Extreme Rules(2017)

Extreme Rules(2017) was a pay-per-view that took place on June 4th, 2017, live from Baltimore, Maryland. The event featured the Raw brand, and the main event was an Extreme Rules match between Finn Balor and Braun Strowman.

## Background

This was the second pay-per-view of the series to bear the Extreme Rules name, marking the first time any pay-per-view name had been used more than once. This was the second Raw pay-per-view of Series 3, and the third overall. This was also the first time that a championship match didn't main event a pay-per-view, as the Universal Championship match went on as the co-main event. The official theme song for the show was "Wicked Ones" by Dorothy.

After Payback closed in chaos with Braun Strowman's interference, it appeared the Monster Among Men was only getting started. He went on a warpath, determined to be recognized as the most dominant man on Raw. He destroyed the likes of Dolph Ziggler, Finn Balor and Mark Henry, seeming to be unstoppable. After the match with Henry, Finn Balor called out Strowman for a match on the May 22nd edition of Raw. Although Strowman accepted, the match would never happen, as Braun ambushed Finn before the bell could ring, unleashing a brutal beatdown. Six days before the event, Balor announced that they would meet at the show in an Extreme Rules match, where he promised to bring something Strowman had never seen before. Shortly after Payback, Shane McMahon announced that Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins would meet again for the Universal Championship, and to guarantee no interference, it would be inside of a steel cage. Joe confronted McMahon, and was put into a match with the Bulgarian Brute, Rusev, which he won. The next week, he was given the option to chose an opponent for Seth to face, and he chose Austin Aries. In their match, Aries got himself intentionally disqualified at the behest of Joe, hitting Rollins with a steel chair. Aries and Rollins would face off once more the following week in an Extreme Rules match, which Seth won again. On the go home episode of Raw, Seth picked up another win, this time over Kevin Owens, which led to Owens attacking him afterward. In the main event, Joe defeated United States Champion Chris Jericho.

On the May 1st edition of Raw, The Revival issued an open challenge, which was answered by the debuting Hardy Boyz, who went on the win the match and become number one contenders, earning a Raw Tag Team Championship match, which would be contested under Extreme Rules. Following a surprise loss to #DIY, champions American Alpha would defeat Gargano and Ciampa in a championship match a few weeks later. With six days until the show, Jason Jordan defeated Matt Hardy to give the champions the advantage. After losing out on her shot at the Raw Women's Championship thanks to an attack from Paige, it was announced that Becky Lynch would face Paige to crown a new number one contender. However, the returning Sasha Banks would be inserted into the match by Shane McMahon, distracting Becky long enough for Paige to steal the win and the championship match. The championship situation would get more chaotic when Sasha defeated Paige in singles action, with Shane now making it a triple threat match. Following champion Asuka's victory over Becky, Sasha jumped the Empress of Tomorrow, getting momentum heading into the pay-per-view. United States Champion Chris Jericho took on Sheamus on the Raw following Payback, and picked up the win thanks to an assist from Kevin Owens. The Celtic Warrior was given a championship match against Jericho, though he came up short in the match, with Owens attacked Y2J afterward. Jericho then issued the challenge for a Street Fight for the United States Championship, which Owens accepted. Both men entered their match in poor form, after losing matches against Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins.

## Event

It was an absolute war to start out the show in the Street Fight between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, that saw the action spill backstage. In the end, Jericho retained his championship once more following two Code Breakers. In the triple threat match, Paige captured the Triple Crown with her third women's championship reign, defeating Asuka with a sunset flip powerbomb. The Hardy Boyz would also becoming Raw Tag Team Champions , with Jeff Hardy delivering a Swanton Bomb on Jason Jordan to finish the match.

It was all or nothing for Seth Rollins, and the Architect would end up coming up a little short on this night. He chose to dive off the steel cage instead of going for the win, and Samoa Joe made him pay, hitting a Muscle Buster to retain his championship. In the main event, The Demon returned as Finn Balor defeated Braun Strowman following a 1916 and a Coup de Grace.