10 Things We Learned From Post-Extreme Rules WWE Raw (June 5)

7. Come At The King, You Best Not Miss

Samoa Joe Kurt Angle
WWE.com

After the decisive Submission Match between Neville and Austin Aries ended in victory for the 'King of the Cruiserweights', it was a genuine concern how WWE would book both challenger and champion in the aftermath.

Since being paired together after Aries' successful return from the commentary table in February, the two galvanised the entire division around their feud. Neville added paranoia to his growing list of heel characteristics, despite sneaking past 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived' in their excellent WrestleMania 33 kickoff match and retaining his title by virtue of a disqualification loss at April's Payback pay-per-view.

Their conflict dragged in Gentleman Jack Gallagher and TJP as respective accomplices, and the latter attempted to cash in on some questionable promises Neville had made in recent weeks about a future title shot. The champion again said he would request the match from Kurt Angle should his so-called friend defeat Mustafa Ali, but he balked at the prospect later in the show.

Snapping after TJP insisted they both speak to Kurt, Neville struck from behind, then screamed that he'd get his shot on 205 Live. It was another completely phenomenal performance from the Champion, who looks as though he will be able to continue elevating the division almost entirely by himself.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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