The Shield made the clean sweep at Extreme Rules and now have both the Tag Team and United States championships in their possession  Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns turned out to be the ones who would finally de-throne Team Hell No, after their lengthy run with the tag gold. The Tornado stipulation really benefited the Shield's pack mentality and they were able to use it to their advantage and pick up the victory. Earlier in the night, Dean Ambrose defeated Kofi Kingston for the United States title in typical fashion. Poor Kofi, he's only the champion when WWE is deciding on which heel mid-carder to push next.

Unfortunately, Alberto Del Rio is the Number One Contender after he made Jack Swagger say “I Quit” at Extreme Rules. My buddies and I all agree, Del Rio is incredibly boring. The least they could have done was throw a swerve and had Swag win this match. Then, the two former tag team partners who were managed by Vickie Guerrero could face off, one on one. But no, that would be too “out of the box” for WWE. Regardless, Del Rio isn't going to de-throne Ziggler when he returns from injury because Dolph is amidst the biggest push of his career. Thank goodness.

I was afraid this was going to happen. It seemed too early for John Cena to lose the WWE championship, having just won it last month at WrestleMania. But it also seemed too risky for Ryback to lose immediately after his big heel turn. To avoid either of these negatives, WWE went with the No Contest finish when John Cena faced Ryback in a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules. Ryback was made to look strong as he was the one who rammed Cena through the stage, causing the No Contest because both men were unable to compete. What's the point of having an “extreme” rule, if the match can be stopped because it is too “extreme”? John Cena held onto the belt by default here but I expect that this feud will continue at WWE's next pay per view, which is appropriately named Payback.

If you read my Extreme Rules prediction article, then you knew I didn't like Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar 3 being inside a steel cage, rather than Hell in a Cell. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the way this match turned out. Lesnar and Triple H went back and forth, exchanging dominating beat-downs on each other  until Paul Heyman got involved. Paul delivered a cheap low-blow to the Game, which allowed Lesnar to grab the sledgehammer, introduced by Triple H earlier in the match. Lesnar hit Triple H with his own signature weapon and delivered the second F5 of the match for the 3 count. This is the finish that needed to happen in order for Brock Lesnar to remain a threat to anyone who stands in his way in the future. Particularly  the Rock, as the two are rumored to meet at this year's SummerSlam.

What did you think of Extreme Rules? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading.

REVIEW-AN-IMPACT – May 17^th 2013
(John Pollock and Wai Ting review Impact, Nate Milton and Gordon stop by plus your feedback)
http://datav3.fightnetwork.com/blog/38602.mp3
*****
THE MMA REPORT W/ JOHN POLLOCK – May 16^th 2013
(Featuring: UFC middleweight Vitor Belfort, Bleacher Report’s Damon Martin, FX 8 picks)
http://datav3.fightnetwork.com/blog/38575.mp3
*****
INTERVIEW – Bob “Hardcore” Holly
(John Pollock chats with Holly for 50-minutes about his new book, his 1994-2009 run with the WWE and tons more)
http://datav3.fightnetwork.com/blog/38553.mp3
*****
REVIEW-A-WAI – The Life and Career of Mick Foley
(John Pollock and Wai Ting review the documentary and a 2011 interview Pollock conducted with Foley)
http://datav3.fightnetwork.com/blog/38522.mp3
*****
REVIEW-A-RAW - May 14th 2013
(John Pollock and Wai Ting review Raw from Tulsa, Game 7 chat and an angry debate)
http://datav3.fightnetwork.com/blog/38492.mp3
***** 
THE LAW – May 12^th 2013
(Lovranski, Agnew and Pollock chat all the news, take your feedback, Part two with Hardcore Holly and Dave Meltzer stops by)
http://datav3.fightnetwork.com/blog/38473.mp3
*****

Contact John Pollock -  john@fightnetwork.com/ @LAWradio/ @iamjohnpollock

Subscribe to The LAW on iTunes / The MMA Report on iTunes

Join The LAW Message Board

[Match #1]: Natalya vs. Summer Rae

They trade holds at the start with plenty of reversals, working through series of side headlocks, headscissors and armbars. This was actually quite smooth. Natalya goes for the Sharpshooter but can’t get it. She scores with a boot and a clothesline for a near fall. Rae comes back with a bicycle kick and they go through a break with Rae working over Natalya’s arm. Rae does the Stacy Keibler foot choke in the corner and hits a DDT, rolls through and applies another choke. Paige comes down to the ring as Natalya again goes for the Sharpshooter but Rae kicks her off into Paige and gets the Schoolgirl rollup for the win.

