2019 Extreme Rules

Extreme Rules is a night usually filled with matches where (as you may have guessed) the usual rules do not apply. This year’s event is no exception to that. Out of the 10 matches on Sunday’s card, 4 of them will be a variation of “no disqualification” matches. All of WWE’s championships will be defended as well, with the exception of the Women’s Tag Team Championships and the Intercontinental Championship. There have been a few teases this week that opened the door for some surprises, most notably, Sasha Banks’ return and Brock Lesnar’s cash in. WWE will likely tease the cash in again, but you’d expect them to make it very well known that Lesnar is at least going to be on the card if the plan is to have him cash in. 

The Card

Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch (c) vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans

Winners Take All, Extreme Rules

Rollins and Lynch are putting their respective titles on the line, which has not been done in WWE for quite a while. Because it is an extreme rules match, the teams will only have to tag in to determine who pins who. All four superstars could be in the ring at the same time, or out of the ring for that matter. It will be interesting to see how much WWE toes the line of intergender fighting, likely having the women attack their male opponents. It would be fun to have Corbin hit Lynch one time and have “The Man” retaliate and take him down, but that seems pretty unlikely, unless WWE truly is moving to a “more mature product” as the rumors have suggested. It will also be interesting to see how “extreme” a newcomer like Lacey Evans really gets in this match. This will likely come down to Lynch and Rollins teaming up against Corbin to get the win and retain their titles. 

Prediction: Rollins & Lynch Retain

Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Samoa Joe

WWE Championship

This is an exciting new feud for the WWE Champion. Kofi’s reign has been fun to watch, but a little lackluster in the quality of his defenses. This match should change that. A win for Joe here would cement him as a top heel, but it just isn’t time to take the title from Kofi. The beating he takes from Joe could leave him vulnerable to a Brock Lesnar cash-in, but again, it’s just not time to take the title off of Kofi. 

Prediction: Kofi Retains

Bayley (c)  vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

SmackDown Women's Championship, 2-on-1 Handicapped Match

The 2-on-1 stipulation makes this match very interesting. If Bayley were to win fair and square, it would make her look so incredibly strong in the Women’s division. The easy thing to do would be to have Nikki and Alexa’s miscommunication cost them the win. The other option is to have the duo simply overpower Bayley and defeat her. When Nikki refuses to give up her claim as champion so that Alexa can have the belt to herself, the two of them can start a feud for the title. I think Nikki’s comments to Bayley earlier this week about not having real friends was a not-so-subtle tease that Sasha Banks will make her return on Sunday. Sasha will either join the match to even the odds for Bayley, or may save her from a post-match beat down. Either way, once Banks is back, she and Bayley can pick up where they left off and go back for the Women’s Tag Team Championships, which in case you forgot like WWE seems to have, are currently around the waists of the IIconics. 

Prediction: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross Wins

Ricochet (c) vs. AJ Styles

United States Championship Match

The only way this is not the match of the night is if these two men are not allowed to give it 100%. There’s almost no doubt that Gallows and Anderson will get involved somehow, and since “The Club” seems to be fully back together, it would make sense to have them help Styles win the title. Even though this match does not have any special stipulations, it would be a huge mistake to have a match end in a DQ finish at an event called Extreme Rules. Gallows and Anderson can help Styles while the ref isn’t looking, getting them a ton of heat while building Ricochet to be a sympathetic babyface. Either way, it’s doubtful this will be the last time these men face each other. 

Prediction: AJ Styles Wins

Daniel Bryan & Rowan (C) vs. Heavy Machinery vs. New Day (Xavier Woods & Big E)

SmackDown Tag Team Championship, Triple Threat

These three teams have traded wins a few times now, and it seems to make sense to remove the titles from Bryan and Rowan in a triple threat. This way, they don’t have to take the pin, and can have a claim at a one-on-one rematch. It may not quite be time for Heavy Machinery to get the titles, but whoever wins them will likely have a short reign, so why not strap them on the newer team while they’re hot. Most likely New Day will win though, setting up a rematch with Bryana nd Rowan down the road. 

Prediction: New Day Wins

Roman Reigns & The Undertaker vs. Drew McIntyre & Shane McMahon

No Holds Barred

There is no way that WWE is going to bring back the freaking Undertaker to have him lose to Shane McMahon. This is Undertaker redeeming himself after a, let’s say, “less than his best” match at Super Showdown. Adding the No Holds Barred stipulation provides a way for Reigns and McIntyre to do a lot of the heavy lifting, and lets ‘Taker and Shane just be there to get their spots in. Of course we should expect Shane to jump off of a thing onto another thing, likely the ring post to the announce table, and Undertaker to give us some chokeslams, an Old School, and a Tombstone or two.

Prediction: Reigns & Undertaker Win

Revival (c) vs. The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship

This is a bit of a tossup. The Revival are fantastic and deserve to hold the belts longer and get more attention. However, WWE loves The Usos, and could easily flip the titles here. It makes the most sense to leave the belts on The Revival and have them retain using some less-than credible means. Foot on the rope, ref misses a tag, something to give the Usos a legitimate complaint and get the Revival some more heat in the process. 

Predictions: Revival Retains

Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley

Last Man Standing

This feud has gone on entirely too long, and WWE has used some ridiculous tactics to try and keep it interesting. The arm wrestling match, the tug of war, the spear through the screen on Raw… it’s just been too much. Hopefully this will be the finale to this feud, but it will no doubt be the one that takes full advantage of the lack of rules. This brawl could end up in the parking lot, with Braun flipping a pickup onto Lashley in order to pin him. No matter where the match goes, or what ridiculous feat of strength it takes, Braun will walk away with the win. 

Prediction: Braun Wins

Aleister Black vs. Cesaro

This should be another excellent match, but after Black has spent the last month calling everyone out, and Cesaro just being added to the match this week, there is no way that Aleister Black does not win this match. 

Prediction: Aleister Black wins

Drew Gulak (c)  vs. Tony Neese

Cruiserweight Championship Match

Gulak is a Philadelphia native, where Extreme Rules is being held. Combine that with just how good Gulak has been for so long, and there’s no way Neese reclaims the title. 

Prediction: Drew Gulak Wins

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Story by Tim Howell