8 Match Star Ratings From WWE: The Horror Show At Extreme Rules

6. Bayley Vs. Nikki Cross - SmackDown Women's Championship Match

Bray Wyatt Braun Strowman
WWE.com

A very good pro wrestling match with a finish that didn't make you long for the fate endured by Rey Mysterio, this was a short-form firecracker that cruelly boasted the depth of a division that, no matter how hot by WWE standards it is now, will inevitably rot.

It's the WWE way.

Nikki Cross exuded a timeless babyface fire early, drilling Bayley with a blitzkrieg series of power moves lethal in snap and dizzying in revolutions. She was the fired the f*ck up, and she proved herself more than capable of one day reigning as a Champion. After a vicious heat spot that didn't drag, Cross, in a great, idiosyncratic character moment, lured Bayley into a sh*t-kicking by scurrying underneath the ring before cajoling from the Champion her old Bayley to Belly finish with a counter in mind.

The finish was a heel finish, but a good heel finish. A poetic heel finish, even: in an elegant arrangement of a now familiar trope - i.e., one that protected Cross to an extent - Bayley had to rely on Sasha Banks' custom knucks, a symbol of symbiosis that reveals who the true don of the act is, to retain her title. Good storyline progression.

Let's undermine it!

Star Rating: ★★★½

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!