Extreme Rules 2012 Fan Report

I was at the Extreme Rules Pay Per View at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. In this report, I will react to the PPV based on what I saw and heard from my seat.

Pre-Show- The fans watching the Extreme Rules pre-show on YouTube, Facebook, or WWE.com might have enjoyed the pre-show more than the fans in the arena. All we saw was the Santino vs. The Miz match and wheel spin for the Rhodes-Show stipulation. The match was okay. The fans were happy that Santino won and everyone got out of their seat when Santino started to put the Cobra sock on his hand. Before the PPV started, the Spanish announce team was introduced and the crowd started a “Si” chant. I’m glad Lillian Garcia is back because I like it when they do the National Anthem before the PPV.

Kane vs. Randy Orton- I enjoyed this match. It was fun to watch Orton and Kane brawl in the crowd even if I had to watch the titantron most of the time to follow the action. They got near where I was sitting, but not close enough for me to get a good photo. I thought it was a great opening match. 

Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler- The crowd was very pro-Ziggler which shouldn’t surprise me because it’s Chicago, but I was a little bit surprised. Brodus didn’t get booed a lot, but it seemed like most of the crowd was rooting for Ziggler. The whole Brodus Clay ring entrance is overrated. It actually looks a lot cooler on TV. I thought it would look awesome in-person, but it’s not a very impressive entrance.

Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show- This was another match in which Chicago cheered the heel. Cody Rhodes got a great reaction and Big Show got booed. There was a nice pop when Cody Rhodes won…a lot louder I would expect for a heel victory. Big Show got huge heel heat when he attacked Cody after the match, but the crowd wanted Big Show to throw Cody through the table outside the ring. That table spot got a “Holy Shit” chant. I liked it when Big Show soaked up the boos after the match. See this picture.

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan- During Daniel Bryan’s pre-match promo, the crowd was chanting “Yes” after everything he said. Daniel Bryan got a good reaction. Sheamus got a lot of boos, but there were a lot of cheers for him too. Sheamus was also booed before the show when his WrestleMania win over Daniel Bryan was shown on the titantron. This was a great match. During the third fall, the crowd started a “This is awesome” chant. The “Yes…No” chants didn’t surprise me because that chant was happening before the PPV started. I’m disappointed that Sheamus won, but it was the best wrestling match of the night in my opinion. I’m not sure if it was Daniel Bryan’s best WWE match…I thought his match against Dolph Ziggler at Bragging Rights was very good. One of the negatives of this match is that there should have been more near-falls during the third fall. 

Ryback vs. Aaron Relic and Jay Hatton- I don’t remember much about this match other than the “Goldberg” chants…that was awesome. I read reports that Ryback was booed, but I didn’t really hear any boos. 

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho- The CM Punk chants during this match were loud. It was weird to hear Jericho get booed so much in Chicago, but that’s what happens when your opponent is CM Punk. The crowd was almost dead during the beginning of this match, but the second half of this match was much better. There was a nice “ECW” chant when weapons started getting used in this match. It was a great match that I enjoyed a lot, but it’s hard to compare this match to the CM Punk vs. John Cena match from last year. I enjoyed the CM Punk elbow drop off the top turnbuckle and through the announce table. CM Punk almost falling off the turnbuckle before jumping was very noticeable. When Punk landed on Jericho and broke the table, the crowd started the second “Holy Shit” chant of the night. When CM Punk countered Jericho's GTS attempt with a catapult into the exposed turnbuckle, fans thought CM Punk was going to put Jericho into the Walls of Jericho. There was a loud pop when CM Punk won. The viewers at home saw a "Don't Try This at Home" video after the match but in Chicago, Punk's music and celebration continued.

For whatever reason, I wasn’t very interested in this match. Maybe it was because the match seemed too predictable or because I knew it wouldn’t be as good as the Punk-Cena match or because it wasn’t the main event or because it felt weird rooting against Chris Jericho or because Punk was defending the WWE Championship instead of trying to win it. I did enjoy the match and when I revise my list of my favorite matches I’ve seen live, this match will be near the top but I definitely enjoyed CM Punk vs. John Cena from Money in the Bank more.

