WWE Extreme Rules 2010 Flashback – John Cena vs. Batista in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Title, Jack Swagger vs. Randy Orton for the World Hvt. Championship

The following is Jason Powell's review of the April 25, 2010 WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Check back tonight for Jason Powell and Chris Shore's live coverage reviews of 2013 WWE Extreme Rules event. Dot Net Members can look forward to an exclusive audio review with Jason and Chris after the show. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up now via the Prowrestling.net/amember/signup.php.

Aired live on pay-per-view
Baltimore, Md. at 1st Mariner Arena

The show opened with a video package that recapped the top feuds... Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Matt Striker are on commentary from ringside...

Triple H's entrance music played, but he never came out. "We're awaiting the entrance of Triple H, but he's not coming out," Cole said. "I wonder what's going on here." Cole pondered whether Hunter was playing his "usual mind games."

The cameras cut backstage where Sheamus was putting the boots to Hunter. Triple H made a comeback, but Sheamus hit him over the head with Scott Steiner's pipe (okay, so the factory probably made more than one). The trainer and a referee checked on the fallen Triple H as Sheamus left the picture. The announcers said that was a live shot backstage...

The Miz and Big Show came to the ring with all their title belts. Cole said the Unified Tag Champs are not advertised for the show. Cole said the announcers would keep viewers updated on Hunter's condition. Lawler said it was an "extreme start to the program."

The Miz recalled the stipulation that Bret Hart has to say that ShoMiz is the best team in WWE history. Miz said Bret Hart will make that statement on Raw tomorrow night. Miz said they have no problem backing up that statement, but they don't have any competition.

Smackdown general manager Teddy Long walked onto the stage. He said he has his hands full with what just happened to Triple H backstage. He said he had a "team of my choosing" ready to face Miz and Show. Teddy said that if his team wins, they'll get a future tag title shot. Miz took a jab at the Baltimore Orioles and said there's no team in his league.

Teddy said that since Miz was still talking, he was adding another team to the mix. Miz kept shooting his mouth off. Miz kept talking and talking. Teddy finally interrupted him and said Miz and Show would face three teams in a gauntlet style match. Miz mocked him. Teddy was about to make it four teams when Show covered Miz's mouth with his hand. Funny.

Teddy said that if ShoMiz beats all three teams, then maybe they deserve to be the greatest team of all-time. He said that if they lose to any of the three teams, they will face the team that beats them on Monday's Raw...

Powell's POV: I guess this means John Morrison and R-Truth just sit around backstage in their gear just in case Teddy Long needs them to work.

1. Big Show and The Miz defeated John Morrison and R-Truth by DQ in the first stage of a non-title gauntlet match in 3:15. Truth got the better of Miz early. Show worked over Morrison. He went for a chokeslam, but Morrison turned it into a triangle submission hold. Morrison was hanging over the top rope when he applied the hold, so the ref counted to five and DQ'd him.

2. Big Show and The Miz defeated Mark Henry and MVP in the second stage of a non-title gauntlet match in 1:30. In the end, MVP hit his finisher on Miz when Show reached inside the ring and nailed MVP with the knockout punch. The ref turned around too soon and saw it, but he still made the three count.

3. The Hart Dynasty (w/Bret Hart, Natalya) defeated The Miz and Big Show in the third stage of a non-title gauntlet match in 0:12. Bret led the Harts out. The Harts knocked Big Show off the ring apron, and then hit their finisher on Miz for the win to earn the title match on Raw...

Powell's POV: Good opener. I really wish they would have advertised something about the tag titles, but I guess they wanted an impromptu feel for the Triple H angle. So was Bret just hanging around on the off chance that Teddy Long would give the Hart Dynasty an impromptu match?

Backstage, Todd Grisham stood outside the trainer's room. Sheamus walked in with his pipe and said Hunter could either come out and face him later tonight or forfeit. "Either way, I win," Sheamus said...

