Last month, WWE held an event called Stomping Grounds and not many were excited going into that show. Despite that, it turned out to be one of the better PPVs of the year done by WWE. Now Extreme Rules is already this Sunday and it seems fans may not to be into this show as much either. If you look at the entire card, however, it could be on its way to being one of the best this year once again. From pure wrestling matches to the extreme rules stipulations taking place, this is one of the more underrated cards of the year for WWE.
Cruiserweight Championship: Drew Gulak (c) vs Tony Nese
Show stealer alert per usual. The Cruiserweight Championship continuously allows the 205 Live wrestlers to put on a show every single PPV, whether it is on the Kickoff Show or the main show. They have earned the right to be on the main show and hopefully, that is what happens this time around. Drew Gulak finally captured the Cruiserweight Championship at WWE Stomping Grounds when he pinned Akira Tozawa. Now, Tony Nese gets his rematch as he was never pinned to lose this championship. Gulak is one of the best in-ring wrestlers the company has on the roster and Tony Nese is not too bad himself. This one is a favorite to steal the show and get the crowd hot early in the night.
Raw Tag Team Championships: The Revival (c) vs The Usos
From shaving backs to “Ucey Hot”, this rivalry looked to bury the now reigning Raw Tag Team Champions. But instead, The Revival managed to win the tag titles and are now rolling once again as a part of the Shane McMahon entourage. This match is yet another possible show stealer as the two best teams on the main roster go head to head in tag team action for the titles. The Usos have been at their peak performance wise the past few years while The Revival helped revive tag team wrestling under the WWE banner while in NXT. This one could easily be an instant classic that could go either way. Hope the jokes are forgotten and the wrestling is not.
SmackDown Tag Team Championships: Daniel Bryan & Rowan (c) vs Big E & Xavier Woods vs Heavy Machinery
Tag Team wrestling is alive people. Daniel Bryan is trying to do anything he can to help raise the SmackDown LIVE Tag Team division and he is doing as great as you would expect. This Sunday, The New Day get a chance at the tag titles once again in hopes of becoming six-time tag team champions. And on the other hand, Heavy Machinery is looking to make a statement that they are not all fun and games but when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, they can go as well. Otis scored a huge win on SmackDown this week when he beat Xavier Woods and the former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match. This is one of those matches that can really go any way possible and should be a good one to watch.
Aleister Black vs Cesaro
The re-debut of Aleister Black has been set. His first opponent will be the “Swiss Superman” himself, Cesaro. Black has gone on for weeks about wanting to someone, anyone to pick a fight with him. He has gotten that in the form of Cesaro. Cesaro has shown a unique intensity as of late with his rivalry with Ricochet and even more recently his matches with No Way Jose. It is possible Cesaro wants to go for Black after failing to take out “The One and Only” at this point. For “The Dutch Destroyer”, this gives him an opportunity to debut on a big stage and show why no one will want to pick a fight with him again. Aleister is a centerpiece of the direction SmackDown LIVE tends to be going in which means an exciting but successful match with Cesaro should be expected.
Last Man Standing Match: Braun Strowman vs Bobby Lashley
Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley have made the most out of a rivalry that seemed to come out of nowhere. Two behemoths going one on one is never a bad thing, especially when you are as talented as these two. While the steam of Strowman has fallen incredibly in the past year or so, “The Monster Among Men” has began to get hot more recently due to his matches with “The All Mighty”. Just a week ago these two men went through an LED board and were stretchered away. The hope is now that these two can continue the fun brawls they have had recently and can make the most out of their Last Man Standing match. This is going to be a war.
No Holds Barred Match: Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre
As fans we can only hope this marks the end of Shane McMahon and his never-ending time on our television screens. The Undertaker came to the rescue of Roman Reigns just a few weeks back when it looked like Shane and Drew McIntyre were only going to decimate “The Big Dog”. Now the WrestleMania 33 opponents look to team up and put an end to the ego filled reign of Shane O’Mac and his entourage. The Undertaker is more than determined to bounce back following his match with Goldberg at WWE Super Showdown. And for Roman Reigns, hopefully, he can move on from Shane ASAP after this one.
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
It is difficult to believe Sasha Banks will not be seen in some sort of fashion this Sunday. The SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley has done all she can to try and make Nikki Cross understand that Alexa Bliss is using her but that has not happened. With that being said, a 2 on 1 handicap for the championship has been made and placed Bayley in a corner. Nikki even told Bayley to look for a friend that cares as much as Alexa cares for her. “The Boss” should be back soon enough and this Sunday may be the way to go. In hopes of helping her friend remain champion, the timing could not be more perfect.
United States Championship: Ricochet (c) vs AJ Styles
When it comes to pure wrestling matches on the card, this one is more than likely going to be the best. Show stealer can be tossed around here no doubt, but that is expected out of these two incredible professional wrestlers. Ricochet and his excellence have quickly become a centerpiece of Monday Night Raw. To be called the “Next Big Thing” may be a stretch, but with the company referring to him as a Superhero has to mean something for Ricochet. His excellence has brought out the best of AJ Styles, the best that has involved the return of The Club. With Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson by Styles’ side, Ricochet better have eyes in the back of his head. No longer having the shackles of commercials should allow these two to put on an absolute show.
WWE Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs Samoa Joe
One of the most underrated matches on this card is for the WWE Championship. Samoa Joe made his plans following his loss of the United States Championship clear when he choked out Kofi Kingston just a few weeks ago. Joe has had opportunity after opportunity but has yet to capture the WWE or Universal Championship. What is tough for Joe is that Kofi Kingston is the hottest star when it comes to wins and losses the company has, only losing one time since WrestleMania. That one loss? Last week on Raw when Joe choked him out in the middle of the ring. This is a match that could really go either way and while it seems Joe may be a onetime challenger due to his allegiance to Monday Night Raw, you never really know. This should be an exciting matchup.
Universal Championship and Raw Women’s Championship “Winner Take All”: Seth Rollins (C) & Becky Lynch (C) vs Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans in an Extreme Rules Match
The Main Event of Extreme Rules has yet to be announced but there is a fair chance it has a competitor from the main event of WrestleMania this year. WWE could not stop themselves from putting Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch’s real-life relationship on television. And with that being said we get the match absolutely no one wanted. The only plus may be that they are not two separate matches.
Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans have joined forces and will look to take both championships from the couple in this Extreme Rules, “Winner Take All” bout. With it being the only Extreme Rules matchup on the Extreme Rules show along with being the top titles on Monday Night Raw, it would be difficult to see any other match as the main event. Let us just hope that “The Man” and “The Man’s Man” can walk out of Extreme Rules #AndSTILL.
As of now these are the planned matches to this point. Of course, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships could be put on the line as Paige went out of her way to try and schedule the match this week on SmackDown. Also, Kevin Owens was the main story on SmackDown and even hit a Stunner on Shane McMahon. Something with Kevin Owens, like a possible match with Dolph Ziggler or even a backstage segment could be expected. Extreme Rules has shaped up to be a pretty fun card with plenty of match stealers lower on the card, much like Stomping Grounds. The show starts at 7 pm EST on Sunday.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Make sure to watch Extreme Rules on the WWE Network
