WWE Extreme Rules results 2016: Seth Rollins returns to Pedigree Roman Reigns after he defeats AJ Styles
Full results from WWE Extreme Rules as a famous face made his long-awaited return
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Your support makes all the difference.Extreme Rules saw the return of Seth Rollins from a six-month injury absence to attack Roman Reigns moments after he had retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship by defeating AJ Styles in a brilliant main event match.
Not only did Reigns and Styles carry out their second epic battle in less than a month and the WWE Universe erupt when Rollins rushed the ring, Extreme Rules also saw one of the matches of the year in the Fatal Four-Way match for the Intercontinental Championship, which saw The Miz use all his underhand tactics in his locker to beat Cesaro, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and retain the belt.
However, elsewhere there was little to shout about, with matches either ending too short or lacking the thrills that ended the night.
Styles immediately took the fight to Reigns with a rampant attack, only for Reigns to gain the upper hand when he found himself a steel chair – with both men utilising the Extreme Rules stipulation. Styles took the fight into the crowd, and once the action spilled back towards the ring, the Phenomenal One pulled up the protective mat to expose the hard floor underneath before Reigns put Styles through both announce tables.
Of course, help for both Superstars was never far away, with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows attacking Reigns during the fight, only for The Usos to come to the aid of their cousin and protect Reigns.
All the distractions allowed Styles to land the Styles Clash, but when it wasn’t enough to put Reigns away, he attempted to repeat the move onto a steel chair. Lucky for Reigns, Jimmy Uso made the save, and after Styles erupted in a fit of fury by hitting everyone in sight with the chair, Reigns counter a Phenomenal Elbow with a mid-air Spear to get the three-count and win the match.
Reigns’s celebrations were cut short though when the crowd burst into cheering – obviously not for Reigns given the frosty reception he continues to receive – and it quickly emerged that the former WWE World Heavyweight champion Rollins had made his return, immediately delivering a Pedigree to his former Shield team-mate.
Rollins never lost the belt legitimately after he was forced to relinquish it after suffering a knee injury in Dublin last November, and his return sets up the perfect feud for Reigns moving forward after Extreme Rules.
The main event epic came hot off the heels of a frantic Fatal Four-Way for the Intercontinental Title. If anyone needed reminding of the hatred that remains between Zayn and Owens, they needn’t look no further than the Helluva Kick Zayn delivered on the opening bell.
The pair’s battle would be a common thread throughout the match, although all four men had near falls and chances to win. When Cesaro locked Miz in a Sharpshooter, the champion tapped out only for his wife, Maryse, to distract the referee and keep the match going.
It allowed Owens to rush back into the ring and deliver a Pop-Up Powerbomb to the King of Swing, but when Owens went for the pin The Miz had recovered enough to split it up. Once again, Owens was attacked by Zayn and the two went at it on the outside, leaving Cesaro and Miz in the ring, and the crafty champion quickly rolled up the Swiss Superstar to get the win and hold onto his championship belt.
Dean Ambrose got his wish of facing Chris Jericho in an Asylum Match, but the fact that the weapons were kept on top of the steel cage meant that the match slowed down too often whenever either man tried to get a new weapon.
That said, the bout did see the introduction of a mop, nunchucks, kendo sticks, a leather strap, fire extinguisher and a straitjacket, but worse was yet to come in deciding the match. After Ambrose had levelled Y2J, he unleashed a load of thumbtacks on the mat before slamming Jericho onto them, leaving his skin punctured and in a whole load of pain.
Ambrose delivered Dirty Deeds to end the match and, hopefully, the drawn out rivalry.
The Women’s Championship match saw Charlotte take on Natalya in a rematch from Payback, in which the Canadian was deemed to have tapped out without actually submitting. With Ric Flair banned from ringside, Charlotte would have to go it alone if she wanted to retain the gold, or so we thought.
After Natalya had isolated Charlotte’s left arm having hurt it early in the match, Flair’s music hit and out he came. This would cost Charlotte that match due to the stipulation that he was banned from interfering, but it soon transpired to be Dana Brooke, the NXT graduate, impersonating the Nature Boy. Charlotte utilised the distraction to lock in the Figure Eight and win the match, before Brooke attacked Natalya after the bell.
The New Day faced The Vaudevillains as Big E and Xavier Woods attempted to extend their lengthy title reign, with Kofi Kingston at ringside. Aiden English and Simon Gotch put in their best performance to date since moving up to the main roster, but the numbers game would inevitably catch up with them.
The Vaudevillains isolated Woods in a bid to take Big E out of the equation, but once he enter the ring he quickly got New Day back into the match. With the referee distracted after a Whirling Dervish from the challengers, Kingston interfered to set Woods up for the victory to retain the Tag Team Championship for The New Day.
The only title to change hands during the night came in the United States bout between champion Kalisto and Rusev. For once, Kalisto was unable to upset the bigger man, having prevailed in his recent feud with Ryback, and Rusev was able to dominate the luchadore from the get-go.
With Kalisto hurt on the ring apron, Rusev was able to lock in the Accolade and force Kalisto to tap out, with the Bulgarian Brute regaining the title he lost in 2014.
Despite clashing in the main event, The Usos faced Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows earlier in the night in a Tornado Tag Team match. The two bigger men were able to dominate the Samoan pair, as they repeatedly targeted Jey Uso while keeping Jimmy out of the match.
The two members of The Club managed to fling Jimmy onto the ring bell after kicking Jey into the guardrail, and gained the victory with the Magic Killer on the former to pick up their biggest win since arriving in the WWE.
Baron Corbin continued his rise through the ranks by defeating Dolph Ziggler in a show of brute strength and craftiness, although it took until the very end of the match for either man to take advantage of the no disqualification stipulation that had been implemented.
Ziggler looked to have turned the tables when he landed a Tornado DDT to counter Corbin, but a low-blow left Ziggler in pain and the End of Days finished the bout.
In the opening collision of the night, the Dudley Boyz took to trash talking the New Jersey crowd before Colin ‘Big Cass’ Cassidy came out to confront the veteran pair. Big Cass is still without his tag team partner in Enzo Amore after he suffered a concussion at Payback, but that didn’t stop him running through the Dudley Boyz in what wasn’t an official match.
Results
Roman Reigns DEF AJ Styles
Charlotte DEF Natalya
Dean Ambrose DEF Chris Jericho
The Miz DEF Cesaro, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
The New Day DEF The Vaudevillains
Rusev DEF Kalisto
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows DEF The Usos
Baron Corbin DEF Dolph Ziggler
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