An Ironman match was amongst the gimmick matches of Extreme Rules 2018 PPV event. This match has always been a unique attraction for the fans where two superstars have to continue the contest for a specific period.
Superstar with the most pinfall or submission becomes the winner. Last night it was a 30-minute match between two of the greatest performers of WWE Raw.
Dolph Ziggler took away the Intercontinental championship from Seth Rollins after Money in the Bank. Seth Rollins deserved a rematch for the title and got it in a particular environment. Pittsburgh had a long history with Ironman matches in the past.
One such match took place back in 2016 in the same city between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. Chris Benoit defeated Triple H here under the same gimmick match back in 2004. The last singles Ironman contest in the WWE took place in the same venue back at 2009. John Cena defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in 2009.
So Extreme Rules brought the tradition back for men’s division after almost a decade. It made the capacity already high for the prestigious Intercontinental Championship. Plus, WWE made this match the main event of the night to make up the absence of the Universal title from the Extreme Rules PPV.
#TheArchitect has found new life in this #IronMan Match! @WWERollins #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/ZhIlLrayoU
— WWE (@WWE) July 16, 2018
Seth Rollins took an early advantage in the contest by gaining some consecutive pinfalls. He gave a buckle bomb followed up with an Oklahoma Roll for the first pinfall. His pendant stomp gave him the second pinfall, whereas, a disqualification courtesy McIntyre gave the third one.
McIntyre seemed irate on this and hit a Claymore on Rollins before the referee ejected him from the Extreme Rules main event. It gave Ziggler to score the first victory over Rollins. He followed it up with a Superkick and Zig-Zag consecutively to equalize the score.
Seventeen minutes remained to end the match when Ziggler gave a forearm on Rollins and used the ropes to get the fourth pinfall. Rollins came up with series of moves including Falcon Arrow and splash off the top rope to get things neutralized. In the end, a quick roll up handed him the fourth pinfall.
It’s all said and done… and @HEELZiggler is STILL your #ICChampion!@DMcIntyreWWE #ExtremeRules #IronMan pic.twitter.com/k6eu3DPJ8a
— WWE (@WWE) July 16, 2018
Kurt Angle did not want to end this match in a tied situation and so he announced a tiebreaker match for Extreme Rules. McIntyre returned to the ring and distracted Rollins allowing Ziggler to hit the zig-zag on Rollins to steal the ultimate victory to close Extreme Rules.