Powell's POV: Sheamus has to be going over, right? Not even Super Hunter would win under these circumstances. By the way, Dot Net reader Jamie V made a really good point about having an early fall decided by DQ on a show called Extreme Rules. He noted that the advertising for the show specifically stated that there would be no DQs.

4. C.M. Punk (w/Serena, Luke Gallows) defeated Rey Mysterio in 16:00. If Punk loses, he gets his head shaved. There was a barber's chair set up on the stage. Striker questioned whether the beard be shaved off if he loses. Lawler said that if Punk doesn't get his head shaved, he should at least get the oil changed in his hair.

Punk survived an early flurry from Rey and then took control of the offense. He threw Rey to the floor and twirled his hair for heat. Funny. Mysterio came back with a kick to the side of the head and a near fall at 4:40. The live crowd really wants to see Punk get his head shaved, as they are really into the near falls.

At 5:15, Gallows reached inside the ring and took a shot at Mysterio. Punk went for the cover, but Mysterio kicked out. Nice tease on the finish of the first fall of tag team gauntlet match.

At 9:30, Mysterio went for the 619. The referee caught Gallows and Serena trying to interfere and sent them backstage. This got over huge with the live crowd. As Punk was protesting on the floor, Mysterio caught him with a kick to the back and followed up with a beautiful Asai moonsault.

At 13:20, Punk went for his finisher, but Mysterio countered it into a pinning situation for an awesome near fall. Punk went right back on offense. At 14:30, Mysterio hit an awkward huracanrana and followed up with a 619.

A new member of the Straight Edge Society rolled out from underneath the ring and placed a chair inside the ring to distract the referee. The mystery man attacked Mysterio while the ref was distracted. Punk smiled and eventually hit the GTS for the pin. After the match, Punk sat on the barber's chair, where he was joined by Serena and Luke...

Powell's POV: Damn good match. The live crowd was really into the action and was dying to see Punk get his head shaved. Was the new man Joey Matthews, who worked a dark match at the taping? The man had his face covered and was wearing an SES hooded sweatshirt, but his hood came off long enough to reveal that he was bald. I'm not preparing for a hundred "I think it was Christopher Daniels" emails.

A WWE Draft commercial was shown... The announcers acknowledged some military members who were in attendance...

5. JTG defeated Shad Gaspard in a strap match in 4:45. The heat from the last match was completely gone. The crowd was so quiet when the match started that people in the upper deck may have heard Lawler and Striker bickering about which one of them lives in a tougher neighborhood. Yes, that really happened.

Shad dominated the bulk of the action and talked smack to his former Cryme Tyme partner. Shad wrapped the strap around his partner and then started touching the various corners. However, JTG did the same.

Powell's POV: Is it just me or does JTG bear a strange resemblance to Randy Watson? Sexual Chocolate! Sexual Chocolate! Sexual Chocolate! If you have no clue what I'm talking about, check out this Clip of Awesomeness.

There was actually a commercial for the KFC double down during a freaking pay-per-view...

Backstage, Todd Grisham said the head trainer informed him that Triple H suffered a neck injury and that it's "highly doubtful" that Hunter will be able to compete against Sheamus. Back at ringside, Striker said it's a morale victory for Sheamus, but probably not the way he was hoping to win...

Powell's POV: It looks like they're playing into the buzz that Hunter has been battling a minor neck injury. They're going to great lengths to give him an excuse for losing to Sheamus later in the show.

A video recapped Jack Swagger's title win and his feud with Randy Orton...

6. Jack Swagger pinned Randy Orton in an Extreme Rules match to retain the World Hvt. Championship in 14:00. Swagger came out first to a decent reaction. Orton got the best pop of the night thus far when he made his entrance. Swagger gained the first prolonged period of offense.

As Swagger was roughing up Orton, the announcers reminded viewers that Orton could hit the RKO out of nowhere. Orton showed signs of making a comeback, but Swagger cut him off. The live crowd was pretty flat for Swagger's offense. The title belt ended up in the ring somehow (not sure how thanks to a satellite glitch).

