7 Ups And 4 Downs From WWE Extreme Rules 2022

1. Padding Out Matches

One of the biggest complaints about Raw these days is that despite it being worlds better than it had been just two months ago, matches feel like they go on about 5-10 minutes longer than they should have, as if they miss their climax and keep going.

In reality, this is likely because Raw is three hours, so you need to fill that time somehow, and Triple H prefers to just pad out matches a few minutes to close that time gap. That’s what Extreme Rules felt like Saturday night, as six matches and Bray Wyatt’s return stretched over the length of three hours.

Looking at match times, it’s clear they could have shaved time of nearly every match and improved the overall feel of each one, as even the good ones felt like they could have been tightened up a bit. Hack about 10-12 minutes off the I Quit match and it’s much better. Trim 2-3 minutes off the ladder match and it sings. Lop 3-4 minutes off the SmackDown Women’s Championship match and save us all from that poor bout.

Looking at all of that, you could have booked a seventh match – maybe a tag team #1 contender’s match or a Women’s Tag Team Championship match – and that would have used that extra time to get a few more wrestlers some screentime.

Time management has been a consistent concern, and it’s starting to become more noticeable when you find yourself wondering when a match is going to end.