WWE Extreme Rules 2016 Predictions

Another month passing means another WWE PPV, and since it's May, it's time to get extreme as this month's PPV is Extreme Rules. With the main event of the evening being AJ Styles' second attempt to gain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Roman Reigns, it promises to be an exciting evening of wrestling. Below you can see my predictions for the night's matches.

Also just as a reminder, last month I was 6 for 6 , with my predictions coming before Corbin vs Ziggler was announced and with the Tag Team match being stopped early due to Enzo Amore suffering a wince-inducing injury.

Match 1:

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

No Disqualification match

This pre-show match will kick off the evening just as it did last month at Payback, with Corbin and Ziggler having feuded for two months now since Corbin won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 32. At Payback Ziggler picked up a roll-up victory over the Lone Wolf which was as shocking as it was confusing, given the streak of destruction that Corbin was on. Since Ziggler has been a glorified jobber to the stars for years now, despite his apparent talent, it seems logical that Corbin will pick up a crushing victory at Extreme Rules and frustratingly set up a rubber match at Money In The Bank in July.

My Winner: Baron Corbin

Match 2:

Kalisto (c) vs. Rusev (with Lana)

Singles match for the WWE United States Championship

Kalisto has now been US Champion for 119 days, which seems like a long time especially given the less than overwhelming reaction that his once popular character is now getting due to his series of boring feuds and pre-show matches with the likes of Ryback. However, now steps up Rusev who, along with Lana, is a fairly popular character due to his great character work and in ring ability. With John Cena returning at the end of the month, it seems likely that he will want to regain the US Championship, so I am predicting that Rusev will pick up the title at Extreme Rules in order for Cena to take it off of him in the coming months.

My Winner: Rusev

Match 3:

The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) vs. The Club (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows)

Tornado tag team match

The next match is a tornado tag match between Roman Reigns' fellow Samoans, The Usos, and AJ Styles' allies, now know by the terrible moniker, The Club. This match will probably be early on the card as both teams will likely feature in the main event. As this match is not a normal tag match, but a tornado tag match, it will simply be an all out brawl. Whilst the Usos have been booked very strongly reasonably recently, it would surely be nonsensical for them to beat Gallows and Anderson who, as a big man tag team, need to be made to look strong. For this reason I'm taking The Club, in a reasonably quick match.

My Winner: The Club

Match 4:

The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and/or Xavier Woods) (c) vs. The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch)

Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Whilst at Payback, the Vaudevillians didn't actually win the number one contenders match, Enzo Amore's injury meant that they got a pass through to the WWE Tag Team Title match against The New Day. This match has had a pretty meagre build up on Raw and Smackdown, aside from the New Day's time machine sketch, which leads me to believe that despite The Vaudevillians looking pretty strong recently, that the occasion is not big enough for the New Day's lengthy reign to end just yet.

My Winner: The New Day

Match 5: 

The Miz (c) (with Maryse) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn

Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

The last few weeks have had these four in similar matches almost every week, despite the New Era tagline, which has left the storyline losing some of it's huge potential. Despite this, the story has been pushed a long way, with each of the four competitors being made to look strong in some way. With the in-ring talents of Zayn, Owens and Cesaro and the great character work of The Miz and Maryse, this promises to be a great match. I can see the title changing hands at Extreme Rules, but it won't be the Miz who is pinned, setting up a feud going towards Summerslam. I think that in the end, Sami Zayn is winning the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules.

My Winner: Sami Zayn

Match 6: 

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

Asylum match

Another rematch from Payback sees Dean Ambrose go head to head with Chris Jericho in the first ever Asylum match, a stipulation that is similar to TNA's Lethal Lockdown match, with all sorts of "weapons" hanging from the steel cage. This feud, which has seen plants being destroyed and jackets being cut up, will only benefit Dean Ambrose as Jericho is already certified as a legend of the business. However, I believe that Jericho will beat Ambrose tonight due to interference of the Wyatt family, which will set up Dean Ambrose's next big feud.

