13 WWE Extreme Rules 2019 Impulse Reactions

2. Seth Rollins (c) & Becky Lynch (c) Vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans

Baron Corbin Becky Lynch
WWE

During a brilliantly bizarre Kickoff promo featuring "homewreckers" Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans, the 'Lone Wolf' and the 'Sassy Southern Belle' made big promises about the violence they intended to unleash upon Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.

Failing profoundly to deliver on their threats, it was a good job neither of them made assurances about quality too. Becky and Seth provided most of the violence (despite proffering zero sex as a precursor), wailing on the pair with chairs and kendo sticks before putting them through tables for the big set piece near the end.

If that feels a little too close to the description given for a common-or-garden hardcore match, it's because that's exactly what this was. When the heels had their moments, they were campy and comedic with it, but the never-in-doubt result left the hardened and previously-heated Philadelphia fans cold to the supposed aggression. Corbin triggering Rollins with an assault on Lynch at least made for a good finish. It felt like a bit of a slog getting there.

Here's the thing with WWE in 2019 - there's simply no excuse not to be top of the wrestling class. Some of Extreme Rules made Seth Rollins' ill-advised tweets from earlier this year sound true. It's a shame his match couldn't advocate them with such confidence. Onwards and downwards for the titleholders to SummerSlam then, hopefully not together after this failed experiment...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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