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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
My Winner: Baron Corbin
Match 2:
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.
Match 2:
| Kalisto (c) vs. Rusev (with Lana) | Singles match for the WWE United States Championship |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Match 8:
| Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles | Extreme Rules match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
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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