My Winner: Chris Jericho 

Match 7: 

Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya

Submission match for the WWE Women's Championship If Ric Flair disregards his ban from ringside, Charlotte will lose her title

The Women's Championship match at Payback ended with Natalya getting screwed out of the title by referee Charles Robinson, in a finish not dissimilar to the Montreal Screwjob. This was a poor booking decision as it devalued the Women's Championship match as it made the match more about Bret Hart and Ric Flair ,who were at ringside, than the two women competing in the ring. However, this time Ric Flair is banned from ringside, with the title being given to Natalya if he turns up. This means we are going to get a match without interference from Flair, and so likely a clean finish. This seems a perfect opportunity to give Natalya the belt as a transitional champ, as she can then lose it to Sasha Banks in the near future. This means that Sasha can get the title without beating Charlotte one on one  thus setting up a big potential PPV match in the future.

Match 8: 

Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles

Extreme Rules match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

The main event of Extreme Rules was booked immediately following the main event of Payback and it features the second match between Roman Reigns and AJ Styles, only this time it is an Extreme Rules match. Both men have been booked to look strong at some stage since Payback, with the Usos, Anderson and Gallows as supporting characters. Neither man is the 'heel' in the traditional sense, rather both have displayed both face and heelish tendencies. The match at Payback was a very entertaining, high-quality match and with AJ Styles being pulled from some house shows, we can expect a long bout of similar quality. It is obvious that there is going to be interference from the previously mentioned supporting tag teams, however it is unclear whether they will be the only ones. In the end, as much as I'd like to see AJ win the belt, I believe that Reigns will hold it until Seth Rollins' return and so I've got him retaining at Extreme Rules.

My Winner: Roman Reigns 

So there are my thoughts on what might happen at WWE Extreme Rules, check back on my Facebook page after tonight to see how my predictions' fared.

Thanks for reading,

James

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WWE Payback Predictions

A week on Sunday, WWE Payback will take place and as the first Pay Per View since Wrestlemania 32, there is a lot of intrigue as to how the new characters will shape up following the traditional introduction of fresh performers following Wrestlemania. There are some fascinating match ups including AJ Styles taking his first shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship since he joined the WWE in January. In this piece, I will offer my thoughts and predictions for the matches of Payback.

Match 1: Kalisto (c) (with Sin Cara) vs Ryback- Singles match for the United States Championship

This match is the one that I assume will be on the pre-show and hence I can't see a title change happening. Kalisto is a popular character who is seen as the heir to Rey Mysterio and is currently enjoying a lengthy US title reign after a feud with Alberto Del Rio. At Wrestlemania 32 Kalisto beat Ryback in the first match of the pre-show and I can see a similar result happening at Payback. Additionally Ryback has recently been publicly slating the direction of his character in WWE, which will surely not sit well with the higher-ups. The only way I can see Kalisto dropping the belt is through Sin Cara double crossing him and turning heel, and whilst I believe this will happen, I don't think it will be at Payback.

My Winner: Kalisto

Match 2: The Miz (c) (with Maryse) vs Cesaro- Singles match for the Intercontinental Championship

Despite not winning the seven man ladder match as Wrestlemania, the Miz somehow comes into Payback as the Intercontinental Champion. Through interference from the returning Maryse and the general squashing of Zack Ryder (who deserves better), the Miz has managed to win the belt and brings it to Payback to fight the also returning Cesaro. This match seems to be a little rushed in its booking to me, as I felt that Ryder should have got a real feud that at least resulted in one PPV match, however WWE chose to give that honour to the excellent Cesaro, who is a real fans favourite. With the Miz being one of the last truly despised heels, I wouldn't mind seeing him have a serious run with the belt, especially since Cesaro should really be fighting for the world title at this stage. I think it would do no good to have Miz drop the belt at this stage and WWE knows this too, so I believe he will defend his belt with some help from Maryse.

