The 2022 Extreme Rules was a professional wrestling premium live event (PLE) produced by WWE, held for wrestlers from the promotion's main roster brands, Raw and SmackDown. It was the 14th annual and final Extreme Rules event and took place on October 8, 2022, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The theme of the event was that it featured various hardcore-based matches.
Six matches were contested at the event, all of which contained a hardcore stipulation. In the main event, Matt Riddle defeated Seth "Freakin" Rollins by submission in a Fight Pit match in which Daniel Cormier served as the special guest referee. In other prominent matches, Finn Bálor defeated Edge in an "I Quit" match, Ronda Rousey defeated Liv Morgan by technical submission in an Extreme Rules match to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for a second time, and in the opening bout, The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch) defeated Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, and Giovanni Vinci) in a six-man tag team Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match. The event also saw the return of Bray Wyatt, who had been released from his WWE contract in July 2021.
This was the only Extreme Rules event to be held in October and on a Saturday, as well as the second Extreme Rules event to take place at the Wells Fargo Center, after the 2019 event. This was subsequently the only Extreme Rules event to livestream on Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia following the shutdown of its version of the WWE Network in late January, as well as the only Extreme Rules event to be branded as a "premium live event", a term the company introduced at the start of the year to refer to its events airing on traditional pay-per-view and via WWE's livestreaming platforms. Extreme Rules was discontinued in an effort to reduce some of the gimmick events so that the namesake matches could return to being the culmination of big feuds instead of something that has to be done each year because of the event, with the October 2023 slot given to a reinstated Fastlane.
The event received generally positive reviews from critics, who gave high praise to the six-man Donnybrook match and the "I Quit" match, the latter for its dark tone and ending, but felt the SmackDown Women's Championship match was the weakest of the night. They also felt that the main event's stipulation was not utilized enough. The return of Wyatt was acclaimed for its mystery, buildup, and execution. Critics also praised the variety of stipulation matches, unlike the previous year's event, which only had one hardcore-based match.
Production Background
Extreme Rules was an annual professional wrestling premium live event (PLE) produced by WWE since 2009. It was originally broadcast exclusively via pay-per-view (PPV) before it began simulcasting on WWE's livestreaming platforms in 2014. 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".
On October 25, 2021, WWE revealed its 2022 PLE calendar for the Raw and SmackDown brands, with a to be announced event for October. On June 13, 2022, that October slot was announced as the 14th Extreme Rules event, scheduled for Saturday, October 8, 2022, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia was the home of the former ECW promotion from 1993 to 2001. This marked the first Extreme Rules to be held in October and on a Saturday, as well as the second Extreme Rules held at this venue, after the 2019 event. Tickets went on sale on July 15. This was also the first Extreme Rules event to be branded as a "premium live event", a term the company introduced on January 1 to refer to its events that are available on PPV and via livestreaming.
Broadcast outlets The PLE was broadcast on traditional PPV outlets worldwide. It was also available to livestream on Peacock in the United States, Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia, and the WWE Network everywhere else. This was the first Extreme Rules to livestream on Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia, following the shutdown of its version of the WWE Network in late January.
Storylines The event included six matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
At Clash at the Castle, Seth "Freakin" Rollins defeated Matt Riddle. During Rollins's match for the United States Championship on the September 19 episode of Raw, Riddle distracted Rollins, costing him the title. Later that episode, Riddle challenged Rollins to a Fight Pit match at Extreme Rules and Rollins accepted. On October 1, it was revealed that Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier would be the special guest referee for the match.
At SummerSlam, Liv Morgan defeated Ronda Rousey to controversially retain the SmackDown Women's Championship; Rousey had Morgan in the armbar submission while Rousey's shoulders were on the mat and the referee counted a pin, but did not see Morgan tap out before the three count. Following the match, an irate Rousey attacked both Morgan and the referee, which resulted in the suspension of Rousey. After her suspension was lifted, Rousey won a fatal five-way elimination match on the September 9 episode of SmackDown to earn a rematch against Morgan for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Extreme Rules. The following week, Morgan decided that she wanted to defend the title against Rousey in an Extreme Rules match and Rousey accepted.
In early August, Karrion Kross and his wife Scarlett made their return to WWE and immediately began to target Drew McIntyre. Over the following weeks, Kross continued to attack McIntyre, but he would retreat before McIntyre could retaliate. On the September 23 episode of SmackDown, McIntyre announced that WWE officials granted him a match against Kross at Extreme Rules in a strap match, thus ensuring that Kross could not retreat.
