10 Impulse Reactions Following WWE Extreme Rules 2017

9. Mixed Up

Alexa Bliss Bayley
WWE.com

The risk in being too critical of a low-card match such as this is that it perhaps misses the point of the contest entirely. The passable brawl was absolute fluff, as were the singles matches on Raw and 205 Live that built to the hastily arranged contest. Do mixed tag rules really even count as 'Extreme'? Surely by opposing inter-gender risks, they're the exact opposite.

Anyway, if one elects to extrapolate the positives from a situation such as this, it's easier to accept why it even exists in the first place.

Noam Dar and Rich Swann were not likely to be appearing on pay-per-view with the dominance of Aries and Neville in the Cruiserweight Division, and the storyline has at least given Sasha Banks purpose beyond Raw's one-title one-story philosophy that has been problematic since WrestleMania.

In reference to SmackDown Live!'s Money In The Bank Ladder Match, Nia Jax tweeted her show of a support with a sly dig at the red brand's creative team for failing to utilise all female roster members in the same way on Monday Night. Banks' temporary union with Swann has been the exception, and their crowd pleasing victory hasn't overtly harmed any of the talent involved. Yet.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett