messy spots and a confusing conclusion hurt a match that was shaping up to be the best in their series. Rousey def. Morgan (c) via knockout to win the title – Grade: C
#AndNew #SmackDown Women's Champion, @RondaRousey!#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/wfN6MHzZFz
.@YaOnlyLivvOnce puts The Baddest Woman on the Planet through a table!#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/CFPk00SQU5
5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger After 5⭐️ Banger.
Who do you got in this #SmackDown Women's Championship Match?#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/3ZnBJFEDPF
It is time for tonight's first title match: Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown women's championship. Morgan is up 2-0 in their series; however, both matches left doubt as to whether Morgan was truly the superior superstar.
The Miz ran into his rival Gritty, the mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers, backstage. Gritty offer The Miz a custom t-shirt as a peace offering. Miz promptly tossed the tee onto the floor and stepped on it.
The Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium (Good Ol' Fashioned Donnybrook): Ridge Holland showed off his absurd strength, carrying Ludwig Kaiser and Vinci on one shoulder each and delivering a back body drop. Holland's success was short-lived as Kaiser and Vinci delivered the Imperial Bomb ringside. Sheamus earned his group some momentum by saving Butch from an extended beatdown. Sheamus dropped Kaiser and Vinci ringside before going toe-to-toe with GUNTHER. The Brutes put a fun twist on Sheamus' trademark clubbing blows as all three members beat GUNTHER like a drum. Sheamus nearly scored the victory following a Brogue Kick on GUNTHER; however, Vinci executed a perfectly timed springboard splash to break the pinfall.
Sheamus locked in a follow-up Cloverleaf submission on GUNTHER, but Kaiser saved the day by snapping a shillelagh across Sheamus' back. The six superstars' efforts earned chants of "This is awesome!" from the crowd. Butch landed a stunning moonsault off a set of barrels ringside on Kaiser and Vinci. GUNTHER utilized Sheamus' trademark shillelagh, the same weapon he used to beat Sheamus on SmackDown, to score a near fall. It was a cathartic moment when Sheamus finally got his revenge on GUNTHER by smacking him across the neck with the shillelagh. An inspired Butch and Holland laid into Kaiser and Vinci with the same weapons. The match's closing moments saw Sheamus crash GUNTHER through the announcer's table with a Celtic Cross. A Brogue Kick to Vinci locked in a much-needed win for the Brutes.
Fantastic opening match. The action was intense, high-quality and varied in its approach. It was great to see Sheamus get a much-needed win to extend a program that has lots of life in it. The only thing holding the match back from "A" territory is a lack of big-time stakes. There were no titles on the line, it wasn't quite a "Match of the Year" contender and there was no major plot development beyond extending the feud. The Brawling Brutes def. Imperium via pinfall -- Grade: B+
What. A. Match. The #BrawlingBrutes win the Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook Match! #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/ONBXECKmEU
.@WWESheamus just put @Gunther_AUT through the announce desk!!!#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/22Mp7kV27m
The #BrawlingBrutes LOVE Fight Night!#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/3wBy1XjeXj
We're getting things started with a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook Match!#ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/lIKRzSqKrD
Welcome to WWE #ExtremeRules! pic.twitter.com/CyOP6WEdJY
We are live with WWE Extreme Rules!
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