With a Wyatt Swamp Fight and an Eye for an Eye match where victory literally could only be achieved in storyline by removing your opponent's eye, it's easy to see why Sunday's pay-per-view, The Horror Show at WWE Extreme Rules, was given its moniker. More horrific than those matches for many fans, however, were the controversial finishes -- and non-finishes -- that littered the card on Sunday night at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
The defining moment for many will be the main event cinematic Wyatt Swamp Fight between Bray Wyatt and universal champion Braun Strowman. The non-title match was an attempt to play up the horror of Wyatt's imagination and the psychological impact of Strowman's time as part of the Wyatt Family. While lacking much of the artistic flair of Wyatt's Firefly FunHouse cinematic WrestleMania 36 match with John Cena, it was certainly a unique experience with no definitive winner or loser in the wrestling sense, though Strowman's future now seems dominated by the emergence of Wyatt's Fiend persona.
Only one title changed hands in the five title matches on the show, though in retaining his WWE championship, Drew McIntyre may have battled through one of the defining matches of his run, overcoming an incredible challenge from Dolph Ziggler in a match where the odds were stacked against him.
CBS Sports was with you the entire way updating this story with live recaps and highlights from the show. Keep on reading for detailed results, analysis and grades from The Horror Show at WWE Extreme Rules.
2020 WWE Extreme Rules results, grades
Kevin Owens vs. Murphy (Kickoff Show): Owens went for a stunner moments after the match began, but Murphy was able to avoid it. After some striking exchanges, Owens went for a stunner again, but this time Murphy countered with a jumping knee. Murphy hit a late meteora for a two count after more brutal striking exchanges. Owens also kicked out of a big brainbuster from Murphy. Owens countered a superplex attempt by Murphy and hit a big top-rope moonsault for his own near fall. Owens followed up by ducking a meteora, hitting a superkick and then a stunner for the win in what was a very entertaining scrap between two men who are great at the hard-hitting style. Owens def. Murphy via pinfall -- Grade: B
SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- The New Day (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro (Tables Match): Early action saw the teams brawling at ringside with Big E launching Kofi Kingston into dropkicks while Nakamura was pinned to the plexiglass and Cesaro was against the ring steps. New Day then tried to put Cesaro through a table before Nakamura made the save and put the champions on the defensive. Big E hit a spear through the ropes on Cesaro, driving him to the floor and just missing a table that was positioned at ringside. With Cesaro positioned on a table, Big E attempted to launch Kingston out of the ring and onto the challenger, but Cesaro and Nakamura countered by throwing the table into Kingston's face. New Day stacked tables at ringside, but Nakamura again made the save, leaving Big E in danger of going through the stacked tables before he was launched back into the ring. Kingston tried to use a huricanrana to put Cesaro through the stacked tables at ringside, but the plan backfired with Nakamura and Cesaro working together for a diving powerbomb through two tables for the win. This wasn't a legendary match, but it was a fun, chaotic opening to the show before the somewhat surprising title change. Nakamura & Cesaro def. The New Day (c) to win the titles -- Grade: B-
SmackDown Women's Championship -- Bayley (c) vs. Nikki Cross: Both women landed early slaps to set the tone for the match before Cross got off to a hot start, scoring several near falls early before hitting a crossbody off the apron onto Bayley on the outside. Bayley trapped Cross in the ring apron but Cross ducked under the ring and popped out the other side, trapping Bayley in the same position and administering a beating. Bayley scored a near fall after hitting a Bayley-to-Belly. Cross hit a reverse DDT and a bulldog before a series of back suplexes for another near fall as the match became more competitive and intense, frustrating the champion into running face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Banks slipped her "BOSS" four-finger ring to Bayley as the referee was distracted, allowing Bayley to drive a punch to the ribs of Cross and score the pin for the cheap win after an entertaining challenge from Cross. Bayley (c) def. Cross to retain the title -- Grade: B
Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins (Eye for an Eye): After Rollins brought pliers to the ring, Mysterio was able to sneak into the ring and jump him before the start of the match. Mysterio grabbed a piece of rebar, but Rollins was able to hit him with a kendo stick. Rollins hit a falcon arrow on the ring apron and made the first true attempt of the match to pull out Mysterio's eye. Rollins continued to dominate, repeatedly laying Mysterio out and trying to shove various objects into his eye, including a pen, kendo stick, screwdriver and chair leg. Mysterio dropped Rollins on the corner of the announce table to take over briefly, but Rollins used the chair to lay him out. Rollins then use rope to tie Mysterio's arm to the ropes before trying to pull out Mysterio's eye. Rollins stuck the kendo stick in the turnbuckle and tried to drive Mysterio eye-first into it, but Mysterio was able to avoid it. Mysterio put down Rollins with a slide to the outside into a high-speed sunset flip powerbomb against the ringside barricade.
