The Real Winners and Losers from 2020 WWE Extreme Rules

WWE chose a foreboding name for the quality and content of this year's Extreme Rules. The Horror Show at Extreme Rules promised deadly moments and terrifying imagery. The hope was that great wrestling would also be in store.

Some certainly rose to the occasion. Even on a night driven by unique stipulations, the core stars shined through sheer talent and focus.

Others were not so lucky. They were left without much to go on after Sunday night, likely falling farther than anyone could have expected going into this event due to the result.

Could Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman pull off a uniquely memorable match or fall into the House of Horrors trap? Would Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins fighting to rip someone's eye out distract from or enhance the action in the ring?

Would Dolph Ziggler's stipulation choice enhance the match or show once more he is far from main event level even working with Drew McIntyre? Did Sasha Banks and Bayley walk out as double champions together or fall short against Asuka and Nikki Cross?

Could Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura finish the job after repeatedly defeating The New Day in non-title matches?

Sunday's pay-per-view set the stage for SummerSlam while leaving its own unique impression. Those who shined through could be in store for a huge spotlight in WWE, but those who faltered could miss out entirely.

Dolph Ziggler announced right before the bell that this would be a one-sided Extreme Rules match in which Drew McIntyre would lose the WWE Championship if he was disqualified or counted out.

The Showoff smashed steel chair after steel chair into the back of the Scot, but McIntyre would not stay down. As Ziggler went for the Sweet Chin Music, the champion caught him with the Claymore for three.

This was a common match for Ziggler. He put in the work but was never truly in control. The bout was all about putting over McIntyre as dominant. It certainly accomplished that goal. The stipulation was so one-sided that the challenger should have never been able to lose.

Instead, Ziggler was defeated soundly in 15 minutes with a single Claymore. While the end result always had to be McIntyre walking out still champion, they could have wrestled in a way that highlighted how dangerous The Showoff can be.

It didn't do that. Bobby Lashley looked far more dangerous in an even fight with McIntyre, and Seth Rollins put on an absolute clinic with the champion.

This should have been better than it was, and that ends up hurting Ziggler, who will fall to the wayside after this.

After weeks of dominance over The New Day, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura showed they had Kofi Kingston and Big E's number.

Despite the champions fighting with fire, they just couldn't overcome the heels as The Swiss Cyborg sent Kingston through two stacked tables for the win.

It has been a rough year for The Artist and The Swiss Cyborg. Nakamura lost his Intercontinental Championship before Sami Zayn won it back with Nakamura and Cesaro's help. But The Critic of the Critics reportedly chose to step away for health reasons during the coronavirus pandemic.

This left Cesaro and Nakamura with nothing to do. As a team, the two have been treated poorly to say the least. That changed in the past month. Suddenly, the two heels got a chance to run again, and they have showed their talent.

This victory was a huge moment to keep them relevant. Cesaro is now a seven-time tag team champion, establishing him even more as one of the best tag team wrestlers in WWE. Nakamura gets to run with tag team gold for a while, which may be better for him now that he's slowing down.

Hopefully, the new SmackDown champions get a chance to run with the title. This could be a similar moment to when The Bar first won gold: It may just be the start.

Alexa Bliss, Asuka and Kairi Sane all gave a pep talk to Nikki Cross before her SmackDown Women's Championship match against Bayley.

The challenger certainly looked dangerous throughout, but the titleholder had Sasha Banks in her corner. And using The Legit Boss' brass knuckles, she stole the win.

However, this was a showcase for Cross, who looked like she belonged from start to finish. This was an even battle throughout in which The Role Model was clearly on the road to a loss. However, she managed to cheat her way to victory.

This sets up the Scot for a rematch at SummerSlam on August 23 when she will have much better odds to win. She has been better established by this performance as a true worthy contender to the championship.

Anyone who has watched The Twisted Sister in NXT knows what she can do, but she has looked more tentative on SmackDown. This seems to finally be changing.

Whether Cross can put a wrench in the inevitable split of Bayley and Banks or not, matches like this will make sure she never falls back behind Bliss again.

MVP announced that Apollo Crews was unable to compete due to injuries suffered at the hands of Bobby Lashley and rowned himself the new United States champion.

Sasha Banks was on the ropes against Asuka until Bayley got involved. In the chaos, the referee got hit with the green mist. The Role Model pulled the referee's shirt off him and gave a three-count for The Boss.

In both cases, WWE showed uncertainty about who the champion is. It seems likely Crews and Asuka are still the champions. However, the company did not want to explain what happened, leaving that for Raw.

Extreme Rules is a major WWE pay-per-view. There should be finality and clarity. Instead, the company turned the event into a half-show. Anyone wanting to know what is really going on will have to tune in to the television show.

In the end, these non-finishes show how much it did not matter that anyone did watch Sunday night. The actual Asuka vs. Banks match is coming at SummerSlam, while Crews vs. MVP may not even make it onto that card given the lack of hype behind it.

The Horror Show at Extreme Rules was built on two matches with the potential to get truly dark and violent.

Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio had a normal match for the majority of their 18 minutes beyond a few close calls with eye shots. In the end, The Monday Night Messiah poked out The Master of the 619's eye with the steel steps.

Braun Strowman went into the Wyatt Swamp Fight looking to end Bray Wyatt for good. While he fought the evil that has haunted him for so long and seemed to drown him in the swamp, Wyatt was not truly gone.

The Fiend emerged and caught The Monster Among Men with the Mandible Claw and dragged him down into the water.

Both of these matches weren't outright bad, but they didn't live up to the hype. Rollins and Mysterio never dived deep into their personal rivalry and stayed with too much standard wrestling. This match could have easily raged to the back where WWE could have done something more creative with the finish.

Wyatt and Strowman had interesting moments, but the fight was never fully elevated to the heights of a horror climax. It was incomprehensible at moments. Other times, the flurry of cuts and overly dark lighting made it hard to tell what was happening.

Neither match is likely to be talked about down the line. The Wyatt Swamp Fight has some replay value, but it needed to be able to match up to the Boneyard or the Firefly Fun House match from WrestleMania 36. But it wasn't intense or clever enough to do so.

In both cases, the match mattered more for the last minute than the first 15.