Extreme Rules (2014)

Background in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Extreme Rules was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE since 2009. The concept of the event was that it featured various matches that were contested under hardcore rules and generally featured one Extreme Rules match. The defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion, which WWE acquired in 2003, originally used the "extreme rules" term to describe the regulations for all of its matches; WWE adopted the term, using it in place of "hardcore match" or "hardcore rules". The 2014 Extreme Rules event was the sixth Extreme Rules and took place on May 4, 2014, at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In addition to traditional PPV, it was also the first Extreme Rules to air on WWE's livestreaming service, the WWE Network, which launched in February. while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. Fresh off his win at WrestleMania XXX, John Cena continued to feud with Bray Wyatt of The Wyatt Family. Cena called Wyatt out for his inability to physically defend himself and his cryptic messages without Luke Harper and Erick Rowan by his side. To make Wyatt prove himself, Cena challenged him to a Steel Cage match, which Wyatt accepted. As a result, Triple H reformed Evolution with Batista and Randy Orton and attacked The Shield the following week on Raw. On the April 18 episode of SmackDown, Triple H scheduled a six-man tag team match between Evolution and The Shield for Extreme Rules. On the Raw before Extreme Rules, Ric Flair, once part of Evolution, came out only to give his endorsement to the Shield, acknowledging them as the future of WWE. On the Raw after WrestleMania XXX, Cesaro replaced his manager Zeb Colter with Paul Heyman. ==Event==

Broadcasters The English commentators were Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield while there were also Spanish and German commentators ringside. Lilian Garcia and Justin Roberts were ring announcers. The Kickoff pre-show was hosted by a panel of Booker T, Alex Riley, Josh Mathews, and Sheamus. Pre-show During the Extreme Rules Kickoff pre-show, El Torito faced Hornswoggle in a WeeLC match, a special Little Person version of a TLC match (as 'wee' is a synonym for 'small' widely used in Scotland). The referee, ring announcer, timekeeper, and commentators were LP versions of regular personnel. Torito picked up the victory after a Springboard Seated Senton through a table. Preliminary matches The actual pay-per-view opened with a Triple threat elimination match between Cesaro, Jack Swagger, and Rob Van Dam. Van Dam pinned Swagger after a Five Star Frog Splash to eliminate Swagger. In the climax, Van Dam performed a Van Daminator into a trash can on Cesaro and attempted a Five Star Frog Splash but Cesaro avoided, causing Van Dam to crash into the trash can. Cesaro performed a Neutralizer onto the trash can on Van Dam to win the match. After that, Alexander Rusev took on R-Truth and Xavier Woods in a 2-on-1 Handicap match. Before the match, Rusev attacked Woods, thus taking Woods out of the match. Rusev forced R-Truth to submit to the Accolade to win the match. In the next match, Big E defended his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett. The match ended when Barrett performed a Bull Hammer on Big E to win the title. In the fourth match, The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose) faced Evolution (Batista, Triple H, and Randy Orton). During the match, Triple H performed a Pedigree on Reigns and Batista attempted to pin him for a near-fall. Orton performed an RKO on Reigns but Rollins broke up a pinfall by Batista at a two count. Ambrose ran across the announce tables and leapt onto Triple H and Orton. Triple H, Orton, Ambrose and Rollins fought into the arena stands, where Triple H and Orton caused Ambrose to fall down a set of stairs. Triple H and Orton attacked Ambrose until Rollins dove off a balcony onto Triple H and Orton. The ending saw Batista perform a Spinebuster on Reigns and attempt a Batista Bomb on Reigns but Reigns countered and performed a Superman Punch on Batista. Reigns performed a Spear on Batista for the win. The fifth match was a Steel Cage match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt. During the match, Harper attacked Cena atop the cage, resulting in Harper falling into the cage. Cena performed a Super Attitude Adjustment on Wyatt but Harper broke up the pinfall. Rowan attacked Cena atop the cage but Cena pulled Rowan's beard, causing Rowan to collide with the cage. In the end, Cena performed a Diving Leg Drop Bulldog on Harper and attempted to escape through the door but the arena lights went off. When the arena lights turned on, a demonic child appeared, singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands". Wyatt performed Sister Abigail on Cena and escaped through the door to win the match. In the penultimate match, Paige defended her WWE Divas Championship against Tamina Snuka. In the end, Tamina attempted a Superkick but Paige countered and forced Tamina to submit to the PTO, retaining the title. Main event In the main event, Daniel Bryan defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Kane in an Extreme Rules match. During the match, Bryan and Kane fought backstage, where Bryan attacked Kane with a snow shovel. Bryan placed Kane on a forklift and drove the forklift into the arena, where Bryan performed a Diving Headbutt off the forklift on Kane for a near-fall. Kane performed a Chokeslam on Bryan for a near-fall. Kane attempted a Tombstone Piledriver onto a chair on Bryan but Bryan countered into a DDT on the chair for a near-fall. Bryan applied the Yes Lock using a kendo stick but Kane escaped the hold. Bryan attempted a Suicide Dive on Kane but Kane countered and performed a Chokeslam on Bryan through an announce table. Kane retrieved a table and set the table on fire using lighter fluid but Bryan pulled the ring ropes, causing Kane to fall through the table. Bryan performed a Running Knee on Kane to retain the title. == Aftermath ==

At the start of Raw after Extreme Rules, Dean Ambrose was forced to defend his United States Championship in a 20-man battle royal. Ambrose made it to the end with Sheamus, Sheamus eliminated Ambrose to win his second United States Championship, ending Ambrose's reign at 351 days. The Shield then fought The Wyatt Family later in the night; just as things turned in The Shield's favor, Evolution came out and distracted The Shield, allowing The Wyatt Family to win the match. Evolution then assaulted The Shield, and humiliated them by performing The Shield's signature Triple Powerbomb to Roman Reigns. This led to The Shield challenging Evolution to a rematch at Payback, which they accepted. The match was made a No Holds Barred Elimination match. Cena's feud with Wyatt continued with a Last Man Standing match being set up for Payback. At the pay-per-view, Cena defeated Wyatt to win the match and end their feud. On the May 12 episode of Raw, Daniel Bryan announced that he would undergo neck surgery, and would be absent from WWE for an unspecified amount of time. That same night, Stephanie McMahon called Bryan to the ring, before Kane dragged him out into the entrance before being loaded onto a stretcher by medical personnel. On the May 19 episode of Raw, Stephanie McMahon gave Bryan an ultimatum to surrender the WWE World Heavyweight Championship the following week on Raw. At Payback, Brie would let Bryan keep the championship by quitting WWE, and finalized it by slapping McMahon across the face. == Results ==

Triple Threat Eliminations Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament == References ==