Dean Ambrose and The Miz kicked off WWE Extreme Rules 2017 with a bout for the intercontinental championship.
With a hot crowd ready for Extreme Rules, Dean Ambrose and The Miz kicked off things on Sunday night. With the stipulation being Ambrose will lose the title in case of disqualification, The Miz tried to play mind games early.
He quickly tried to get Ambrose to lose his cool and get disqualified. It didn’t work, as Ambrose sent him to the outside and hit him with the suicide dive. The two began to brawl on the outside with Ambrose getting the upper hand.
The Miz tried to use a steel chair on Ambrose, but the champ quickly grabbed it. Before he could use it, he was forced to get rid of it to avoid being disqualified and losing his championship. That allowed The Miz all the time he needed to catch the lunatic fringe with a ddt on the outside apron.
As Ambrose was being worked on the inside of the ring, he tried to get some room with some kicks to the knees. The Miz would attempt a dive off the top, but Ambrose caught him. The dirty deeds failed, but a vicious forearm sent the former intercontinental champ to the outside.
Ambrose didn’t waste any time allowing his opponent to rest. He flew to the outside delivering an elbow. The ref began to count as the two were on the outside. Both broke the count and Ambrose continued to get fired up.
Ambrose would get a couple of near-falls, but The Miz stayed alive in the ring. A figure four was quickly applied by The Miz as Ambrose was in pain. He managed to get to the rope and the pain began to set in.
The two would make their way to the top rope with some headbutts exchanged. The ring corner became exposed and the champ had to realize right away using it would have disqualified him and caused him to lose the belt. This gave the challenger enough time to land a running dropkick.
The #ItCouple's master plan = SUCCESS! @mikethemiz is officially a 7-time #ICChampion! @MaryseMizanin #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/Ufp1lpnrir
— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2017
Did we just hear @mikethemiz ask @MaryseMizanin to... SLAP HIM? #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/7d4lfkYMym
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 5, 2017
#ICChampion @TheDeanAmbrose could have been DISQUALIFIED if he had successfully sent @mikethemiz into the exposed turnbuckle! #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/zjwHlL7UX6
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 5, 2017
A FLYING #Lunatic takes down The #ALister, but can @TheDeanAmbrose get @mikethemiz IN the ring?! #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/I7wU1OFXjv
— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2017
The #ALister @mikethemiz is in control... but can he become a 7-time #ICChampion TONIGHT?! #ExtremeRules @TheDeanAmbrose pic.twitter.com/KZ8WlauK5x
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 5, 2017
Didn't take long for @mikethemiz to begin trying to PROVOKE #ICChampion @TheDeanAmbrose! #ExtremeRules pic.twitter.com/dxT6IeMM8F
— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2017
As The Miz got a little too confident, he got a taste of his own medicine as Ambrose applied the figure four. The champ began talking trash until The Miz grabbed the rope and he was forced to break the hold.
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In a stunning twist, The Miz asked Maryse to slap him in an effort to get Ambrose disqualified. Instead, the ref wasn’t having it and ejected the No. 1 contender’s wife from the ring. To make things even more strange, Ambrose would be shoved into the ref.
This caused the ref to really contemplate disqualifying the champ, but before he could, The Miz landed the skull crushing finale and won his seventh intercontinental championship.