WWE Extreme Rules 2017: B/R Expert Match Picks, Predictions and Analysis
The most extreme night of the WWE calendar is nearly upon us.
Or something like that.
Sunday night, the Raw brand will present Extreme Rules, live from Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. Headlined by a Fatal 5-Way match to determine the No. 1 contender to Brock Lesnar's WWE Universal Championship, the extravaganza figures to propel feuds forward and give fans a taste of what they can expect from the company's flagship show heading into the heart of the summer.
Will Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt or Samoa Joe leave Charm City with a golden opportunity?
Can The Hardy Boyz successfully retain their Raw Tag Team Championships against Sheamus and Cesaro inside a steel cage?
What about Alexa Bliss? Does she have the ability to defeat Bayley in a kendo stick on a Pole match and walk out of the event with her women's title intact?
An expert panel of Bleacher Report analysts dove into the show and answered those very questions ahead of Sunday's blockbuster WWE Network presentation.
B/R Expert Panel Lineup
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In an ever-changing landscape in which those in power routinely change their minds in regards to the creative direction of any given episode of WWE programming, the B/R expert panel makes sense of the most recent occurrences and formulates analysis and predictions for every major match presented by wrestling's premier promotion.
The gentlemen partaking in the Extreme Rules festivities this go-round are:
- Ryan Dilbert (@ryandilbert), Bleacher Report lead writer
- Anthony Mango (@ToeKneeManGo), founder of SmarkOutMoment.com and host of the podcast Smack Talk
- Chris Mueller (@BR_Doctor)
- Kevin Berge (@TheBerge_)
- James Moffat (@JamesMoffat)
- Erik Beaston (@ErikBeaston)
Now that you know the players, find out who they expect to leave Sunday's sports-entertainment spectacular victoriously.
Mixed Tag Team Match: Rich Swann and Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar and Alicia Fox
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Q: Bigger waste of talent at this point: the cruiserweight division or Sasha Banks?
Chris Mueller: The cruiserweight division. Sasha Banks spent the better part of two years being in the main event scene of NXT and Raw's women's division, so she can afford to take a few midcard feuds. The cruiserweight division needs to be overhauled if it is ever going to survive.
Prediction: Sasha Banks and Rich Swann win to put the crowd in a good mood at the top of the show.
Anthony Mango: While Sasha Banks isn't getting her just due, it's more of a travesty that the cruiserweight division isn't allowed to crossover into the rest of the rosters. So many great feuds are off limits just because WWE doesn't want someone like Austin Aries to feud with Dolph Ziggler, so instead, we get the same matches every week on 205 Live, and not many people seem to care. Once Sasha has a better feud, she'll be fine, but the cruiserweights need more than just a shakeup.
Prediction: Rich Swann and Sasha Banks should win just to break up Noam Dar and Alicia Fox for good.
Erik Beaston: Perhaps it is controversial to suggest, but none of the cruiserweights were ever going to be a game-changer for WWE the way Sasha Banks should, and still can be. She is a charismatic, marketable female performer who should be at the forefront of the women's division but has repeatedly played second-fiddle to Superstars like Charlotte, Bayley or Alexa Bliss.
That her talent has been allowed to be wasted as long and as blatantly as it has been is one of the most obvious strikes against WWE Creative.
Prediction: Sasha Banks and Rich Swann pick up the win.
James Moffat: At this point, it's still the cruiserweight division as a whole. The cruiserweight division has the potential to be something bigger, but WWE has shown no interest in making it anything more than an afterthought. Sasha Banks might be in a creative lull at the moment, but that's inevitable with the current state of the Raw women's division.
With a dearth of faces to compete against Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and the returning Emma, Sasha is pigeonholed into an act she's not best suited for. Her inevitable heel turn will be all the more enjoyable because of it.
Prediction: Prediction: Sasha Banks and Rich Swann win.
Kevin Berge: The cruiserweight division. There have been several good uses of the cruiserweight division lately from the continued development of Neville (with TJP) vs. Aries to the ending of the rivalry between The Brian Kendrick and Akira Tozawa.