Swagger backed into a corner while Orton was lying on the ground with the title belt in front of him. Swagger went for a Vader Bomb, but Orton recovered and nailed him in the gut with the title belt. They fought to ringside where Orton dominated the brawling and slammed a trash can over his head.

Orton and Swagger headed back inside the ring where Orton performed the Garvin Stomp. Orton tried to drop a knee on Swagger, who rolled out of the way. Swagger grabbed a chair from ringside, but Orton caught him on the ropes and DDT'd him. Orton struck the Viper's pose and got a major pop.

Orton set up a chair in the middle of the ring at 13:10 as the announcers questioned what he might be thinking. Orton went for the RKO on a chair, but Swagger fought it off and dropped Orton onto the chair back-first. Swagger hit the gut-wrench powerbomb and scored the clean pin. After the match, Orton hit the RKO on Swagger at ringside...

Powell's POV: Everyone who pissed and moaned about Swagger losing non-title matches can stop now. They made him look vulnerable coming into the match and then had him score the clean pin. Good booking. There's plenty of time to give him in-ring credibility if they plan on keeping the belt on him and this was a really good start. By the way, it sounds like Orton is getting the female cheers that are usually reserved for John Cena, but the guys still like him too.

As Orton was walking up the ramp, Sheamus's music played. Sheamus walked onto the stage with the steel pipe in his hand. He and Orton traded glances. Sheamus also walked by Swagger, who was being helped to the back, and headed to the ring. Once in the ring, Sheamus reminded everyone that he said it would be a bad night for Hunter if he showed up at Extreme Rules.

Backstage, Todd Grisham was standing outside the locker room door. He said it looked like Hunter wouldn't be able to compete. Hunter barged through the door and knocked Grisham out of the way. Hunter headed to the ring as he held his arm at his side to sell the injury...

7. Sheamus pinned Triple H in a street fight in 15:45. Hunter went right after Sheamus when the bell rang. Cole said Hunter had to put away Sheamus quickly due to his injury. Nice call. Hunter went for an early Pedigree, but he couldn't hook one arm due to his injury. Sheamus took control of the offense.

The announcers were falling all over themselves to stress that they weren't counting out Triple H. Striker even told Cole not to count him out, and then Cole spent 30 seconds stressing that he wasn't counting him out. Ugh. Striker did do a nice job of saying that adrenaline can give an injured athlete three to five seconds worth of a burst.

Sheamus targeted the neck in addition to hitting his usual offense. He went for the Razor's Edge at 11:45, but Hunter fought out of it. Cole said Sheamus calls the move "Pale Junction." They went to ringside where Hunter got the better of the exchange. He dodged Sheamus charging at him and then picked up a kendo stick and blasted Sheamus with it repeatedly.

Hunter went for the Pedigree on the entrance ramp, but Sheamus fought out of it and backdropped him. Cool spot. Sheamus followed up with a big boot to the face. Sheamus picked up Hunter and threw him back inside the ring as the crowd chanted "Triple H." Sheamus followed up with another big boot to the head.

Sheamus stood in the center of the ring and let Hunter struggle to his feet in the corner. The referee tried to check on Hunter, who shoved him away and then motioned for Sheamus to bring it by performing a crotch chop. Sheamus kicked him in the head again. Sheamus followed up with another kick to the head and got the pin. As Hunter was being helped backstage by the trainers, Sheamus came out and kicked him one more time. The trainers placed Hunter on a stretcher. Nice touch.

Powell's POV: Nicely done. I'm sure all the excuses for Hunter and the announcers raving about how much punishment he took got annoying for a lot of viewers, but Hunter sold the injury well and Sheamus looked ruthless. It's an Empire Strikes Back show with so many heels going over.

An ad aired for the WWE Over The Limit pay-per-view for May 23...

Powell's POV: Don't even get me started on how pissed I am that ABC is airing the "Lost" series finale on the same night as the Over The Limit pay-per-view.

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed Edge. "There's no way, I guarantee you, that I am not going to let Jericho escape that cage," Edge said. "Josh, I am not even going to try"...

