A long-awaited return finally became a reality at WWE’s Extreme Rules. Out of the darkness, Bray Wyatt emerged.
Wyatt, who hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 37, was released by WWE just three months later in July 2021. Since then, there has been a nonstop desire to learn his next move. That was revealed at Extreme Rules, where the show ended with a reintroduction of Wyatt that caused the crowd in Philadelphia to explode.
Now that the white rabbit teases have been answered, there is an endless array of possibilities for Wyatt. While it is likely best for him to stay away from any championship pursuits, Wyatt adds a great deal of suspense and intrigue to the product. He provides a reason to watch every time he appears on-screen, and there is already incredible anticipation for his first promo.
In addition to the surprise, WWE dusted off seemingly all the quintessential gimmicked matches at Extreme Rules. There was a ladder match, a strap match and “I Quit” match. This was a card that did not feature Roman Reigns, who will next wrestle at Crown Jewel in just under a month, or any of The Bloodline. But the WWE roster has such depth that Extreme Rules was still a success, even without Reigns, and his absence provided a chance to put Seth Rollins back in the main event. Rollins was defeated by Matt Riddle in a Fight Pit match, which also included MMA great Daniel Cormier as the special guest referee.
The victory instantly stands as Riddle’s most noteworthy accomplishment in WWE. It briefly appeared the show was going to be built around Riddle’s moment. The match hit its peak when Riddle hit a painful senton on Rollins, which appeared to do legitimate damage to both men. He ended the match by making Rollins tap, and it appeared the show was set to go off the air until the lights went out, leading to the return of Wyatt.
Here are the results from Extreme Rules:
- The Brawling Brutes defeated Imperium in a six-man tag
- Ronda Rousey defeated Liv Morgan to become the new SmackDown women’s champion in an extreme rules match
- Karrion Kross defeated Drew McIntyre in a strap match
- Raw women’s champion Bianca Belair defeated Bayley in a ladder match
- Finn Bálor defeated Edge in an “I Quit” match
- Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins in a Fight Pit match
Extreme Rules opened with Sheamus enacting a measure of revenge on Gunther. Sheamus and Gunther headlined SmackDown on Friday night, where Gunther retained the Intercontinental title. It was an entertaining match, and it is refreshing to see the renewed emphasis on the importance of the Intercontinental title, though it failed to meet the masterpiece both men created last month in their bout at Clash at the Castle. Sheamus pinned Imperium’s Giovanni Vinci for the win in the six-man tag at Extreme Rules, extending his program with Gunther.
The pay-per-view also marked the end of Liv Morgan’s run as SmackDown women’s champion. She didn’t quit or tap, but the referee awarded the match to Ronda Rousey when Morgan could not respond on whether she could still continue. That is the type of finish that makes complete sense in MMA, but it is a reach in pro wrestling, especially considering it was only moments later that Morgan was in the ring smiling as Rousey walked off with the belt. Despite nearly four months of working together, this program is still lacking any sort of genuine chemistry.
In a throwback to the Jake Roberts-Rick Martel storyline from WrestleMania VII, Karrion Kross defeated Drew McIntyre after he was blinded by Scarlett’s pepper spray. Similar to the Rousey-Morgan match, this also would have benefitted from a clean finish. But McIntyre lost last month to Roman Reigns at Clash at the Castle, and clearly there was no desire to have him lose this match without some sort of interference. Like every other match on the card before it, this program is set to continue.
The match of the night saw Bianca Belair defeat Bayley in a ladder match. A highlight occurred when Belair hit a KOD on Bayley where she was also carrying a ladder on her shoulders. This was also the most surprising finish of the night. The storyline appeared to point to Bayley continuing her momentum by winning the belt, especially since this was a ladder match and provided an easy way to have Belair drop the title without getting pinned. Instead, Belair extended her title reign with another impressive victory.
Edge and Finn Bálor brought their story to the next level, taking full advantage of the “I Quit” stipulation. Their brawl took a turn when Rhea Ripley handcuffed Edge to the top rope. That led to appearances from Rey Mysterio and Beth Phoenix, who did their best to even the odds against Damian Priest and Dom Mysterio. Phoenix was able to get Edge uncuffed, but after resisting all match, Edge had no choice but to quit when Ripley was about deliver a chair shot to his wife. That caused Edge to say “I quit”, which Bálor–who has never been better as a heel than he is right now–made him repeat. Just to punctuate the moment, Ripley went ahead and drilled Phoenix with the chair shot. I would have preferred that the aftermath focused more on the celebrating Judgment Day, as that is the group’s most significant moment to date, but instead it was a quick shot of Edge tending to his wife.
Riddle defeating Rollins is a challenge from the company to see what Riddle can do as a top star. This is Riddle’s chance to become a significant piece of WWE’s main event scene, permitting he can continue to evolve and keep people interested in his work. That is exactly what Paul “Triple H” Levesque has done off-camera since his ascension to head of WWE creative. He has brought an unpredictability and edge to the product that long exited the company with Vince McMahon still in charge.
The return of Wyatt adds even more excitement to the product, which is as compelling as it has been in a long time for WWE.
