A Country Whipping; Kendo Stick on a Pole - 5 most disappointing Extreme Rules matches in WWE history
WWE Extreme Rules has had many iconic matchups that have defined the word “Extreme” and set the bar for future shows of this caliber. However, there have been matches in the past that fell short of achieving this goal and were simply a huge disappointment to watch.
These matches were highly anticipated to be great on paper. A few were a bit ridiculous as well, with some hoping that some level of entertainment could be found in these matches to save face, but which was unfortunately not meant to be the case.
Today, we look at five of the most disappointing Extreme Rules matches in WWE history
#5. Strap Match: Shad Gaspard vs. JTG (Extreme Rules 2010)
shad gaspard vs jtg wwe extreme rules 2010 https://t.co/mIWe3TszAv
With the upcoming strap match that will take place at Extreme Rules (2022) featuring Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross, we can only hope that it will deliver the goods compared to this stinker.
Shad Gaspard and JTG split up their tag team for Cryme Tyme, with Shad turning heel and perhaps showcasing most of the potential of succeeding in WWE over his former tag partner.
The two men were booked in for a strap match that lasted a little less than five minutes and left little to be desired. The crowd was silent and didn’t seem to care about this match whatsoever, other than to see it be over and done with. Shad was turned into just another generic big guy in WWE while JTG suffered on the lower card as a jobber.
#4. Submission Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya (Extreme Rules 2016)
Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya – WWE Women’s Title Submission Match: WWE Extreme Rules 2016 (Full Match) dlvr.it/RZvZW2 #Sports https://t.co/eSMAg1oF41
We remember the epic showdown between Charlotte Flair and Natalya from NXT TakeOver (2014) that saw Charlotte win her first women’s championship of her career, with Ric Flair and Bret Hart watching on from ringside.
With that match in mind, moving fast forward to Extreme Rules (2016), both wrestlers, especially Charlotte, evolved as performers inside the ring.
The match was booked as a Submissions match. On paper, this sounded like an excellent idea. However, the match just seemed to drag on with both ladies not willing to sell their injuries and threw the entire flow of the match completely off.
Dana Brooke was in the corner of The Queen at the time,getting herself involved at the conclusion of the match. For a division that was on the cusp of improving, this was certainly a huge disappointment.
#3. Kendo Stick on a Pole Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley (Extreme Rules 2017)
Bayley with the bayley to belly on Alexa Bliss at Extreme Rules https://t.co/sTk6PEmNlm
Bayley and Alexa Bliss came off a huge banger in a match at Payback (2017) a month prior to the event, so the anticipation was high that both ladies would deliver the goods yet again.
However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The feud plummeted, starting with the horrible, “This is your life” segment on RAW leading up to this match, then the booking of this “Kendo Stick on a Pole” match that should have never happened.
Bliss teased Bayley and claimed that she wasn’t extreme enough to use a kendo stick as a weapon. Bayley failed to show up to Alexa Bliss and came off looking bad, as she couldn’t bring herself to beat Bliss with the kendo stick. The entire match was downright goofy and disappointing for that reason alone.
Fast forward to 2022, and it’s interesting to see how much things have changed between Bayley and Alexa Bliss.
#2. Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (Extreme Rules 2014)
John Cena arrives at Extreme Rules, ready to do battle with the charismatic - and terrifying - Bray Wyatt http://t.co/L0VLREzkV0
John Cena and Bray Wyatt had a red-hot feud coming off WrestleMania XXX, which led into a Steel Cage match for Extreme Rules (2014).
Some fans may argue that Cena defeated The Eater of Worlds at WrestleMania, killing his momentum, but the finger could be pointed at the events of this match that killed off any chance of Bray Wyatt regaining any lost steam.
The cage match was filled with interference that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The entire bout was severely overbooked with The Wyatt Family interrupting it. To top it off, a child singing: “He’s got the whole world in his hands” appeared out of nowhere to throw Cena off his game.
Wyatt did pick up the victory but the method of getting to that point was disappointingly bad.
#1. Country Whipping Match: Jack Swagger & Michael Cole vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler & Jim Ross (Extreme Rules 2011)
We’ve talked about the extreme, but what about the offbeat matches of Extreme Rules?
Like that time Jack Swagger and Michael Cole defeated Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross in a Country Whipping Tag Team Match at #WWE #ExtremeRules in 2011. https://t.co/SojD9wAyI8
This match is without a doubt one of the most disappointing, yet arguably worst, matches in Extreme Rules history.
Jim Ross and Michael Cole are not wrestlers by any means and were extremely limited despite their efforts and attempts to put on an entertaining match. Jack Swagger and Jerry Lawler did very little to add to the match, much less save face.
To sum it up, the match failed and only served as a means to extend the feud between Jerry Lawler & Michael Cole for one more pay-per-view encounter a month later at Over the Limit (2011), and wasted time on this show that could’ve been given to other matches.