10 Things WWE Regrets About Extreme Rules

Potted plants, Straight-Edge saviours, and the death of Osama bin Laden.

Chris Jericho Cm Punk
WWE.com

When looking back throughout the history of WWE, there have been an absolutely ludicrous amount of PPV events. Some have become annual delights, others have quickly become one-off events that failed to truly strike a chord with audiences.

As we approach the WWE's annual Extreme Rules PPV this July 14th, it's only right that some light is shone on said event. The thing is, the years have rarely seen the WWE fully embrace the Extreme Rules title of this PPV, particularly in more recent ones.

Many may feel that continuing forward with using Extreme Rules as an annual PPV when under the confinements of a PG rating is foolish, but WWE has seemingly not got that particular memo. Now, while Extreme Rules is still an ongoing fixture on the WWE calendar, that's not to say it's a flawless show that doesn't instantly conjure up questions amongst the WWE Universe. Since its inception - and even more so now - Extreme Rules is a PPV event that WWE surely has plentiful regrets about over the years.

As such, here are just a few of the regrets likely held by Vince McMahon and Co.

10. Extreme Rules Began Life As One Night Stand

Chris Jericho Cm Punk
WWE.com

These days, it’s known that Vince McMahon and WWE were slipping the odd few dollars to Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling back in the day. But still, there’s always been this odd dynamic between Vince and Heyman, where McMahon appreciates the genius of Paul E. yet also gets angered by said genius.

Essentially, Extreme Rules is Paul Heyman’s creation. The event itself began life back in 2005 as the very first One Night Stand PPV – and what a show that was! A celebration of ECW featuring some of the biggest names that made the ECW brand so popular, One Night Stand was a phenomenon. So much so, it got a follow-up in 2006. And then, well, then there were the One Night Stand shows in 2007 and 2008 that were clearly the WWE stepping away from the classic ECW feel.

Since 2009, One Night Stand has been rebranded as Extreme Rules, and you just know it pains Vince McMahon and Co. that this annual event of theirs began life as a show dedicated to ECW.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.