13 Match Star Ratings For WWE Extreme Rules 2019

7. Braun Strowman Vs. Bobby Lashley - Last Man Standing Match

AJ Styles Ricochet
WWE.com

WWE has attempted to reverse its fortunes via so many different and wild ways in 2019.

NXT call-ups. More NXT call-ups. More NXT call-ups. A Superstar Shake-Up that is sort of still happening, if you think about it. The return of Bruce Prichard. The even stranger returns of Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff.

But really, this match represented in itself what it is people enjoy about this company: two colossal hoss bastards pasting one another in a daft, violent spectacle that defines sports entertainment as something more than a pejorative. A bit baggy, this nonetheless was a splendid platform on which to reheat the Strowman character. This was more imaginative than it perhaps needed to be to get over, which suggests a company willing to get behind the Monster once more.

In a sublime tweak on a now familiar trope, Lashley splattered Strowman through the barricade from behind with a lethal-looking spear. The spot itself looked awesome, and it helped this fun, OTT brawl look more credible. The barricade wasn't broken as pretext to get amongst the crowd; it was simply, gloriously, used as an organic means for one preposterously built hoss to decimate the other.

Actually good such good sh*t.

Star Rating: ***3/4

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!