Still, the division is largely losing hype and excitement by the month while stars like Gran Metalik and Mustafa Ali are sitting around doing nothing. Sasha Banks is not truly being wasted. The roster just is not big enough for her to constantly be in a major story.
Prediction: Rich Swann and Sasha Banks finally put an end to this rivalry.
Ryan Dilbert: The Boss. The cruiserweight division has a number of things going for it, including Neville's dominance, Jack Gallagher's blend of toughness and silliness and the emergence of Akira Tozawa.
Prediction: Swann and Banks win to start the night off on a positive note.
Submission Match for the Cruiserweight Championship: Austin Aries vs. Neville
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Q: The cruiserweight division has been much maligned since its inception last September. Which of these two Superstars, Neville or Aries, is the better choice to lead the division to success in the foreseeable future (next six months)?
RD: Neville has been revelation as the division's sneering, unfeeling king. He can't sit on top forever, but he can certainly maintain his momentum through the summer.
Prediction: Neville wins in a show-stealer.
KB: Neville has already been the best part of the cruiserweight division for months now, single-handedly keeping a steady presence on Raw for the division. While Aries is a great talent, he has not been an enticing character in WWE. He would have to seriously step up to take on the role that Neville has for the division.
Prediction: Neville cheaply injures Aries early in the match to set up an inevitable submission victory.
EB: Neville is the best choice. He has been phenomenal as the seething villain, a nasty and mean-spirited champion who cares not who he hurts or what he has to do to retain his title, only that he leaves with the prize around his waist. Sacrificing that, and a potential rivalry with Cedric Alexander, for a hot-and-cold Austin Aries would be a mistake.
Prediction: Neville retains.
JM: Neville, without a doubt. He is the most compelling figure in the division by far, and there is so much more to explore with him as champion. A potential Cedric Alexander-Neville feud would be a joy to watch. Aries is one of the best wrestlers in the company, but he seems out of place as a babyface. That's not to say he couldn't lead the division; he's just not the best choice at the moment.
Prediction: Neville retains the cruiserweight title.
AM: A few months back, I would have said Austin Aries, but he's failed to really turn heads. People must not be as big of fans of him as they liked to claim before, or else his inclusion in the division would have increased the attention. Neville has his flaws, but he has more options to feud with, so the belt should stick with him for now.
Prediction: Neville retains.
CM: Aries. Neville has been doing an amazing job as a heel champion, but it's time for a good guy to hold the belt for a little while. Aries is a popular Superstar who can put on some great title matches against the likes of Tony Nese, TJP and Cedric Alexander.
Prediction: Austin Aries finally wins the title in what will likely be one of the best matches of the night.
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Bonus Question No. 1
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Q: WWE has created intrigue with a classic "who dunnit" storyline involving Enzo Amore. Who do you think is responsible for attacking The Certified G, why and is it the right creative decision?
CM: I want it to be Big Cass, because that would be the most interesting direction WWE could go in this scenario, but the more likely scenario is The Revival have been taking him out.
WWE already went to the trouble of having them appear in the background of an interview last week just so the evidence could be revealed this week, so it makes sense to make them the culprits.
KB: Only one result from this storyline will have a major impact on the roster. Big Cass must be the culprit, and he likely will be. However, with how little Enzo and Cass have accomplished as a unit so far (despite being massively over), it would be a shame to see the duo broken up. This story would have been great a month after the end of the duo's first tag team title reign which may never happen if Cass is the culprit.
EB: Corey Graves said after the first attack on Enzo Amore that he could not wait to shake the hand of the man who attacked Enzo. Monday night, after apologizing for insinuating it was Big Cass, he shook the big man's hand in a bit of meta storytelling attentive fans were able to catch. It is, was and always will be Big Cass, leading to a hot singles feud between the two in the upcoming weeks and months.
RD: It's Big Cass. The fact that Corey Graves mentioned the possibility and the big man reacted so defensively felt like a strong hint of things going down like that. Cass and Amore have been spinning their wheels, so it's understandable that WWE would want to shake things up. But those two won't be nearly as valuable apart from each other.