My Winner: The Miz

Match 3: Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch and Aiden English)-

Tag Team match to determine the #1 contender for the Tag Team Championship

The introduction of these two tag teams has been a real breath of fresh air for a tag team division that was really being carried by the New Day. Both teams have already got over, Enzo and Cass with their Jersey Shore, loud-mouth gimmick, and the Vaudevillains with their old-school throwback style. Whilst it is important to remember that Enzo and Cass never won the NXT Tag Team Championship, something which Gotch and English did achieve, despite this I believe that it is the team of Enzo and Cass that will win at Payback. I think that WWE is pushing Amore and Cassady a little more that the Vaudevillains, as shown by them debuting on the first Raw after Wrestlemania whilst the Vaudevillains debuted on Smackdown. For me, Enzo and Cass are being primed for a big feud with the New Day that WWE know will get over in a big way.

My Winner: Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady

Match 4: Charlotte (c) (with Ric Flair) vs Natalya (with Bret Hart- Singles match for the Womens Championship

The build to this match has felt as if the WWE is giving the Women's division a cool-down following the thrilling matches with Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch whilst climaxed with a fantastic match as Wrestlemania. There is no doubt that Natalya is an excellent worker, but she recently lost to Charlotte at Roadblock and if seems as if this match will be more about the return of Bret Hart, who is recovering following an intially successful battle with prostate cancer, and the comeuppance that he can give to Charlotte's father, Ric Flair, who has been getting involved in a number of his daughter's matches. Overall, I can't see Charlotte dropping the title to Natalya, and thus I have to predict a win for the "Dirtiest Diva in the Game".

My Winner: Charlotte

Match 5: Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho- Singles match

This feud began somewhat at Night of Champions when Jericho shoulder checked Ambrose following the their loss in the the 6 man tag match against the Wyatt Family (they teamed with Roman Reigns). However, WWE dropped the angle until now and ,following Jericho's win at Wrestlemania and Ambrose's loss, it seems like a great time for Ambrose to go over. Jericho is 45 years old and coming towards the end of his career, whilst Dean Ambrose is arguably the most over babyface on the roster. Ambrose, in my opinion, should have won at Wrestlemania over Brock Lesnar an now feels like a great time for him to bounce back with a win that won't really hurt Y2J, who is already secured in his status as a legend. 

My Winner: Dean Ambrose

Match 6: Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens- Singles match

This is will be WWE's first main roster instalment, in a feud that started when Owens arrived in WWE at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in 2014, and has continued intermittently ever since. These two wrestlers are both excellent performers in the ring and on the mic, and are destined to be contending for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the future. In the meantime, however, this is an excellent substitute and the match will almost certainly be one of the best of the night. The build up to the match has featured a number of brawls between the two men, which has given the contest a real emotional factor. For me, this is the hardest match of the night to predict, but since this is a night in which a number of faces will take victories, I have Kevin Owens winning the first of what I can see as being a series of at least three PPV matches.

My Winner: Kevin Owens

Match 7: Roman Reigns (c) vs AJ Styles- Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

It came as a huge shock to me when WWE had Styles win the fatal four way on the Raw following Wrestlemania, since Styles had just lost at Wrestlemania, and is one of the most popular babyfaces in the company, Roman Reigns is WWE's big project, however fans have responded in a less than perfect way, booing the champ out of the building. Therefore it seemed at first to be a poor step to have his first contender since winning the title to be the insanely popular AJ Styles. With the introduction of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson of Bullet Club to the storyline, this match is enthralling even if the result is a foregone conclusion. Reigns will win, but how? I believe that Finn Balor, who has just lost the NXT Championship on a house show to Samoa Joe, will make his main roster debut as Bullet Club double cross AJ Styles, giving Roman a big win and setting up a Balor vs Styles feud. It is doubtful that this will be a great match as ,despite AJ's huge in ring talent, Reigns is still a relatively average performer with a limited move-set, however, it is the choice of storytelling that WWE take that will make or break this clash.

My Winner: Roman Reigns

So there are my predictions for Payback, check back after May 1st when I'll look back at how the event went and how my predictions fare. 

Thanks for reading,

James

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