By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S WWE EXTREME RULES PPV TAKE
APRIL 29, 2012
CHICAGO, ILL.
LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW

[Read James Caldwell's detailed match by match report elsewhere on the PWTorch main listing. I'll be updating this Keller's PPV Take throughout the night.]

1 -- RANDY ORTON pinned KANE at 16:45 - Fall Count Anywhere Match.

-I give Lilian Garcia credit for her selling - screeching and cowering and running - when the Kane-Randy Orton brawl went through her area at ringside and into the crowd. She helped viewers believe Kane was scary and she was at risk near him, or that the brawl could get so out of hand she could be collateral damage.

-With the brawl through the crowd and down the aisle, we got quite familiar with the fans at the show. Lots of pro-C.M. Punk signs and t-shirts. Even a "If Punk Loses, We Riot" sign. That's probably true.

-Quotebook - Booker T Cliche Watch: "They're throwing caution to the wind."

-Quotebook - John Laurinaitis: "After eight years, WWE finally has credibility and a new face in Brock Lesnar."

-STAR RATING (**3/4): Makes sense for Orton to win clean in a grueling fight if they are setting him up for a feud with Brock Lesnar this summer. Good opening brawl that set the tone for the show with two pros doing just enough to live up to the stips and the intensity of the feud, but not going so far as to burn out the crowd or set the bar for violence too high.

-John Laurinaitis's ring tone was humorously obnoxious, and surely causing some cell phone users to immediately change their ring tone now that it's associated with Laurinaitis.

2 -- BRODUS CLAY (w/Hornswoggle) pinned DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Vickie Guerrero, Jack Swagger)

-Makes sense to come down after the Orton-Kane opener with Brodus Clay, Hornswoggle, Vickie Guerrero, and Dolph Ziggler.

-Since when do referee's practically tackle a wrestler when he's about to dive out of the ring onto an opponent, as the ref did here to Dolph after he threw Clay to the floor.

-Cole went stronger heel than usual lately here, calling Hornswoggle a "smelly troll."

-Quotebook - Michael Cole: "I am a dinosaur expert."

-Cole made a big deal out of this being Clay's first PPV and first PPV win. It's a small thing, but I like it because it makes it seem like being on PPV is prestigious and wins count a little more on PPV because of the "big stage" atmosphere. The downside is Clay beat Drew McIntyre at Royal Rumble. That was a PPV, I believe.

-STAR RATING (*1/4): Brodus wasn't asked to do a lot in this match, but it was fine. Dolph is good at everything he does in there. Not sure if I'd be sacrificing Dolph for Brodus, though, just because Dolph is "good enough to get his heat back."

3 -- BIG SHOW vs. CODY RHODES - Tables Match

-I got a kick out of how Cody and Eve blamed Teddy Long for the wheel, ostensibly randomly, landing on "Tables Match." At least they took out the "Tornado Tag Match" and "Lingerie Pillow Fight" options that are usually on there for Raw Roulette night.

-Cody's spot rebounding off of the table leaning in the corner and turning to kick Show was well done. John Morrison would have been proud.

-I like the finish. It's believable it could happen, it gave Cody a chance to gloat over a lucky/clever finish (take your pick), and it set up rematches that fans will pay to see.

-Cole really heeled it up here when reacting to Big Show tossing Cody over the top rope onto a table at ringside after the match ended. Imagine how he'd have sounded if he were on commentary on TNT's coverage of Rashon Rando bumping into the referee tonight near the end of the Celtics-Hawks playoff game?

-STAR RATING (*1/2): There wasn't a lot to the match, but it did what it was designed to do effectively.

4 -- SHEAMUS pinned DANIEL BRYAN in 23:00 in a best of three falls match to retain the World Hvt. Title.

-Quotebook - Daniel Bryan to Matt Striker: "That's a stupid question. Teachers like you are the reason the American educational system has fallen out of the top 20 world rankings."

-Quotebook - Daniel Bryan: "I get more chicks than Sheamus… My beard is far manlier than Sheamus's will ever be… Unlike Sheamus, my stomach is not weighed down by five pounds of corned beef. I am better than Sheamus in every way imaginable."

-Quotebook - Daniel Bryan: "Just like Sheamus [Chicago fans] are overrated and unoriginal."

-Sheamus wore a t-shirt that says "18 Seconds." I would not wear that if you're out looking for a date.

-Good use of the two-out-of-three falls format, having Bryan throw the first fall in order to even it up quickly with a tapout to the Yes Lock, only to eventually fall to a heroic comeback by Sheamus.

-STAR RATING (***3/4): Very well done match, both in terms of booking and execution. Bryan is proving that some people have an unconventional version of the "It Factor" that can't be denied, even with a push that demeaned him and treated him like a lower card comedy act. He rose above his push and has really gotten over, and now along with Ziggler he's one of the great bump taking and selling heels in the industry.

4 -- RYBACK defeated AARON RELIC & JAY HATTON

-Quotebook - Jay Hatton: "Who here likes math? Who here likes mimes?"

-Interesting to hear the announcers say A.J. appears to be a scorned girlfriend who might have a "Fatal Attraction" type of revenge streak in her.