AM: Right now, I'm leaning toward the answer being either Big Cass turning heel or possibly Heath Slater and Rhyno, since they have nothing going on at the moment, but neither of those ideas really strikes me as something incredibly interesting to watch unfold for the next few months. Still, it could be worse, as we could be setting up a feud with Darren Young or Curt Hawkins.
JM: I wouldn't say it's created intrigue so much as it's offered WWE Creative any number of potential storylines. This week on Raw, The Revival denied being the attackers, which makes sense since the duo likes to claim responsibility for their actions (see: Kofi's ankle).
Over the next few weeks, WWE will give fans new suspects, but in the end it seems this is the company's way of pushing Big Cass into a singles run. It might take a couple of weeks, and it could offer some interesting matchups and side angles, but Big Cass has to be the culprit for this angle to pay off.
Tag Team Championship Steel Cage Match: The Hardy Boyz vs. Sheamus and Cesaro
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Q: Assuming they lose Sunday at Extreme Rules, are Sheamus and Cesaro better off returning to singles competition, or is the tag team division their best option for success and relevancy at this point?
RD: The tag team division needs depth. And Cesaro and Sheamus have a clear direction as a duo. It's best to keep them together for the moment, especially if that starts some more bar fights.
Prediction: The Hardy Boyz retain. And Jeff Hardy does a daredevil stunt to remember.
JM: Moving both to singles competition likely means getting lost in the shuffle among the depth of the midcard, or becoming fodder for those Superstars in the main event scene. Sheamus and Cesaro have excellent chemistry together and deserve to stay together in the division.
Prediction: Sheamus and Cesaro finally come through against the Hardyz and claim the tag team titles.
KB: I would hope that Sheamus and Cesaro stay together even if they work the singles roster in the future. There are not great options in the tag team division for them to feud with post-loss, so a move to the singles title scene would likely be best as long as they stay together, allowing them to return to the division later.
Prediction: The Hardy Boyz win after a Jeff Hardy top-of- the-cage Swanton Bomb.
EB: Sheamus and Cesaro are best suited for the tag team division at this point. The only question is who they feud with at the completion of their rivalry with The Hardy Boyz. Anything else will feel like a step down given the other teams on the roster. That is, unless they battle the returning Revival in a string of matches. I could definitely get behind that.
Prediction: The Hardy Boyz retain.
CM: I think they are better off as a tag team for now simply because the main event and midcard titles have more than enough contenders. They would get lost in the shuffle if they split, but if they stay together, it's just a matter of time before they win the titles.
Prediction: Sheamus and Cesaro get a shocking win over the Hardys.
AM: If the Universal Championship wasn't completely absent from Raw for the next few months, splitting them up would be more beneficial as there would be two titles to contend for. Since that's not the case, the tag team division is a better fit for them, as they can be bigger fish in a smaller pond, even though The Revival is the go-to heel tag team for the future of the brand, not Cesaro and Sheamus.
Prediction: The Hardy Boyz retain.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz
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Q: "The Drifter" Elias Samson has not-so-coincidentally been intertwined with this rivalry since the Superstar Shake-up. He has appeared in backstage segments, wandering around in vignettes involving The Miz and softening Dean Ambrose up in a non-title match on the May 22 episode of Raw. Will Samson factor into Sunday's match at all?
AM: Not during this match, but he might be the next feud for Dean Ambrose after he drops the title to The Miz. In the meantime, Samson will rack up a few wins over no-name jobbers just to keep him looking strong before he can get back in the thick of things with The Lunatic Fringe.
Prediction: The Miz wins the title after Ambrose gets disqualified.
RD: I don't think so. It would be fun to see him simply wander through the stands, but he'll probably be ignored for the moment.
Prediction: Ambrose holds on after nearly getting disqualified.