After Bianca Belair retained the Raw Women's Championship at SummerSlam, she was confronted by a returning Bayley, accompanied by Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky. The trio would dub themselves as Damage CTRL. At Clash at the Castle, Damage CTRL defeated Belair's team in a six-woman tag team match in which Bayley pinned Belair. Due to pinning the champion, Bayley challenged Belair to a ladder match for the Raw Women's Championship at Extreme Rules, and Belair accepted.
After WrestleMania 38 in April, Edge formed a group with Damian Priest called The Judgment Day; Rhea Ripley later joined the group at WrestleMania Backlash, followed by Finn Bálor, who was defeated in a match by Judgment Day. Bálor would then become the new leader after Judgement Day viciously attacked and turned on Edge. Dominik Mysterio would also later join the group after turning on his father Rey Mysterio and Edge at Clash at the Castle. After weeks of feuding and a brutal attack on Edge by The Judgment Day, Edge returned on the September 26 episode of Raw and challenged Bálor to an "I Quit" match at Extreme Rules, and Bálor accepted.
At Clash at the Castle, Gunther (accompanied by Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) defeated Sheamus (accompanied by Butch and Ridge Holland) to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Imperium (Gunther, Kaiser, and Vinci) then defeated The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Butch, and Holland) in a six-man tag team match on the following episode of SmackDown. The following week, Butch and Holland won a fatal four-way tag team match, also involving Kaiser and Vinci, to earn a match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on the next episode, but failed to win the titles due to Imperium interfering. On September 29, a six-man tag team Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match between the two teams was confirmed to take place at Extreme Rules.
In September, WWE began playing an a cappella version of "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane at live events and during commercial breaks of televised shows, while also hiding QR codes in various locations on episodes of Raw and SmackDown. Each code led to special websites containing imagery, mini-games, and riddles that were all seemingly connected to Extreme Rules.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English commentatorsMichael ColeCorey GravesSpanish commentatorsMarcelo RodriguezJerry SotoRing announcersMike Rome Samantha Irvin RefereesDanilo AnfibioJason AyersJessika CarrDaniel CormierDan EnglerChad PattonInterviewerMegan MorantPre-show panelKevin PatrickBooker TJerry LawlerPeter Rosenberg
No matches took place on the Extreme Rules Kickoff pre-show, however, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, along with the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders and the mascot of the Philadelphia 76ers, Franklin the Dog, came out and revealed the logo of WrestleMania XL, scheduled for Philadelphia at the nearby Lincoln Financial Field in April 2024.
Preliminary matches The event opened with The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch) facing Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, and Giovanni Vinci) in a six-man tag team Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match. During the match, Imperium dominated The Brawling Brutes. Imperium later isolated Butch by taking out Sheamus and Holland, however, Sheamus later recovered, took out Vinci and Kaiser, and then proceeded to brawl with Gunther in the ring. Holland and Butch later recovered and joined Sheamus into viciously attacking Gunther. Sheamus performed a Brogue Kick on Gunther, however, Vinci voided the pin attempt. As Sheamus then applied the Cloverleaf on Gunther, Kaiser attacked Sheamus with a shillelagh. Butch performed a reversed springboard from atop a barrel onto Kaiser, Vinci, and Holland. Gunther attacked Sheamus with a shillelagh for a nearfall. In the closing moments, Holland and Butch attacked Kaiser and Vinci with shillelaghs while Sheamus performed a Celtic Cross on Gunther through an announce table. Butch and Holland then held Vinci in place allowing Sheamus to perform a Brogue Kick on Vinci to win the match.
Backstage, while The Miz was interviewed regarding the attacks and home invasion by Dexter Lumis (who had been stalking Miz for weeks), he was distracted by Gritty, the mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (the Wells Fargo Center is their home). Gritty then handed an Extreme Rules shirt to Miz, however, Miz dropped and stomped on the shirt before departing.
Next, Liv Morgan defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Ronda Rousey in an Extreme Rules match. Rousey prevented Morgan from reaching a baseball bat that was near the ring post. Morgan then retrieved the bat and attempted to strike Rousey with it, however, Rousey fended Morgan off. Rousey later obtained the bat and attempted to strike Morgan, however, Morgan sprayed a fire extinguisher on Rousey. Rousey then recovered and dominated Morgan. Morgan then retrieved the bat to finally use on Rousey only for Rousey to strike Morgan with a black belt. Morgan then attacked Rousey with a chair and performed a Code Red on Rousey using the chair for a nearfall. In the climax, Morgan performed a senton on Rousey through a table for another nearfall. Rousey then applied an armbar on Morgan, who lifted Rousey up and slammed her onto the edge of the broken table. Rousey then applied what commentator Michael Cole called a "biceps crusher" on Morgan, who passed out, to win the title for a second time.