Powell's POV: Huh? Striker quickly questioned whether Edge might be nervous that he could suffer the same fate as Hunter. Edge was in maniacal mode like he was heading into his WrestleMania 24 match with Undertaker.

8. Beth Phoenix defeated Michelle McCool (w/Layla, Vickie Guerrero) in an Extreme Makeover match to win the WWE Women's Championship in 6:40. Striker continued to suck ass by saying that McCool might be "the greatest Diva athlete" to ever hold the title. Layla and Vickie slid weapons such as an ironing board and an iron inside the ring early. No one cared. Well, except for Striker, who continued to rave about McCool's greatness.

Beth fought back and was going for a superplex around 6:00. Vickie tapped her with a broom while Layla tapped her with a mop. Beth took a nasty bump off the ropes. However, she came right and hit her finisher to win the match. Cole tried to act enthusiastic as he stated that Beth has now won the title three times...

Powell's POV: There was a pop for the title change, but people just don't care about the Divas product that WWE is offering these days. Too bad.

A WrestleMania 26 DVD commercial was shown... The cage was lowered around the ring. Cole explained that Edge meant he wasn't going to try to escape the cage in his promo earlier...

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed Chris Jericho, who said losing to Heath Slater doesn't make him less of a big money player. Jericho guaranteed he's going to "end Edge's career forever." He said the Edgeheads will be silenced from chanting "spear"...

Powell's POV: The announcers also brought up Jericho losing to Heath Slater. Is this part of the story or are they just paranoid about having Jericho lose to close to the cage match?

9. Edge defeated Chris Jericho in a cage match in 20:00. Jericho didn't want to get inside the cage, so Edge attacked him at ringside and threw him inside. Jericho immediately tried to escape, but Edge caught him and went on the offensive. Jericho took control quickly. He went for a Lionsault at 6:00. Edge moved and Jericho landed on his feet. He made a run for the cage, but Edge caught him.

Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho at 6:30. Edge teased tapping. Instead, he started clawing at the mat and eventually reached the ropes to break the hold. Jericho held on as the announcers pointed out that there's no DQ inside the cage. Edge used the ropes to break the old.

Both wrestlers fought near the door of the cage. Jericho had a chair, which Edge wrestled away, only to have Jericho slam the cage of the door on his head. Jericho stepped outside the cage door and stepped onto the ring steps. He stopped and looked back at Edge. Jericho headed back inside the cage and tried to hit Edge with the chair, but Edge moved and speared Jericho for a strong near fall.

At 13:00, Jericho knocked Edge off the ropes and he was crotched on the way down. Jericho climbed over the cage. Edge caught him and held onto his arms between the scaffolding piece that sits on top of the cage. Edge pulled Jericho back onto the scaffolding where they both sat and traded punches.

Jericho caught Edge with the Codebreaker and went for a cover, but Edge kicked out. Jericho yelled at Edge to stay down and called him a "stupid idiot." Edge came back and rammed Jericho into the cage repeatedly. He whipped him into the corner and Jericho climbed the corner of the cage and tried to escape, but Edge stopped him.

Jericho crawled toward the open cage door at 17:40 as Edge watched him. Edge stopped him in the doorway and slammed the door shut on Jericho's leg. Jericho held his knee in pain and cried, "No more, please." Edge went to work on the bad leg and mocked Jericho by telling him to leave. Jericho continued to plead for mercy. The crowd wasn't exactly going crazy for this.

Edge stomped on Jericho's injured leg and then went to the corner. Jericho crawled toward the corner of the cage where the door was. He stood up, turned around, and ate a spear. Edge hooked the leg and got the pin...

Powell's POV: Wow, that match lacked heat, which is very surprising given that Jericho was the heel. I won't buy any claims that it was because Jericho lost to Heath Slater since only a fraction of the people in the building actually saw that NXT match. Edge just isn't over as much as people thought he would be as a babyface, and this feud was based on Jericho mocking Edge for suffering an injury. Maybe it would have been different if they could have done an injury angle. Here's hoping they get Edge back on track via the WWE Draft. I never thought I'd be happy to see this feud conclude.

