10 MUST-SEE Matches From WWE Extreme Rules

3. Evolution vs. The Shield – Extreme Rules 2014

It is a shame that the passing of the torch from Evolution to The Shield came right at the end of The Shield’s run as a team.

Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista decided they were tired of The Shield after WrestleMania XXX and a generational match was booked for Extreme Rules.

The two factions had a fantastic battle with new talent being put over very strong for what felt like the first time in a long time. Everyone seemed to have a counterpart on the opposite team which made for excellent chemistry.

Seth Rollins did a massive dive off the set en route to a Shield win here. While they were able to defeat Evolution once again at Payback, the stable broke up shortly afterward effectively making this their peak.

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2. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar – Extreme Rules 2012

When Brock Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012 there was great excitement. He was hot off a very successful run in UFC and was returning as a believable killer. His first opponent was John Cena.

Now, there is a WWE main event style that has produced many great matches over the years. This match was nothing like those matches.

Brock Lesnar walked into this match and beat Cena within an inch of his life. There was no back and forth, no nearfalls, just an assault.

This is one of Lesnar’s crazier matches, with him throwing a flying knee that sent him hurtling over the top rope. If there was any doubt, Lesnar proved he was still a lunatic.

The lone fault in this match was that Cena won. How WWE did not see that Lesnar being a killing machine was not a license to print money is still baffling nearly a decade later. Had he won, this would be a perfect match.

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1. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles – Extreme Rules 2016

When AJ Styles debuted in WWE in 2016, Vince McMahon was looking for a pitbull. It may have taken a while to properly get there, but at Extreme Rules, Styles released the pitbull.

He challenged Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship and they had one of the best matches of either man’s career. For Reigns, he had yet to develop a catalogue of brilliant performances to this point but Styles had. This makes it all the more impressive that this still ranks among his best.

People have pointed to this match being the moment that sold McMahon on Styles as a WWE guy and watching his performance it is easy to believe it.

This match occurred right before Styles turned heel for the first time. He was still a babyface for this match but he had the dastardly Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson interfering on his behalf.

To date, if you need to watch one match from Extreme Rules, it is this one.

What is your favourite Extreme Rules match? Let us know on Twitter!

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