Compared to last year I felt this Extreme Rules was really bland and uninteresting. Instead of going through a match by match overview I'm just going to briefly outline the parts I thought were successful and then go into detail about the more unsuccessful aspects of the PPV.
Seeing The Shield come out on top was great; the two matches were entertaining and didn't need to rely on any stipulations to be entertaining. I hope that the Freebird Rule is implemented for defending the tag team championships and that the trio can hopefully bring back some prestige to their belts. As another hidden advantage to The Shield winning the tag titles I'm hopeful that Daniel Bryan can now return to singles matches. Watching Orton punt Big Show was welcomed, that single moment seemed to make a better than average match good. I thought Henry and Sheamus were very innovative when using the strap, as neither seemed to choke, whip or pull each other from the top rope; though I admit I'm not a fan of matches like this, they made it a match worth watching.
Sadly these are the only memorable highlights I can think of, so here comes my list of things I feel didn't go so great. The first offender of the night was when the referee decided to watch a replay during the Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio match. Like the strap match, I'm not a massive fan of I Quit matches but the two were pulling off a decent match with plenty of reversals, submissions and using the arena well - especially when Swagger exposed the barricade at ring side. In my opinion the reversal seemed to raise more questions than it answered, because does this mean any time a heel cheats to win it will be appealed? I highly doubt it. I'm more annoyed at the fact that this was just a one off thing that will probably be never spoken of again, but it was still annoying that because if this you knew Alberto Del Rio was going to win. Honestly, I feel that this marked the downfall of this PPV.
The Last Man Standing match between Cena and Ryback was worse than I expected it to be. I know I've written how I don't like Cena's booking but from the off I thought it was obvious it would be a draw; Cena won't wrestle 'the match of his life' against The Rock and lose the belt a month later, and Ryback isn't established enough to hold the company; so the outcome isn't what's important it's how the two conduct themselves. I honestly really feel that Ryback is either still very inexperienced or is simply terrible; he completely lacked any pacing during the match. There were a few moments where he would just about get up from an eight and a half count to then instantly be running round and picking Cena up over his head; with no momentum or cheering from the crowd. Even when Cena hit him in the head with a fire extinguisher he no-sold it and needed to be hit a second time.
I actually felt that Cena was the only saving grace of this match, he pushed the boat and did moves he doesn't usually do; like a powerbomb. He even tried some visually impressive spots, like spearing Ryback through the time keepers area, but Ryback managed to get up before him; which isn't Cena's fault, but it does ruin his spot.The only problem with Cena in this match is everything he does, someone else has always done better. Not too long ago Roman Reigns speared Sheamus through the timekeepers area and it was much more impressive than when Cena did it. Also the finish reminded me of when Kurt Angle belly to bellied Shane McMahon through the King of the Ring stage, only that was more impressive due to the stage being glass and Angle throwing Shane through it more than once. I don't intend to criticize Cena on this, but it's just something I feel has to be said about his performance.
The final match on the card was Brock Lesnar vs Triple H in a cage match. My first gripe with this match was it shouldn't be the main event; in my eyes except for the Royal Rumble and Survivor Series the WWE Championship should always be the last card on the bill, so instantly this annoyed me. Another pre-match complaint was I have no idea why this feud is still carrying on. If it was me, I would have retired Triple H at Wrestlemania and have him focus fully on his backstage duties. There is no reason for either of these men to keep up this feud, there's nothing on the line, neither men are full time workers and it seems to be a waste of two megastars who could get new talent over.
The match itself was riddled with all kinds of awful too, considering the stars who were participating. I thought it was impossible to make Brock Lesnar, WWE World Heavyweight Champion, MMA World Heavyweight champion and self proclaimed Ass-kicker look like such a bitch, but Triple H found a way. There is no reason for Brock Lesnar to be screaming in pain the way he did, especially when he's had his head split open and gushed blood two times previously - this just seemed to sap all the momentum out of him and make him lose all credibility as a monster heel. The entire spot with the 'camouflaged sledgehammer' was utterly daft too, in my opinion. It seems that I wasn't the only person who was unimpressed with this, as the crowd seemed utterly dead when the match took place; the biggest pop from the fight was when Brock Lesnar won, and part of me thinks they cheered because it was over more than anything...
A special mention goes to the WWE commentary team this pay per view. They managed to ruin a lot of the matches, but a few memorable interactions stayed with me. After the Cena match we had the team tell us how sometimes things go too far even though not too long ago, I believe, Edge put Cena through a flood light in a similar finish. Also I thought it was really strange that Mick Foley was present as part of the pre-show and post-show announce teams and The King kept saying about how these were some of the most extreme matches he's seen, despite being there when Mick Foley had his infamous Hell in a Cell, and I'm presuming he was present when Mick Foley took on Orton at Backlash and Edge at Wrestlemania. Even if The King meant the most extreme Extreme Rules, I would humbley submit that last year's PPV was more extreme with the Lesnar and Cena match alone and the standard of the rest of the card was much higher.
All in all it wasn't an utterly terrible PPV, but the negatives seemed to outweigh the positives. I suppose with it being the first PPV after Wrestlemania it's difficult to assemble a card to please everyone as well as forming new rivalries and finishing off old ones. I just hope that there isn't a fourth installment to the Brock Lesnar and Triple H saga, but I think I'm going to be bitterly disappointed...
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Seeking Superheroes
Recently I've been really getting into my comics more than usual. Looking over my collection I had a lot of various Marvel titles; Dark Wolverine, Deadpool, Old Man Logan, Amazing Spider-Man and the like, with trade paperbacks like Civil War. Now though, I can't quite get back into Marvel; a lot has changed since 2011.
