By Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist

It was Gonzo, Phil, Doug, Kurt and I for Extreme Rules tonight. Gonzo was up for the draft this past weekend, and we ate so much food over those three days, we didn't bother getting any meals/snacks for this event. I won the prediction contest, missing only one match.

We were all surprised that Triple H was going to be jerking the curtain for this one, and lo and behold, he didn't. It was an interesting (and different) start to the night. Give WWE credit for changing things up here.

I guessed that Miz and Big Show would face the Hart Dynasty in a bonus match. Miz said he wanted to start the show off with excitement..."but then why is Big Show in the ring?" asked Phil.

1. R-Truth & John Morrison vs. ShoMiz: Gonzo felt that a hot tag was not possible when Morrison and Show are getting the tags, but I think Morrison is hot enough to get a decent crowd reaction from said tag. *1/2

1a. MVP & Mark Henry vs. ShoMiz: Not much to this one. 1/2*

1b. The Hart Dynasty vs. ShoMiz: Well, the finisher looked good. NR

Todd Grisham was standing outside the "Trainer Room"...that doesn't strike me as proper English for the sign on the door.

2. C.M Punk vs. Rey Mysterio: I'm not sure if this match is "extreme" enough for it to constitute being on the Extreme Rules card. We were laughing so hard at Matt Striker and Jerry Lawler going at it tonight- I thought about giving the show a 7.0 just based on their back-and-forths. When Luke Gallows interfered, I annoyed Kurt by talking about his finisher, the 12th Step and the Gallows Pole - he had long demanded WWE pick one name and stick with it. I joked about if we had front row seats, we should shave our heads and pretend to be Punk disciples for a taping. Kurt suggested the finish be the ref screwing Rey out of the match, then start to shave his head in the middle of the ring as a sign that he has joined the society. Good, high-energy match here. ***1/2

3. Shad Gaspard vs. JTG: Gonzo picked up on the "two black guys whipping each other" aspect of things. Then Phil walked in during the match from taking the dog out to go to the bathroom, and he made the same observation. This was actually slightly better than I expected, with the same damn finish every strap match seems to have. *1/2

4. Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger: Phil pretended to announce Orton's entrance, calling him, "the man you all hated three months ago..." Orton's punches seem to look different than normal. I caught the "we want weapons" chant. The fans have caught on to WWE's scheme. I was looking for the DDT on the chair by Orton, but it was not to be. Match was pretty slow in spots, but overall pretty decent. **1/2

5. Sheamus vs. Triple H: Gonzo suggested Sheamus have a sledgehammer with a pipe on the end of it to counteract The Game's regular ol' sledgehammer. He also called Triple H limping backstage on his way to the ring, "a Willis Reed moment." We all laughed at the guy who tried to start a "USA" chant during the match. The guys thought this was too long, but any extended beat-down of Triple H is OK by me. **

6. Beth Phoenix vs. Michelle McCool: This was actually one of the more hardcore matches on the night. Gonzon was pissed that Layla and Vickie didn't interfere during the finish, since they did at every other point in the match. *1/4

7. Edge vs. Chris Jericho: I like how Jericho started climbing the cage before the match even started. The announcers tried to explain Jericho passing up the win, but I still don't like wrestlers doing that. Neither did Gonzo. I thought Jericho may have built up an immunity to the spear after he kicked out of the move. If Jericho was so tired, why did he climb the cage at the end instead of trying to leave through the door? For whatever reason, the fans just don't seem to be behind Edge, and that hurt this match. **3/4

8. John Cena vs. Batista: Gonzo was unhappy with our own James Caldwell's grade of the Edge vs. Jericho match, as compared to his Punk vs. Mysterio grade. He thought Punk vs. Mysterio was much better than Edge vs. Jericho. The long selling early in the match just didn't seem believable. Striker: "use the tools in the ring!" Kurt: "There are already two tools in the ring (Cena and Batista)." Doug predicted a no-contest for the finish, but I scolded him for that, as I don't know that WWE would do that in a PPV main event at this point. It felt like they just did the barricade spot....wasn't it at 'Mania? I thought for sure the Attitude Adjustment through the table would be the finish. Great last few minutes, and the finish won't be liked by everyone, but I thought it was creative enough. ***3/4.

Overall, a thumbs up show, despite some slow matches in the middle that seemed intent on telling a story more than featuring a lot of bell-to-bell action.

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