Winner [via pinfall]: Summer Rae (5:46)

Renee Young is in the back with Sami Zayn, aka El Generico, who will debut on NXT next week against Curt Hawkins. He says he’s not nervous and that next week will be the start of something beautiful between him and the WWE Universe.

[Match #2]: Bray Wyatt vs. Danny Burch

Wyatt comes to the ring wearing a mask and calls himself ‘the new face of fear’ and says he no longer wants to be seen as a man, but as a monster. He’s also wearing a Leatherface-esque butcher’s apron. He says Chris Jericho shook him during their match a few weeks back.

Burch opens with headbutts and punches but Wyatt quickly squashes him. He hits a running crossbody drags Burch to the corner, hits a big running splash, the dancing spot and then the Paydirt, referred to as the Sister Abigail, for the win.

Winner [via pinfall]: Bray Wyatt (2:04)

Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas are in the back, and Dallas asks if he’s still mad they lost the tag belts last week. Neville says he’s been better, then Dallas proceeds to explain to him who John Cena is and talks about the Royal Rumble. Neville responds, ‘Bo, I know who John Cena is.’ They talk about the #1 contender’s battle royal coming up. This segment screams heel turn for Dallas, which couldn’t hurt. The guy can’t cut a promo regardless, so why not try him as a heel, plus it’ll give Neville someone to feud with.

[Match #3]: Conor O’Brian vs. Briley Pierce & Sakamoto

O’Brian starts against the recently fired Sakamoto, and drops him on his face from a double chicken wing before Pierce, also recently fired, is tagged in. Pierce is leveled with a boot and a pair of running shoulder tackles. Pierce tags after taking a vertical suplex and both men try attacking O’Brian but no avail. O’Brian stacks both men in the corner and hits a splash then hits a cool looking double flapjack and pins both men.

Winner [via pinfall]: Conor O’Brian (2:38)

Some guy comes out on the stage and O’Brian stares him down.

Todd Phillips is talking to Corey Graves. He says he’s entered the battle royal as Bray Wyatt comes in. Wyatt says that just like Kassius Ohno found out last week, Graves will realize that NXT belongs to the Wyatt family. Graves says that Wyatt doesn’t know who he is messing with.

[Main Event]: NXT Title Match: Big E. Langston vs. Damien Sandow

Big E. comes down to his new music that he’s been using on the main roster.

Slow start with Sandow avoiding some power moves and bailing to the floor. Langston hits a delayed vertical suplex and Irish whips Sandow into the corner but misses a splash. Sandow follows with a clothesline to the back and a rear chinlock. Langston backs him into the corner and hits a running shoulder block and hits the ropes for his running tackle but Sandow catches him with a dropkick. Sandow lands a double axehandle off the top and a pair of kneedrops for a near fall. He follows with a dropkick to the knee and kneelifts but Langston fights back with a belly-to-belly suplex.

Back on his feet, Langston hits a series of clotheslines and five kneelifts, the running tackle and then goes for the Big Ending but Sandow reverse and drops Langston with an inverted X-Factor. He hits a side Russian leg sweep and rolls through, misses the Elbow of Disdain, but comes back and hits it finally after a swinging neckbreaker. He goes for the Terminus but Big E. pushes him off and hits the Big Ending for the win.

Winner [via pinfall]: Big E. Langston (10:29)

Langston scoops Sandow up for another Big Ending and gets the five count after the match.

Final Thoughts

This was a great episode – I very much enjoyed it. I actually really liked the Divas match (and no I’m pretty sure hell didn’t freeze over). Right now it looks like Summer and Paige are the company’s two top diva talents as weird as that sounds. The promos on this show were excellent – from El Generico aka Sami Zayn to the Bo Dallas-Adrian Neville promo and of course, Bray Wyatt and Corey Graves. I enjoy that they are putting more of a focus on Wyatt because he’s clearly the top heel in NXT and clearly the next guy ready to be promoted. The main event was surprisingly good as well and to be honest it wasn’t a chore to watch Big E. sell.