KB: Yes, Samson will likely factor into The Miz's plan to get Ambrose disqualified to capture the Intercontinental Championship. Since Samson admitted he owes Miz a favor, he can interfere and attack Miz to try and get The A-Lister the win. This wouldn't be the finish, but it would keep The Drifter in the title scene, particularly after Ambrose retains.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose wins by disqualification after The Miz finally goes a step too far to try and get Ambrose DQed and is caught cheating.
EB: It would make sense for Elias Samson to make his presence felt here, given how intertwined he and The Miz have been (perhaps even accidentally) over the last few weeks. With that said, expect WWE Creative to take the more predictable approach and book a cheesy DQ finish that allows Miz to win the title, continue building heat and preserve Ambrose's popularity in the process.
Prediction: Miz wins the Intercontinental Championship by disqualification.
CM: Samson will interfere, but it will be to attack The Miz. This way Ambrose gets disqualified and loses the title per the stipulation. This way Ambrose and Samson can begin a non-title feud while The Miz faces a new challenger at the next PPV.
Prediction: The Miz wins the IC title with a little help from The Drifter.
JM: I don't think so. Based on this past Monday's episode of Raw, WWE seems to be taking Sampson down a similar path that it provided Braun Strowman—a couple of squash matches to build The Drifter's character. I wouldn't figure on Sampson entering a meaningful feud until the build to SummerSlam, and then it would be a smaller match on the larger card.
Prediction: The Miz claims the Intercontinental Championship.
Bonus Question No. 2
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Q: We are a month or so removed from the WWE Superstar Shake-up. Which one Superstar does the Raw brand most miss? (Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, Rusev, Lana, The New Day, Chris Jericho)
KB: Only one wrestler was truly an MVP for Raw before the brand shift, and that was Owens. While Mahal has been the biggest beneficiary of the move, he was doing little on Raw. KO was Universal Champion for a while with top matches and feuds that are lacking right now on Raw. Miz has taken on the heel trash talker role in KO's place, but it is easy to wonder if Raw would be better off with KO still there.
CM: It's a tie between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Both of them were at the top of their game throughout 2016 and the beginning of 2017. Jericho is someone who can make anything entertaining, and Owens has proved time and time again that he is one of the best talkers in the business.
JM: Personally, I don't think any one of the Superstars who made the jump to SmackDown have hurt Raw. The show's problems don't reside with the Superstars who are or are not on the roster; the show is hurt by formulaic scripting that hinders opportunity.
For being a three-hour show, Raw fails to showcase its greatest asset: The depth of quality competitors from top to bottom. While SmackDown utilizes many of the same conventions, it does so with new perspectives and fresh faces.
AM: Chris Jericho was a constant source of entertainment over the past year with everything from matches to backstage shenanigans, which is sorely missing from the current product. Everything going on right now seems so morose in comparison.
Having Jericho cut a promo about whether Mike Rome and Tom Phillips were the same person was far more fun than Finn Balor droning about how he'll beat Brock Lesnar or listening to the story about how Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns used to be friends for the millionth time.
RD: Jericho. He was consistently one of the most entertaining parts of the show. His latest run had been his best to date, built on the right blend of comedy and drama. Even The List of Jericho is missed.
EB: The women's division misses Charlotte more than it knows. She was the face of women's wrestling on Raw, the one performer who could get WWE Creative to invest time in coming up with quality segments for the female workers. While Alexa Bliss has assumed that role, there is something missing from Creative's approach to booking the women that was always there when The Queen was at home on the red brand.
Kendo Stick on a Pole Match for the Women's Championship: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
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Q: Will Sunday's match represent the end of the Bayley-Bliss feud, and if so, which Superstar steps up to challenge the champion next?
RD: No. Raw has made a habit of extending women's feuds for long stretches and letting the rest of the division sit around. That promises to continue here as WWE puts off the inevitable Banks-Bayley feud for SummerSlam or later.
Prediction: Bliss retains, but Bayley shows great toughness in defeat.
EB: This should be the end of the program but, unfortunately, WWE Creative has done such a poor job of maintaining the heat of Nia Jax, Mickie James, Sasha Banks and the rest of the women's division that there is no other Superstar ready to step up and challenge the winner at this point. Thus, the feud will go on. Hopefully without anymore horribly written in-ring segments.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss retains.