-The "Yes! / No!" chant is the new "Cena sucks! / Let's Go Cena!"

-Interesting to hear fans chant "Goldberg" at Ryback. That's going to make Bill Goldberg happy, and perhaps plant the seed with Vince McMahon that enough fans might remember him and want to see him that it'd be worth making him an offer to get himself "back in shape" for a few matches. Even if Goldberg felt he couldn't easily look like the Goldberg of old (i.e. follow WWE's Wellness Policy or avoid putting his body through the stress that The Rock has to prepare for filming his new bodybuilding movie), perhaps a novelty appearance without stripping down to trunks would be something that could be set up.

-Another way to take the "Goldberg" chants (which the announcers didn't acknowledge, by the way - which will only further motivate fans to chant it) is they see Ryback as a derivative ripoff and are rejecting him because of that… Or they like him and see him as the next Goldberg… Either way, this is introducing a generation of fans to the joy and amusement of jobbers, a lost part of pro wrestling that was once a staple and one of the reasons to watch each week. I actually think WWE should consider Aaron Relic for a job as a manager. He has the perfect size, obviously is trained to take bumps, and has paid some dues which seems to be a requirement for WWE to hire anyone for any role.

-Dark horse candidate for a Brock Lesnar match in the next 11 months: Ryback. What if Ryback showed enough momentum and development that WWE gave him a boost with a big win over Lesnar? Or what they set up Ryback for Lesnar to knock down to build up Lesnar's legend even more before a big match later this year?

5 -- C.M. PUNK vs. CHRIS JERICHO

-You just knew when Punk's sister was introduced at ringside after Punk approached her that she would end up involved somehow. She did a nice job, but would she really be chanting "Go Punk!" instead of "Go Phil!"?

-Not sure if Punk planned almost falling off the top rope, but it was believable when he faltered and had to regain his balance. The flying elbow off the top rope onto Jericho on the announce table was impressive.

-STAR RATING (****1/4): Very satisfying co-main event. The crowd ate up the action, chanting "This is Awesome!" after a Punk comeback. They went with the right finish, too.

6 -- LAYLA pinned NIKKI BELLA (w/Brie Bella) to capture the Divas Title.

-They should not let Beth Phoenix attempt act. That was dreadful. As bad as acting gets in pro wrestling.

-Layla couldn't have been energized by the lack of pop for her as the surprise opponent for Nikki.

-Good idea to create a buffer between Punk-Jericho and Lesnar-Cena, plus the second-from-the-top positioning can't hurt the perceived prestige of the Diva's Title.

7 -- BROCK LESNAR vs. JOHN CENA

-The announcers didn't drop the talk of Lesnar wanting to bring legitimacy back to WWE. They said wrestlers in the back were upset that Lesnar felt WWE needed to be legitimized.

-Quotebook - "After seeing him lose at WrestleMania to Rock, if he loses tonight against Brock he may never be the same."

-Lesnar started the match with a legit-looking attack that opened Cena's head with a cut hard-way. He then moved into pro wrestling mode with a clothesline/shoulder tackle. Cena bled heavily early. Lesnar pounded on Cena's head. The ref stepped in early and insisted on checking on the cut. Lesnar paced and grinned while looking down at medical personnel checking on Cena. Good thing it wasn't a First Blood Match!

-Quotebook - Booker T three minutes into the match: "Talk about legitimizing."

-Lesnar admired Cena's blood on his glove after punching his poem cut. Then he wiped blood on his chest and licked it. So much for the PG era. I wonder how many parents, who bought into the safety zone parameters of the PG environment that WWE had pushed so long are having to turn off the main event if they feel their kids are too young for this? There was a mom with two very young (as in still in diapers, perhaps) kids in the front row dressed in Cena gear.

-That was a scary bump Lesnar took when he stumbled over the top rope. I think Cole was legitimately concerned. It looked like a big year of money being washed away for a second there. I loved his reaction once he walked it off, as if he was superman who merely gave all Cena fans a brief moment of false hope.

-The follow-up spot was great, with Cena catching a cocky Lesnar flying at him again with a chain. That explains the return of the chain. Lesnar came up bleeding. WWE really is going back to the "red equals green" equation.

-The FU on the ring steps in mid-ring was impressive, and a believable finish within the WWE "ecosystem." It'll be interesting where they go from here with Lesnar, having lost his first match back.

-I was waiting for Lesnar to walk past Ariel Helwani interviewing Undertaker out of character in the crowd in some odd time-warp mind-f---.

-In Cena's post-match speech, he said he can't feel his arm and was tasting his own blood and might go away for a while - which he is going to do. I expect Lesnar to snap on Raw and reinvigorate his character and go on a rampage - including maybe destroying Orton at Summerslam - before Cena returns to maybe save the company. We'll see. They could go a number of directions, but this loss is surely going to propel Lesnar's character to a higher level of devastation.

-I think Lesnar should have given Cena an F5 afterward and I would have skipped the Cena speech.

-STAR RATING (****1/2): A very different match than Jericho-Punk, but every bit as effective and entertaining. Because of the novelty factor of how believable it was, this was tremendous. Great crowd involvement. I'll rewatch this a couple times at least.

***

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