I CANNOT wait for El Generico next week.

Next Week

- Sami Zayn vs. Curt Hawkins

- Bray Wyatt vs. Corey Graves

In Two Weeks

- NXT Title #1 Contender’s Battle Royal

Contact John Pollock -  john@fightnetwork.com/ @LAWradio/ @iamjohnpollock

Subscribe to The LAW on iTunes / The MMA Report on iTunes

Join The LAW Message Board

James Storm is interviewed by the Reaction crew backstage. Jason Hervey asks him how he plans to retaliate for what happened to him last week. Storm looks Hervey in the face and tells him to just watch what happens.

Up next is a video package, features highlights of Christian York’s matches in TNA, as we get set for tonight’s Gut Check semi-final, with the winner of this little tournament getting the final spot in the Bound for Glory Series.

Match #1: Bobby Roode (minus Austin Aries this week) vs. Chavo Guerrero

Christy Hemme actually gets the name right this time, but she announces Roode from Toronto (in all fairness, I doubt that anyone in this company knows where Peterborough is). Nobody is really able to get a decisive advantage in the early going. Chavo uses the top rope to elevate himself and then headscissor Roode out to the floor. Roode gains the advantage on the floor and whips Chavo into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Roode hits a running knee drop for two. He follows up with a neck snap. Chavo comes back with a flying headscissors. He then goes for a tornado DDT, but Roode blocks it. Chavo is able to rebound and delivers a trifecta of vertical suplexes, shades of Uncle Eddie. As Chavo goes upstairs to try the frog splash, he’s knocked off his perch by Roode and crotched on the top rope. At this point, James Storm makes his way down the ramp and into the ring (without being stopped I might add) and he spews some beer into Roode’s face, causing a DQ.

Winner: Bobby Roode by disqualification

Up next, we get a video package to remind us of last week’s opening segment, involving Kurt Angle and AJ Styles.

Kurt Angle then comes to the ring. He says that nobody in the locker room is trustworthy anymore. Angle then informs us that because of what happened last week, Hulk Hogan has granted him a match against AJ Styles at Slammiversary (that ought to get him on your side). Angle says he doesn’t want to wait until Slammiversary and he dares AJ to come out right now. Before AJ has a chance to answer the challenge, Mr. Anderson comes out instead. Anderson implies that AJ Styles has already made up his mind and it’s only a matter of time before he puts on an Aces and 8s vest. Angle says he’s tired of talking and then levels Anderson with a right hand. As Angle continues pounding on Anderson, AJ Styles comes out of the crowd and into the ring. Angle quickly turns around and accuses AJ of trying to attack him from behind. AJ then lets Angle have it with a Pele kick.

Next, we get another video, with highlights of Jay Bradley’s (remember him?) TNA experience thus far.

Match #2: Jay Bradley vs. Christian York in a Gut Check semi-final match

Bradley uses his power to his full advantage with a press slam in the early going. York fights back with a springboard back elbow. Bradley goes for his finisher, which he calls the Boom Stick (what a waste of a name; it’s a basic clothesline), but York avoids it. He then headscissors Bradley into the middle turnbuckle. York follows up with a cannonball in the corner. He tries his move, called the Mood Swing (swinging neckbreaker), but Bradley avoids it. York goes for an aerial attack, but Bradley moves and finally hits his clothesline (I’m not going to call it anything else but what it is) for the win.

Winner: Jay Bradley

After the match, Bradley tells Christy Hemme that he is now one step closer to being TNA World Champion (that’ll put some butts in the seats).

James Storm is interviewed by the Reaction crew again about what just happened in the Bobby Roode match. Storm says that was just retaliation and that there’s more where it came from.

Mr. Anderson is telling the rest of the Aces and 8s members backstage that they’ve got AJ right where they want him. He then turns his attention to D-Lo and asks if he’s going to do what he needs to do tonight. D-Lo says he wants his cut back (oh there’s going to be a cutback alright) and pretty much guarantees victory.

