10 WWE Superstars Who Helped Define Extreme Rules
Who has made the biggest impact on the nights that WWE goes extreme?
Despite not being one of the WWE’s top pay-per-views traditionally, Extreme Rules has been carving out quite the niche for itself over the past six years.
Since emerging in 2009 as a continuation of the One Night Stand chronology, the show has gone on to displace Backlash as the fourth show on the WWE calendar. The unique blend of exciting stipulations, the enduring post-WrestleMania buzz and what is typically a fairly star-studded pine-up, often sees the PPV go down as one of the highlights of the year.
And with a number of high-profile matches already announced—as well as a variety of enticing and intriguing stipulations—2015’s Extreme Rules installment looks set to deliver the good once again.
But while this year features something of a rising crop of talent on the card, there are a number of stars—both past and present—who have become synonymous with the post-‘Mania PPV.
Whether through the quality or quantity of the matches they’ve been involved in, there are a flock of names who could be in with a shout of claiming the not-quite-so-catchy Mr. Extreme Rules moniker. This article counts down some of those names, as we list the ten Superstars who helped define the Extreme Rules PPV.
10. Kane
The Big Red Machine may not have the most impressive record at Extreme Rules, but the calibre of matches in which he’s been involved is enough to earn him a place on this list.
He’s twice fought for the Tag Team titles; alongside Big Show in 2011 and then with Daniel Bryan in 2013. First time round, he and Show were successful, defeating the Corre in a Lumberjack match. But his 2013 outing saw the entertaining reign of Team Hell No come to an abrupt end as the more-seasoned veterans put the rising stars over.
That wasn’t his only involvement with D-Bry at the PPV though. Last year, he of course faced his former partner in an Extreme Rules match for the WWE Championship. A flaming table and a forklift truck made appearances in a classic hardcore encounter, though Kane ultimately succumbed to Bryan’s flying knee.
A loss to Randy Orton in 2012 gives Kane a 1-3 record at this event, but as the age-old adage goes, wins aren’t everything in pro wrestling. For the entertainment value of his 2013 and 2014 showings, Kane is well worthy of a mention in any Extreme Rules discussion.