10 WWE Extreme Rules 2018 Impulse Reactions
"And That's A Shoot, Brother..."
On Sunday, WWE confirmed that Hulk Hogan would be "reinstated" into their Hall Of Fame after receiving a big boot out of it following the 2015 reveal of racist language used in secret recordings of 'The Hulkster'. This coinciding with the sort-of-news that he was seen boarding a plane to a state not as far away from Extreme Rules as his own home briefly fostered a narrative that Hogan was about to make the save for Daniel Bryan, bantering off two 'Brothers' as he'd done for most of his storied original tenure.
Alas, Kane was the substitute for himself and the story was no story at all. More on that match later, but not much more, because the contest and the show itself had as little buzz coming out of it as it did going in. A finger-wagging finale from Hulk would have been the bombshell required to anchor this entire review - red and yellow cover image and all. Instead - and possibly for the best - it was again the performer most associated with his legendary rival Rowdy Roddy Piper that gave audiences the biggest takeaway from the show with the arguable exception of Bobby Lashley careering to the floor in a bump more valuable than the one Kevin Owens took towards an actual near-demise.
Both were winners when lasting visuals will present them as pained victims. The Rules were allegedly Extreme on Sunday, but little about the show deviated from the norm...
10. Every Loser Wins
The B-Team are what a WWE push is in 2018.
They're broadly enjoyable as part of an entertainment "Universe" that redefines 'broad' as an actual concept. Monday Night Raw in particular is devoid of life and meaning without a headline Champion willing to call it home, forcing virtually every character into a comedy cul-de-sac whether the angle needs a punchline or not.
"B" might indeed stand "Best" according to their t-shirts (the only things that are bigger p*ss takes than the act themselves), but 'Banter' is one of the best weapons to have against the weapons-grade idiots they have to compete against. It was comedy, effectively, that earned The Deleters Of Worlds the belts in the first place after Bray and Matt giggled their way to victory. It was comedy, literally, that drove Braun Strowman's Nicholas-assisted squash over The Bar at WrestleMania. That represented the last point the titles weren't a laughing stock, though the only guffaws could be heard from Vince McMahon in the Gorilla Position.
Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel got their broadly enjoyable win win, got their broadly enjoyable comedy (the "Stretch Armstrong" malapropism wasn't a waste of a writer's time) and even got a broadly entertaining 'rub' from Roman Reigns. Job done, in WWE's confused hierarchy they'll be back to jobbing duties in no time now they're actually 'winners'.