Written By: Mark Armstrong
Running Time: 179 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: August 1 2011
The first supershow after WrestleMania XXVII largely carried on rivalries which had been established or had peaked at Mania, and with the gimmicks in place, the upshot is a rather fun wrestling DVD.
Kicking us off, Randy Orton decisively beats CM Punk once more in a strong Last Man Standing encounter. A Tables bout between Sheamus and Kofi Kingston exists solely to bring the United States crown back to Raw following the Draft the previous Monday. Michael Cole & Jack Swagger vs. Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross under Country Whippin’ Rules is a match that actually happened.
After an exciting Falls Count Anywhere scrap between Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes, we see Michelle McCool’s farewell match against Layla, which is followed by the first WWE appearance of an unfortunately brief run for Kharma. Then we have an enjoyable Ladder match between Alberto Del Rio and Christian, who replaced Edge (he had retired a few weeks earlier) and captured his first World Title in WWE here (only to lose it to Randy Orton days later).
Big Show & Kane decimate The Corre in a Lumberjack match that I remember most for the baffling visual of British-born David Hart Smith at ringside in a cowboy hat. Finally, a three-way WWE Title Cage match between The Miz, John Cena and John Morrison is okay, though Cole on commentary – as Miz’s biggest supporter – should have been much more upset that his hero lost the title. Bobby Heenan would have showed him how it’s done properly.
With a few exciting encounters and several title changes, Extreme Rules 2011 flies under the radar a bit, but is actually one of the year’s better events.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10 – Good