Mysterio almost won the fight after shoving pieces of the broken kendo stick into Rollins' eye and hitting a 619. Rollins tried to shove Mysterio's eye into the ring steps, but Mysterio slipped out and hit Rollins with a Stomp before trying to drive Rollins' eye into the steps. Rollins countered with a low blow and then superkicked Mysterio as he was trapped against the barricade. Rollins then hit Mysterio with the Stomp and drove his eye into the ring steps, popping his "eyeball" out in the process. Rollins then backed off and began vomiting as Mysterio rolled around in pain and was treated by the doctors. This match was high-octane and entertaining, but the underlying "when is someone's eye coming out?" narrative set a very strange tone. The ending was, as expected, a bit hokey. But there's no way around that when you introduce such a strange stipulation. Rollins def. Mysterio -- Grade: B
Raw Women's Championship -- Asuka (c) vs. Sasha Banks: Banks worked some knees early and used a bit of a hair pull to toss Asuka to the canvas and go for a Banks Statement early, but Asuka was able to get to the ropes. Asuka made a comeback and drilled Banks with a sliding knee to the face as Banks was outside the ring. Banks was able to counter the Asuka Lock attempt that followed, taking control of the match again. Banks worked a lot of interesting submissions early, including some illegal small joint manipulation, wrenching on the fingers of the champion. Banks avoided an Asuka hip attack and tried to hit a German suplex from the apron to the floor. Asuka reversed the position, but Banks slid between her legs and powerbombed her into the ringside Plexiglas. Moments later, Banks locked in the Banks Statement again, but Asuka managed to grab the bottom rope again. Asuka hit some big suplexes before unloading with a series of kicks for a two count.
Banks avoided a diving dropkick from Asuka and hit her with a running knee for her own near fall. Banks went up top and Asuka tried to counter into a German suplex from the top rope, but Banks was able to flip and land on her knees. She then fell as she tried to hit a springboard and was checked on by the ref to make sure her knee was OK. Banks was able to continue, seemingly not suffering a major injury. After Bayley got involved in the match, bringing various titles into the ring, Asuka attempted to mist her but blew the mist into the eyes of the referee. Bayley then hit Asuka with the title belt and took the shirt off the referee and counted 1-2-3, demanding the timekeeper ring the bell. Banks and Bayley left the ring with all the gold. This was an outstanding match, but the finish makes no sense and feels like a cheap way to drag this situation to SummerSlam. Asuka (c) vs. Banks ended in a no contest -- Grade: B
WWE Championship -- Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler (Extreme Rules for the Challenger): Before the match, Ziggler revealed that the match would be under extreme rules for himself, but not for McIntyre, who could also lose the title via count out or disqualification. McIntyre dominated early, tossing Ziggler around while Ziggler attempted to bait him into using a chair to get disqualified. Ziggler briefly got things going his way, setting up a table, but McIntyre came roaring back. McIntyre almost suplexed Ziggler through the table but spun and suplexed him onto the floor instead, avoiding the DQ. Ziggler used a low blow and several shots with a steel chair, including one that drove McIntyre's throat into another chair, but only managed to get a two count. Ziggler locked in a sleeper on McIntyre, who could not use the ropes to break the hold, but McIntyre slammed him to the mat anyway. McIntyre hit the reverse Alabama slam and went for the Claymore, but Ziggler hit him in the leg with the chair and hit the Zig Zag for a near fall.
Ziggler then hit a huge elbow drop from the ring post to McIntyre as the champ was laid out on a table. McIntyre was able to beat the 10 count and save his title as Ziggler screamed in frustration. After a headbutt from McIntyre, Ziggler landed a kick to the injured knee of the champ and hit a uranage on a steel chair for another two count. Increasingly frustrated, Ziggler stood in a corner, stomping his foot in preparation for a superkick, but McIntyre exploded with a Claymore to score the pin. The stipulations really worked in this match to set up a lot of drama in a match with little doubt over who would leave with the title. McIntyre having to overcome a really bad situation was great for his character and his run as champion. McIntyre (c) def. Ziggler via pinfall to retain the title -- Grade: A-
Braun Strowman (c) vs. Bray Wyatt (Wyatt Swamp Fight; non-title match): Wyatt was sitting in a rocking chair when Strowman arrived in a truck. The screen went black after Strowman announced, "I'm home," and Wyatt disappeared. Masked men attacked Strowman as he walked through the woods, but Strowman was hit from behind by a shovel wielded by ... the old version of himself. Strowman was knocked out by a second hit with the shovel and woke up chained to a chair in a shack. Wyatt entered the shack and told Strowman that he can't hurt him because Wyatt is already dead. Wyatt then told Strowman that, while he is proud of what he has accomplished, his success would only be temporary and everyone would abandon him. Wyatt also said that together, they could be gods, ruling while society and governments fall. A woman eventually brought a snake into the shack and it bit Strowman before another fade to black before he woke by a fire and was again attacked by random people, eventually leading one of them to catch fire.
A woman then appeared to tell Strowman he "didn't have to do this" and telling him to follow her home, lifting a veil to reveal herself as a vision of Alexa Bliss, the object of his affection. Wyatt attacked Strowman after Strowman walked into the swamp in pursuit of an empty boat, holding his head under the water before disappearing. Wyatt reappeared and beat Strowman with a boat oar for a few moments before Strowman kicked him into the swamp. Strowman then nodded at the black swamp water and said, "it's over," and it looked like the PPV was ending as the logo came up in the bottom of the screen. Suddenly, Wyatt shot out of the water and locked him in a mandible claw, pulling him in. The show ended on a shot of the water, which turned red before Wyatt emerged as The Fiend. The match lacked the magic of the Boneyard or Firefly FunHouse matches from WrestleMania or even the wacky antics of Money in the Bank. Instead, the match was a bit of a disjointed, rambling mess. It was fun in some spots, and Strowman seeing Sister Abigail as Alexa Bliss was a neat bit of psychological twisting. And The Fiend emerging from the swamp to close the show was a nice, chilling moment. On the whole, however, it's hard not to view the match as a letdown after much better cinematic efforts. Wyatt def. Strowman (c) in a non-title match -- Grade: C
2020 WWE Extreme Rules recap, highlights