Match #3: Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky in a non-title match

Before the match even starts, we get this backstage segment, where Mickie James is telling Brooke Hogan that she wants a Knockouts Title match at Slammiversary. Brooke says she feels terrible, because she’s already promised Taryn a match with Gail Kim at the pay per view (God forbid that they have two knockout matches on a pay per view). She tells Mickie that she can have her title match against Velvet next week. Mickie seems okay with that and walks off, at which point Bully Ray corners his wife in the hallway (you’d think they would have gotten this thing annulled by now). Ray tells Brooke to tell her father that when Ray calls out Sting tonight, it won’t be a contract signing, but more of a contract negotiation. Brooke gets pissed and leaves, while Bully Ray has a huge smirk on his face. And then we finally get to the match, which I forgot all about at this point. Velvet delivers some arm drags and then a faceplant bulldog. She then delivers a flying headscissors. Gail fights back by attacking Velvet’s injured knee. She applies a modified Texas Cloverleaf, but Velvet makes it to the rope. Gail then applies what Brock Lesnar used to call the Brock Lock, where she places the back of Velvet’s knee behind Gail’s neck and stretches it out. Velvet finally gets something going and tries for the In Yo Face, but Gail counters and clips the knee again. Gail then goes for a figure-four, but as she turns, Velvet kicks her into the turnbuckle and then schoolgirl’s her for the win.

Winner: Velvet Sky by pinfall

Velvet has little time to celebrate, as Gail attacks her after the match. Gail then shoves Referee ODB out of the way, before applying the figure-four around the ring post.

Up next is a video package, focusing on tonight’s X-Division Title match, with comments from all three participants. Petey Williams kind of seemed like the third wheel here, as the main focus was on the King vs. Sabin feud.

Next, we get another video to promote the return of Suicide next week.

Match #4: Kenny King vs. Chris Sabin vs. Petey Williams in a three-way dance for the X-Division Championship

There are no entrances to speak of here; not even for the champion. King immediately slides out to the floor, hoping that the two challengers pick each other apart to lighten his workload. And that exact thing happens, as Williams and Sabin really go to work with some beautiful exchanges. King meets Sabin head-on with a handstand into a front kick. Williams then gets in on the action with a slingshot facebuster to King. King responds with a springboard legdrop for two. Sabin attacks next with a belly-to-back suplex to King and then he bridges into a pinning combination, but only gets two. Williams sends Sabin to the floor and delivers a tope. Back in the ring, he hits a tilt-a-whirl side Russian leg sweep and then an elevated flatliner on King for two. King nearly knocks Williams back to Windsor with a spin kick for two. He then positions Williams for the Royal Flush, but hits a Sheamus-inspired Irish Curse backbreaker instead, which gets him two. There’s a very cool spot where Sabin sets King up in a tree of woe and pretty much Cradle Shocks Williams into him. He then powerbombs Williams and follows up with a flying boot. Before Sabin can complete the sequence, he’s knocked down by King, who then capitalizes on a stunned Williams and hits the Royal Flush for the win.

Winner: Kenny King by pinfall

Bad Influence are backstage. Daniels is sipping his appletini, but he’s paranoid about what James Storm intends to do to them tonight. Kazarian tells Daniels not to worry, because Storm is terrified of Daniels and is equally horrified of Kazarian. He then tells Daniels that he should just concentrate on his match.

D-Lo Brown is with Mr. Anderson backstage and thanks Anderson for saving him from being murdered by Bully Ray last week with the hammer. D-Lo admits that he’s been messing up badly in the last few weeks and he intends to fix it tonight. Anderson tells D-Lo that he’s pulling for him.

Match #5: Christopher Daniels vs. Hernandez

Daniels makes the mistake of trying to overpower Hernandez with a body slam, but Super Mex blocks it and hits a delayed vertical suplex. He then loads Daniels up with a Canadian backbreaker, before dropping to his knees. Hernandez then races across the entrance ramp and flies over the top rope with a shoulderblock to Daniels in the ring. Daniels finally gains the advantage, after interference by Kazarian on the outside (doesn’t Hernandez have a partner too?). Hernandez fights back and goes for a running avalanche, but Kaz moves Daniels out of the way, causing Hernandez to get a face full of turnbuckle. As Daniels goes for Angel’s Wings, he notices James Storm on his way to the ring, so he breaks his own move. With Daniels distracted, Hernandez hits a running shoulderblock for the win.

Winner: Hernandez by pinfall

After the match, James Storm says he’s just spoken to Hulk Hogan, who has signed a Tag Team Title match for Slammiversary. Storm says the match will feature Chavo and Hernandez defending the Tag Team Titles against Bobby Roode and Austin Aries (Bad Influence already start protesting at this point), Christopher Daniels and Kazarian and James Storm, who will have a partner of his choosing in a four-way dance.

