5 greatest matches in Extreme Rules history
There has been 11 Extreme Rules events before this Sunday's The Horror Show at Extreme Rules. This PPV was apart of WWE's initial attempt to brand every PPV, introducing the event in 2009 along with Hell an a Cell and TLC. Throughout the event's history, we have seen a number of epic matches of different stipulations.
In 2012, Daniel Bryan and Sheamus nearly stole the show with their captivating two out of three falls match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Four years later at Extreme Rules, The Miz defended the Intercontinental Championship against Sami Zayn, Cesaro and Kevin Owens in a thrilling Fatal 4 Way Match.
These two matches were both great and nearly made our list. Let's take a look at the 5 greatest matches to take place at WWE Extreme Rules.
#5 Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor - Extreme Rules Match (2017)
Ahead of Extreme Rules in 2017, Brock Lesnar was the dark cloud that hovered over Monday Night RAW. For the first time since his 2014 run as WWE Champion, Lesnar was the reigning yet absentee world champion on the RAW brand, this time as Universal Champion after defeating Goldberg at Wrestlemania 33.
With Lesnar away for the Extreme Rules event, RAW GM Kurt Angle decided to make a Fatal 5-Way Extreme Rules Match to determine the #1 contender for the Universal Title featuring the top stars of the brand.
Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Finn Balor went out in the main event of Extreme Rules 2017 and put on a helluva show. So many different rivalries were at play in this one as Joe had issues with Reigns, Rollins and Balor while Balor became the first Universal Champion by defeating Seth. Bray Wyatt was the wildcard in this match and essentially played that role throughout.
There were pears through the guardrail, Sister Abigails, a Coup De Grace and a huge splash from the top rope through the announce table by Seth Rollins. We saw alliances formed throughout the contest with Joe and Bray working together as well as a brief Shield reunion.
To end this dramatic Extreme Rules encounter, it seemed like every competitor had a chance to win. Seth wanted to gain the victory, but Finn was able to catch him off guard. Balor hit a huge Coup De Grace and looked for the pin. However it was Samoa Joe who swooped in and locked in the Coquina Clutch to secure the victory and become #1 contender.
This set up a hoss battle of Joe vs Brock at Great Balls of Fire the following month.