WWE Extreme Rules 2018: Star Ratings For All 12 Matches
9. Finn Bálor Vs. Baron Corbin
One didn’t need the power of prescience to see the finish to this match encroaching, tediously, on the horizon.
Such a finish was all but foreshadowed the second Finn Bálor and “Constable” Corbin were programmed together; the former is well-protected by the standards of the meandering modern midcard act, and the latter is in the midst of a new role and a renewed push. Neither could afford to lose and so, in peak WWE fashion, both were portrayed as losers.
The finish was telegraphed as the action unfurled.
Corbin mounted obscenely disproportionate offence throughout the first five minutes. It was an elongated squash match; he controlled to such an extent that he choked the life out of it and his opponent alike. Bálor only fought back at the death, accurately enough, and scored a fluke roll-up pin at the 8:20 mark. This depicted him as lucky, and depicted Corbin as utterly feckless. He lost his Money in the Bank briefcase with similar, greenhorn behaviour. Shouldn’t that result haunt him? Why does he still lose with the frequency and inattention of a 2010 era Diva? This was a match that did nothing for anybody, not least of which the fandom. It was barely a match, but rather an awful travel brochure to the stars of the independent circuit:
Don’t come. You’re shorter than and thus weaker than mediocre-at-best in-house Performance Center graduates.
Star Rating: *1/2