Layla vs. Nikki Bella- The fans were chanting “Kharma…Kharma…Kharma” before the match. I would have been more excited about Layla returning if I wasn’t expecting Kharma to show up. I think Layla’s return surprised everyone. There was a “We want puppies” chant during this match.

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar- I really enjoyed this match. Cena got busted open immediately and I noticed it right away because I saw the ref put the white gloves on. I also could see blood dripping from Cena’s head onto the mat from where I was sitting. During the match, Lesnar hit Cena with some German suplexes and some fans in my section started to chant the name of a dead wrestler. I forgot what his name was. I think his first name was Chris, but I can’t remember his last name. I could hear the chain that was used in the match all the way from my seat which makes me wonder if the rumors of a microphone under the ring are true. Lesnar’s leap over the ropes looked awesome and I thought he was legit hurt when he fell. I was disappointed that Cena won, but I don’t think the win hurts Lesnar. He looked like an unbeatable monster during this match. He just got too cocky and that's why Cena won. Cena got a standing ovation after his post-match promo. I was a little bit surprised at how much Cena got cheered in Chicago but by the end of the night, I was clapping for Cena too because he earned my respect for all of his hard work during the match. The guy lost a lot of blood and took a beating just for our enjoyment. It’s hard to boo a guy who is willing to do that.

Final Thoughts- I’m not going to rate all of the main event matches. All I will say is that they did not disappoint me and they were all classic matches. I think Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus might end up being a forgotten classic because of the other main event matches and that is unfortunate because I enjoyed that match the most. As for the Chicago crowd, it wasn’t quite as good as Money in the Bank which is okay because that Money in the Bank crowd was special and it’s unfair to think that this crowd could match it. That said, this was one of the best Chicago crowds I have been a part of and probably the most smarky Chicago crowd I have witnessed. This crowd booed Brodus Clay, Sheamus, and Big Show. They chanted “Goldberg” at Ryback. They cheered Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, and Daniel Bryan. These weren’t mixed reactions. The reaction for Ziggler made him seem like a babyface. When Big Show lost, the crowd cheered and when Big Show attacked Cody Rhodes, the crowd made it seem like Big Show turned heel. Chicago usually boos the good guys at PPVs, but usually it’s John Cena and maybe one more guy like Rey Mysterio last year. To witness three good guys not named John Cena get booed was impressive. Chicago is known for being a city that boos the face and cheers the heels. They are also a smart crowd that gives cheers when someone deserves it. That’s why Cena got cheered when he normally gets booed in Chicago. That’s why Ziggler and Rhodes got cheered.

It was a pro-Daniel Bryan crowd, but the reaction for his match was more mixed than I thought it would be. Sheamus was very over in Chicago last year which helped him turn face, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he still has many fans less than a year later. Daniel Bryan needs to lose the heel gimmick. Too many fans love him especially fans in Chicago. Daniel Bryan is one of my favorites in the WWE and I hope to see many more classic matches from him in Chicago. I have already seen three of his top 10 best WWE matches. He keeps raising the bar in Chicago at every PPV so I can’t imagine what he will do next time. I’m hoping the next WWE PPV Chicago gets is the Royal Rumble in January 2013. The Royal Rumble has never come to Chicago. I think there’s a good chance that happens. The WWE comes to Chicago about every four months. They will come to Chicago on September 3 for RAW. Four months after that is January. An 8 month gap in-between Chicago PPVs seems very short, but Extreme Rules happened just 9 months after Money in the Bank. It’s very possible Chicago will host either the Royal Rumble or the Elimination Chamber PPV. I don’t plan to go to the September 3 RAW, but I do want to go to the next WWE PPV in Chicago. If it is the Royal Rumble, maybe that means Daniel Bryan will win the Royal Rumble match because he has had some of his greatest moments in Chicago. One thing I do know for sure is that I expect to go to many more WWE events in Chicago in the near future. 

To see some of the photos I took at the event, click this link: http://s1103.photobucket.com/albums/g471/tonyk33/Extreme%20Rules%202012/