KB: No, I do not believe this match will be the last between Bayley and Bliss, as the only way that WWE pays off the humiliation Bayley has gone through is for her to regain her championship. Therefore, Bliss will need her rematch, which will allow the division to continue to focus on these two for another month.
Prediction: Bayley shows she can be extreme by capturing the kendo stick and using it to defeat Bliss cleanly.
JM: It should represent the end of this chapter, no matter who comes out on top. With Nia Jax patiently waiting in the wings and Sasha Banks, Emma, Dana Brooke and Alicia Fox still on the roster, WWE needs to involve the rest of the division instead of focusing on only two women. The Superstar Shakeup was supposed to help alleviate that problem, but WWE Creative continues to drudge up the same tired stories with different characters.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss retains the Raw Women's Championship.
AM: If the creative team has more segments like the "Bayley: This is Your Life" promo in the works, we should all hope this is the end of the feud. Alexa and Bayley are so much better than what this feud has produced so far, and it's a major shame, but if things aren't clicking, we should just move on to Bliss against Mickie James and Bayley taking a little time out of the limelight.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss retains.
CM: I do think this will be the final chapter in their feud, at least for the time being. Assuming Alexa Bliss retains, the next logical challenger would be Mickie James. They have an existing storyline from SmackDown they can continue. James' veteran experience will help Bliss evolve even more as a performer.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss retains the title.
Fatal 5-Way No. 1 Contender's Match
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Q: With the winner of this match presumably challenging Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire, which Superstar is the best option to not only work with Lesnar, but also help plummeting Raw ratings stabilize?
CM: I don't think any single Superstar is going to make a difference in Raw's ratings right now, so my pick is based solely on who I want to see defeat Lesnar for the title.
Samoa Joe has always been booked as a monster, and he is one of the few people who can physically match Lesnar's intensity. Seeing these two behemoths clash would be epic, and it would be an incredible way to push Joe straight to the head of the pack where he should be.
Prediction: Samoa Joe
AM: It isn't going to happen, but the best case scenario is Roman Reigns. The WWE Universe absolutely will not be able to tolerate spending an entire year building toward Lesnar dropping the title to Reigns at WrestleMania, so WWE should rip the bandage off now, have Reigns beat Lesnar for the title and then turn heel so he can fight a babyface at SummerSlam.
Prediction: Finn Balor or Seth Rollins will win and then get demolished by Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire.
EB: The stagnant nature of Raw has led to its current ratings debacle. The numbers will not turn around until WWE Creative alters the way it books the show. With that said, the most intriguing opponent for Lesnar is Balor.
Prediction: Finn Balor wins, pinning Bray Wyatt (because everyone else does).
JM: If this were strictly about ratings, WWE would hand the title opportunity to Balor. The company already teased this matchup on the May 22 edition of Raw, with Lesnar advocate Paul Heyman gushing over a possible Balor-Lesnar match.
But Lesnar needs to be built to be the beast again, and logic would suggest the universal champion will go over at Great Balls of Fire. That would suggest feeding Lesnar a patsy, which would make either Bray Wyatt or Samoa Joe the victim. My gut tells me it will be Joe, because the company will want to save any Reigns-Balor-Rollins match against Lesnar for a major pay-per-view.
Prediction: Samoa Joe wins, becoming the No. 1 contender for the WWE Universal Championship.
KB: The easy answer for me is Reigns. I already wrote about the potential of the feud this week, but Lesnar vs. Reigns is easily the biggest money match of the five options. The two already have a great match on their shared resume, with the only thing potentially holding this back is the possibility that the match is meant to be saved for WrestleMania 34.
Prediction: Reigns wins by pinning Joe (building heat for a future feud) after a spear.
RD: Balor. Some will bemoan the size difference between him and The Beast Incarnate, but Balor is a rising star WWE needs to invest in big time. He is a fresh face, a joy to watch in the ring and has a marketable gimmick. Reigns' time will come down the road.
Prediction: Balor gets the win.
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