From my limited following I know that Spider-Man, a character who I'm not usually fond of, is possessed by Doc Ock with a small Peter ghost somewhere in his head, the X-Men seem to be complete bastards lead by Scott Summers - who killed Professor X and was (or maybe still is) the host of the Phoenix, the Avengers are just as bad as the X-Men and are waging a mini war against them and I don't know if the Ultimate universe is still around and as fun as it used to be. To me there just seems to be too much going on all the time, especially with good guy vs. good guy feuds; I'm sure I could have gotten into the Age of Ultron, but I think by the time I knew it existed it was over.
Based on this I've jumped ship to DC current comics, which in the past turned me off when Batman died two or three times and was sent through time to return. It seems that jumping on not too long into the Nu52 was a brilliant idea. My first storyline was Death of the Family, as I do have to admit I've always loved Batman and the Joker equally so seeing a creepy Joker in his first main role in the rebooted universe was the perfect opportunity to start reading again.
I bought every Death of the Family comic; even the tie ins from the various Bat-family both pre and post event, and I have to say I did really like it. Without giving anything away to anyone who may want to read it for themselves, I thought the ending was brilliant and anticlimactic all at the same time; but that's just my opinion. Based on the joy of the comic I kept up with reading a few of the titles, but did drop Batgirl, Teen Titans, Catwoman and Suicide Squad and in the process picking up Batman Incorporated.
I do find Batman comics to be a particular joy to read for a number of reasons; first he is my childhood hero and I will always think he is the definitive comic book hero, but secondly - and most importantly when trying to get into comics after a gap - almost all the characters and plots are in Gotham city. I do not need to familiarize myself with the entire DC Universe, or even the Justice League; all I need to know is who Batman is, who his allies are (hint: almost all of them are black haired males who wear red and black) and who the villain of the month is. This makes easing back into comics so much easier than say picking up an issue of Superior Spider-Man and wondering where things are.
I suppose in one regard I am quite an isolated reader; not only am i sticking to the one company, but I stick to the same character over and over again, but from the Death of the Family event I've been introduced to Arsenal and Starfire, and in one of the more recent issues of Batman I've been introduced to Superman. I know it isn't much, but Arsenal is one of the reasons I chose to keep up with Red Hood and the Outlaws, and seeing that Superman isn't as "ALL AMERICAN" as I had initially presumed has made me interested in the upcoming Batman/Superman comic more than it being another Batman title.
Maybe one day I'll branch further out into the DC Universe and see what some of the other heroes have to offer, or I might go back to the Marvel Universe and try and pick up on a more isolated hero like the Hulk, or Thor and see if I can branch out there, but for now I'm happy with reading Batman and I'm glad to be back into comics.
From my limited following I know that Spider-Man, a character who I'm not usually fond of, is possessed by Doc Ock with a small Peter ghost somewhere in his head, the X-Men seem to be complete bastards lead by Scott Summers - who killed Professor X and was (or maybe still is) the host of the Phoenix, the Avengers are just as bad as the X-Men and are waging a mini war against them and I don't know if the Ultimate universe is still around and as fun as it used to be. To me there just seems to be too much going on all the time, especially with good guy vs. good guy feuds; I'm sure I could have gotten into the Age of Ultron, but I think by the time I knew it existed it was over.
Based on this I've jumped ship to DC current comics, which in the past turned me off when Batman died two or three times and was sent through time to return. It seems that jumping on not too long into the Nu52 was a brilliant idea. My first storyline was Death of the Family, as I do have to admit I've always loved Batman and the Joker equally so seeing a creepy Joker in his first main role in the rebooted universe was the perfect opportunity to start reading again.
I bought every Death of the Family comic; even the tie ins from the various Bat-family both pre and post event, and I have to say I did really like it. Without giving anything away to anyone who may want to read it for themselves, I thought the ending was brilliant and anticlimactic all at the same time; but that's just my opinion. Based on the joy of the comic I kept up with reading a few of the titles, but did drop Batgirl, Teen Titans, Catwoman and Suicide Squad and in the process picking up Batman Incorporated.
I do find Batman comics to be a particular joy to read for a number of reasons; first he is my childhood hero and I will always think he is the definitive comic book hero, but secondly - and most importantly when trying to get into comics after a gap - almost all the characters and plots are in Gotham city. I do not need to familiarize myself with the entire DC Universe, or even the Justice League; all I need to know is who Batman is, who his allies are (hint: almost all of them are black haired males who wear red and black) and who the villain of the month is. This makes easing back into comics so much easier than say picking up an issue of Superior Spider-Man and wondering where things are.
I suppose in one regard I am quite an isolated reader; not only am i sticking to the one company, but I stick to the same character over and over again, but from the Death of the Family event I've been introduced to Arsenal and Starfire, and in one of the more recent issues of Batman I've been introduced to Superman. I know it isn't much, but Arsenal is one of the reasons I chose to keep up with Red Hood and the Outlaws, and seeing that Superman isn't as "ALL AMERICAN" as I had initially presumed has made me interested in the upcoming Batman/Superman comic more than it being another Batman title.
Maybe one day I'll branch further out into the DC Universe and see what some of the other heroes have to offer, or I might go back to the Marvel Universe and try and pick up on a more isolated hero like the Hulk, or Thor and see if I can branch out there, but for now I'm happy with reading Batman and I'm glad to be back into comics.
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