Thus far, WWE Extreme Rules has provided some interesting outcomes. As the Inquisitr reported, The B-Team are new Raw tag team champions, and Kurt Angle issued an ultimatum to WWE universal champion Brock Lesnar. The WWE event continued to heat things up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, including two title matches that had some surprise outcomes. Extreme Rules comes to us live on pay-per-view and the WWE Network.
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
Carmella defended the SmackDown women’s title against Asuka. “The Empress of Tomorrow” was undefeated in NXT, but much of the WWE universe feels that she has been improperly used on the main roster. She lost her undefeated streak at WrestleMania , and over the last month, Carmella has repeatedly gotten the upper hand on her. For many, the result of this Extreme Rules contest only furthers that sentiment.
For this contest, Carmella’s manager, James Ellsworth, was suspended above the ring in a shark cage. Asuka got the advantage at the start of the bout and delivered a stiff kick after a snapmare on the champion. “Money Mella” countered a hold by floating over Asuka, and she delivered a sitout slam on the challenger. In a classic spot involving the shark-cage gimmick, Carmella signaled to Ellsworth, and he passed a chain to the champ. “The Empress of Tomorrow” stepped on “Money Mella’s” hand and took the chain away.
How worried is @WWEAsuka after seeing @realellsworth escape the #SharkCage ?
Wait for it… #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/8b9iyyKLvZ
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 15, 2018
As the referee dispensed with the chain, James passed Carmella a can of spray. Last Tuesday on SmackDown , Ellsworth sprayed Asuka in the face, and it looks like the women’s champion was going to do the same thing. However, the challenger blocked Carmella’s attempt of spraying her in the face, and the challenger delivered a series of blows, including a backfist, a running hip attack, and a shoulder arm breaker.
“The Empress of Tomorrow” went for her submission lock, but the WWE champion made it to the ropes. Ellsworth picked the lock of his cage, but he got caught in the cage while trying to escape and ended up hanging upside-down. Asuka delivered a series of kicks to a hanging James. For the finish, “Money Mella” thrust the challenger face-first into the cage and delivered a lateral press for the win and to retain the title.
? + ? + ? = @CarmellaWWE #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/UYsWODkUOf
— WWE (@WWE) July 15, 2018
WWE United States Championship
Jeff Hardy defended the championship against a returning Shinsuke Nakamura. Many fans were looking forward to seeing this title match, as they expected it to be a clinic. This bout was a lot of things, but clinic wasn’t one of them. Before the contest started, Nakamura delivered a low blow on Hardy. Selling that he was in a great amount of pain, Jeff nodded to the ref to start the match. The bell rang, and Shinsuke immediately delivered a Kinshasa for the three-count.
#AndNEWWWW #USChampion … @ShinsukeN ! #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/rUWQYFuHuo
— WWE (@WWE) July 16, 2018
As Nakamura was celebrating his WWE United States Championship win, Randy Orton’s music hit. Orton has been out of action for several months due to an injury, but he made his return at WWE Extreme Rules . The crowd popped as he entered the ring and stared down the new champion who was outside the ring. Instead of attacking Nakamura, “The Viper” seemingly turned heel by attacking the wounded Hardy, who was still selling on the mat.
Just after losing The #USTitle to @ShinsukeN , @JEFFHARDYBRAND was ATTACKED by @RandyOrton at #ExtremeRules ! pic.twitter.com/lRkQWLqof6
— WWE (@WWE) July 16, 2018
The crowd at Extreme Rules really didn’t know how to feel about this because instead of delivering jeers and boos, like a WWE audience would normally do when a face turns heel, they largely remained silent.