Starting out as one of the most extreme nights of the WWE’s rigorous schedule, Extreme Rules has become more tame and diluted as the years pass. When WWE went PG, the violent nature of most hardcore matches such as No DQ matches, Last Man Standing matches or Hell in a Cell matches were lost. What we were left with were a bunch of matches that no longer work in the WWE’s current climate. Not saying that the WWE should just abandon all these once great match types, the WWE has just overused them over the years. With the right booking and co-operation between superstars, the WWE can bring back the magic these gimmick matches had years ago. The only way the Extreme Rules PPV (same goes with the Hell in a Cell PPV) can work is if the WWE gets rid of the PG rating for one night only and let their superstars bleed and go out there and put on something that is truly extreme.
Taking the place of Backlash, WWE Extreme Rules is the event where all the fallout from WrestleMania takes place. As promoted by the WWE, Extreme Rules is the only night when the WWE goes “extreme”, so to say. The truth is that Extreme Rules is the only PPV where every match contested is a gimmick match. As we slowly make our way out of the looming shadow of WrestleMania 27, we start the next quarter of the wrestling year. With the WWE Draft and Extreme Rules, it is a time of new beginnings. New rivalries, new storylines and new personalities are coming in the months ahead. It will all start this Sunday, May 1st from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida at WWE Extreme Rules.
Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio in a Falls Count Anywhere Match
Cody Rhodes got his victory at WrestleMania, but that is not enough for the Un-Dashing One. He wants to put Rey Mysterio through all the pain and suffering he had to go through when Mysterio disfigured him earlier this year. As Rhodes continues to sink lower and lower in his self-loathing despair, he becomes more ferocious and deadly. A Falls Count Anywhere Match seems to benefit both Cody Rhodes’ ruthless aggression and Rey Mysterio’s high-flying theatrics, so we will be in for one hell of a barnburner. Like their WrestleMania, this match can go either way. Personally, I believe Cody Rhodes should win again to continue his push to the main event picture on Smackdown while Rey Mysterio heads over to Raw.
My Prediction: Cody Rhodes wins
Layla vs. Michelle McCool in a No DQ, No Count-out, Loser Leaves WWE Match
A break-up between Lay-Cool has been teased for months now, so it has been cool to finally see it come to fruition. Lay-Cool has been the most dominating force in the Diva’s division for the past year, so it is time for WWE to turn the spotlight on other more deserving Divas. If Layla and Michelle go out there with the same intensity they did in their match on this week’s Smackdown, we are in store for one of the most enjoyable Divas match in a long time. Expect Layla to win in order to push her towards the Divas title picture and give Michelle McCool some time off.
My Prediction: Layla wins
Jerry “The King” Lawler & Jim Ross vs. Jack Swagger & Michael Cole in a Country Whipping Match
This feud should have ended at WrestleMania. Yes, Michael Cole gets extreme amounts of heat from the crowd, but that is not a valid enough reason to prolong this program. Everybody in the WWE Universe just wants Cole to get what is coming to him, nothing more nothing less. So hopefully WWE does not pull another fast one on us and end this feud once and for all with Lawler and Ross beating the holy hell out of Cole.
My Prediction: Jerry “The King” Lawler & Jim Ross win
CM Punk vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match
Two times revenge has just slipped out of CM Punk’s grasp. Randy Orton has bested Punk at every turn and each time it has continued to frustrate the Straight Edge Superstar. The animosity between these two will hopefully make for one entertaining bout this Sunday. As at Extreme Rules, CM Punk hopes to put all his bad luck behind him and put Randy Orton to sleep for the foreboding 10 count.
My Prediction: CM Punk wins
The Miz (c) vs. John Cena vs. John Morrison in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship
The Miz has had a very rocky road as WWE Champion. He has faced the likes of Randy Orton, Jerry “The King” Lawler, John Morrison and John Cena and emerged every time with his WWE Championship around his waist. With the odds clearly stacked against the WWE Champion yet again, chances of The Miz retaining his beloved title are slim. Also John Cena has made it clear that he wants his match against The Rock at WrestleMania 28 be for the WWE Championship, so sadly Cena will be in the title picture for a long time. In order to push The Miz as the new Face of the WWE, the Awesome One needs to have a long dominate reign as WWE Champion. After losing some credibility due to the Cena-Rock feud, The Miz will step back in the spotlight by winning the Triple Threat Steel Cage Match at Extreme Rules with a little help from R-Truth.
My Prediction: The Miz retains
Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder Match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship
Originally scheduled to be Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship, all that changed when Edge announced his sudden retirement a few weeks ago. With Edge gone, Christian would fill the void his best friend left when he won a 20-Man Battle Royal on Smackdown. This match will mark Christian’s big chance to step out of the shadow of Edge and become a main event caliber superstar in the WWE. The only person standing in his way is the fastest rising superstar in the WWE, Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio has been preaching for months on end that his destiny is to win the World Heavyweight Championship and Extreme Rules will be his final chance of doing just that before moving to Raw. So come Sunday once the dust settles, one man will climb the ladder and fulfill his destiny. That man will be Captain Charisma, Christian.
My Prediction: Christian wins the vacant World Heavyweight Championship
The Road to WrestleMania is long gone and now we are heading into the summer. WWE Extreme Rules can either start the next part of the WWE year with a bang or a whimper. This PPV has the potential to overshadow the very anti-climactic WrestleMania 27. The only way to do that is for the WWE to bring the “extreme” in Extreme Rules.
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