Match #6: D-Lo Brown vs. Joseph Park

D-Lo is wearing an Aces and 8s t-shirt for this match, but still does not have his cut (I’m still not entirely sure what that is). D-Lo shows some strength by delivering a body slam to the much larger Park. Park starts to fight back, but D-Lo floors him with a jumping calf kick, followed by a shining wizard. D-Lo then delivers another calf kick. He then starts beating on Park’s head with his taped fist. Park eventually gets busted open after the series of punches. He then snaps and shifts into Abyss-mode. He delivers a running avalanche in the corner and then the blackhole slam for the victory.

Winner: Joseph Park by pinfall

Jeremy Borash is in the ring to host the contract signing for the World Heavyweight Title match between Bully Ray and Sting. Ray is out first and immediately shoves JB down and orders him out of the ring. Ray then brags about taking Jeff Hardy out and defeating Hardy at his own game. He says he’s also the guy who is going to defeat Sting at Slammiversary. Sting then comes out to join Ray in the ring. Before Sting gets his chance to say anything, Ray calls out Hulk Hogan as well, saying that Hogan isn’t going to want to miss this. Hogan accepts the invitation and just watches on from the entranceway. Ray says this is the first time that he and Sting have actually been face-to-face since he screwed both Sting and Hogan over (weren’t these two involved in the same match last week?). Sting takes the microphone and encourages Bully Ray to snap his arm in two, rip his throat out and make him bleed. Ray asks why Sting would ask him to do these things, to which Sting responds that if Ray doesn’t do those things to him, he’s going to do those things to Ray. He says they’re going to fight all over the place, and since Ray is out here, making all these demands, Sting has one of his own, and he suggests that the two of them have a No Holds Barred match in Boston. Ray says he’ll agree to Sting’s stipulation on one condition, which is that Sting will never be able to challenge for the World Title again. As this is going on, Hogan is trying to talk Sting out of doing this, but Ray continues to egg him on. Sting eventually accepts Bully Ray’s challenge. Ray then violently shoves Sting, who fights back with rights and lefts. They brawl to end the show.

Final thoughts:

I actually thought this was a really good episode. The X-Division match was just out of this world, and I’m so happy that a match like that finally got the time that it deserved on this show. Gail Kim actually got a good to great match out of Velvet Sky and I thought Velvet did a pretty decent job of selling the knee. While I am not thrilled that the Knockouts Title match is getting bumped from the pay per view in favour of Taryn Terrell, I do really like this thing with Gail Kim doing the figure-four around the post after every match; I think this could be her ‘Punt to the head,’ so to speak. Daniels and Kazarian were awesome as usual tonight, but I actually thought Kaz outshone Daniels in the backstage segment this week. I’m kind of interested to see who James Storm’s mystery partner will be. If this means a potential AMW reunion, it would be good for a nostalgia pop, but I don’t see anything long term coming out of it. The last time Chris Harris worked in this company, he was ridiculously out of shape, so if he is back, he really needs to up his game; the best thing about a match like this is that Harris could be hidden on the apron for the most part. I was thinking it could also be Jeff Hardy, but that wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense, and I think if that happened, there’d be even less chance that Storm’s team wins the belts, because Hardy has unresolved issues with Aces and 8s, as does Samoa Joe, Magnus and a couple of others. Just looking at the roster, I don’t know if it could be anybody but Chris Harris in that spot; it is Slammiversary after all. The closing segment with Bully Ray and Sting was pretty good as well, but I really don’t think it was necessary for Hogan to be out there. For the last few weeks now, we’ve seen almost the same thing happen between Kurt Angle and AJ Styles, where Angle will call him out and demand some answers, he won’t get any and they’ll brawl. They really need to move that storyline along. The storyline that they do seem to be moving along is the metamorphosis of Joseph Park into Abyss, which I have to say, is about time. There really wasn’t a lot to complain about on this show. I’ll say 7.5 out of 10.

Contact John Pollock -  john@fightnetwork.com/ @LAWradio/ @iamjohnpollock

Subscribe to The LAW on iTunes / The MMA Report on iTunes

Join The LAW Message Board