Another WWE Draft commercial aired... The announcers hyped Over The Limit pay-per-view, and the Extreme Rules main event... A video recapped the John Cena vs. Batista feud... Batista made his entrance to mostly boos. Cena came out next and received the bulk of the cheers...

10. John Cena defeated Batista in a Last Man Standing match to retain the WWE Championship in 24:35. Justin Roberts handled the in-ring introductions for the title match. They locked up to start the match and went into the ropes. Batista took a swing, but Cena avoided it and hit a shoulder block, so Batista bailed. Rinse and repeat.

Batista grabbed a chair from ringside and brought it inside the ring with him. He swung at Cena and missed. Cena bulldogged Batista. As Cena was whipping Batista, he audibly called for Batista to raise the elbow, which he did to take control of the offense. Batista controlled the next few minutes of offense.

Batista applied a figure four. Cena reversed it at 8:40 to put the pressure on Batista, who escaped it. The referee counted while both men were lying on the mat. Cole pondered what would happen if both men were counted down. Both wrestlers got to their feet and did a double clothesline, which led to both men being counted again. They got back to their feet and Cena went on offense.

Cena did the "You Can't See Me" bit at 10:05. He got some boos to go along with the cheers for that one. Batista rolled to ringside. He reached underneath the ring and hit Cena in the gut with the turnbuckle tool. He brought a chair inside the ring with him, only to have Cena hoist him up and hit an Attitude Adjustment onto the chair. Batista came back with a spear at 12:00.

Cena got up at eight and was immediately hit with another spear. Batista went to ringside and dumped out a tool tray that was underneath the ring. He grabbed a chair and ended up setting it in one of the corners of the ring. At 14:00, Batista kicked Cena off of him and through the table in the corner. Cena rolled to ringside and onto his feet as the ref counted eight.

Batista followed Cena, picked him up, and rammed his back into the ring post. The referee followed and counted Cena down on the floor. Batista broke it up by grabbing Cena and throwing him through the barricade that looked like it fell apart way too easily. One fan tried to start a "Holy Shit" chant, but no one joined him. Maybe he can try the "slow clap" later.

Batista pulled the monitors off the announcers' table. He grabbed the ring steps and set them against the side of the announcers' table. Batista brought Cena to the top of the stairs and set up for the Batista Bomb, but Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment through the table instead. Cool visual with Batista getting some major air before crashing through the table. Batista got to his feet at 9.5.

Cole pointed out that Cena was asking the official how Batista got to his feet in time to beat the count. Cena grabbed a table from underneath the ring and slid it inside. Striker accused Cole of wearing armbands in support of Cena because his call was so biased.

Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment through a table, but Batista shoved him off and hit a spinebuster through the table instead. Cena got back to his feet at nine and the crowd popped. Cole questioned how either man could be standing. Batista hit the Batista Bomb at 21:00 and ordered the referee to count. Cena sprung to his feet at nine.

Batista slid the bottom part of the ring steps inside the ring and went for his finisher again at 21:55. However, Cena countered with an STF. Batista tapped out repeatedly, but the referee didn't acknowledge it because of the match stipulations. Cena released the hold. Batista got to his feet at the last second.

Cena slid to ringside and pulled Batista down and then crotched him on the ring post. Cena used duct tape to tape Batista's legs together with the ring post in between them. He struggled to get free, but the referee counted to 10 to end the match as Cena did the "You Can't See Me" hand gesture. Striker said it may have been the most clever finish to a Last Man Standing match....

Powell's POV: Good effort from both men. I'm not a fan of the finish, though. Duct tape? If Batista is leaving when his contract expires (which is rumored to be shortly), then why not have him lose in a more spectacular manner? This was more of a gimmick loss than anything. Overall, there was good work up and down the card, but the overall show just felt flat.