It is that time of year again. Wrestlemania season is over and it's time for the WWE to get extreme. Many fans look forward to this event each year as we are currently still stuck in the PG era meaning we don't normally get this type of excitement often enough. Ladder matches, Tables matches, Cage matches are all in play and all on the same pay per view. Extreme Rules is an event that raises the bar for a superstar's reputation. This yearly pay per view has the potential to take a wrestler who may be thought of as soft and toughen him up by giving him the chance to show he can hang in the land of hardcore. Now being a long time fan I am well aware that the origin of Extreme Rules came from the idea of the ECW One Night Stand pay per views. The ECW One Night Stand pay per view was then later rebranded as just One Night Stand. With that all being said this article will only cover matches under the WWE branded Extreme Rules event. Some of my favorite matches of all time happened on the two ECW One Night Stand but pay per views but that is subject matter for a different article at some point. Now that we have cleared that up let's take a look at the 5 greatest matches from WWE Extreme Rules...
5. Daniel Bryan Vs. Sheamus - 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYa2Ojs5VtM On the road to Wrestlemania 27 Sheamus and Daniel Bryan were involved in a feud over the United States championship. Fans were excited to get to see these two fresh superstars face off against each other on the grandest stage of them all. Then their U.S. title match was moved to the preshow and somehow ended up becoming a huge battle royal including many other superstars that had nothing to do with their feud. Does that sound horrible to you? Don't worry it was but another reason not to worry is because barely anyone saw it. WWE creative was given a shot at redemption for their bad booking of these two superstars in the form of a Wrestlemania match a year later which saw Daniel Bryan defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus. This match had the fans pretty damn excited as both wrestlers had picked up alot of steam over the past year so it was easy to pick this match as an instant classic. Then we all came face to face with another epic failure on behalf of WWE creative which saw Daniel Bryan lose his World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus in a mere 18 seconds. This terrible decision by WWE left a bad taste in the mouths of many causing many fans to turn on Sheamus who was supposed to be the face and cheer Daniel Bryan who was supposed to be the heel. Daniel Bryan caught fire with his "YES!" chants becoming the most infamous thing in WWE at the time. It was because of this WWE had to take notice and decided that at Extreme Rules they would finally give Daniel Bryan the chance to show the world what he can do and he took the ball and ran with it. Daniel Bryan can get a good match out of anyone and Sheamus has a reputation of giving it his all everytime he steps in the ring. Most people would assume they could put on a good match together but no one could have expected it to be this good. The two completely different styles of both men meshed very well in this match as it showcased technical wrestling, brawling, and grappling. The 2 out of 3 falls stipulation proved to be a great choice for these two superstars as it gave them an adequate amount of time to show off their skills. Sheamus has a very hard hitting style but Daniel Bryan seemed to have a counter for everything. Daniel Bryan made Sheamus use every move in his arsenal in order to retain his World Heavyweight Championship and in the end Sheamus managed to gain some respect back from the fans by putting on a great match. This is the match that these two should have had at Wrestlemania as it would have no doubt provided both men with a much needed "Wrestlemania moment". Sheamus went on to have a mediocre World Heavyweight Championship run (to no fault of his own, creative just never managed to get him in an interesting feud) and Daniel Bryan spent the summer embroiled in one of the most memorable feuds of the last few years fighting CM Punk for the WWE championship. This match was the match that showed both of these superstars can hang in the main event and will be two guys the company can count on for years to come.