How Extreme Is Extreme Rules Going to Get?

Last year's "Extreme Rules" pay-per-view was one of the WWE's best shows of the year.

It featured an outstanding main event ladder match between Edge and Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship.

The surprise ending with C.M. Punk cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to steal the championship from a battered and beaten Jeff Hardy effectively began Punk's turn into one of the top heels in the WWE.

The show also featured Batista defeating Randy Orton in a steel cage to win the WWE Championship and John Cena defeating The Big Show in a submission match.

From top-to-bottom it was a pretty entertaining event and good enough to merit a second "Extreme Rules" PPV this year.

Now let's get one thing out of the way. This event is not going to be very extreme at all if you are expecting the type of blood and mayhem one would expect from the original ECW or the "Attitude" era of the WWE.

That didn't stop last year's event from being quite entertaining, though it did feature a Match of the Year candidate in the aforementioned ladder match.

The card for this Sunday's "Extreme Rules" is set and it looks like it should be a decent show, though not a whole lot really leaps off the screen as a must-see match. It would have been nice for the WWE to include a few more title matches on the PPV.

Why aren't the Unified Tag Titles being defended? Or how about the Intercontinental or United States championships? The secondary titles are really being poorly used these days, as evidenced by leaving them off yet another PPV.

Anyways, here is a quick rundown of the card with some thoughts and predictions:

Strap Match - Shad Gaspard vs. JTG

Cryme Tyme is no more and this awful concept of a match is our first one-on-one meeting between Shad and JTG. The two will be tied together by a leather strap and the winner must tag all four corners in succession.

These matches are usually never very good and I'm not expecting much out of this one. Shad should win, though I wouldn't be shocked if JTG sneaks one out in order to keep the feud going.

Extreme Makeover Match for the Women's Championship - Michelle McCool vs. Beth Phoenix

What is an Extreme Makeover match? Who knows? Good luck finding anything out about it on the WWE web site though. (Winner gets to smear loser with makeup - ED.)

The women's division in the WWE is turning into a really bad joke and this is yet another example of how awful it's getting for the ladies. I'll go with McCool to win, probably with lots of help from Layla and Vickie Guerrero.

C.M. Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

As far as I know, the only stipulation that makes this match extreme is that C.M. Punk has to get his head shaved if he loses. I hope they give these two more than the seven or so minutes they got at WM26. If so, this could steal the show.

I'm doubting that Punk will lose, especially considering the rumors of former WWE tag champion Joey Mercury returning to join the S.E.S. have gotten much stronger since he worked a dark match recently, sporting a new bald look.

Street Fight - Sheamus vs. Triple H

After losing to HHH at WM26 last month, Sheamus is in need of a big win in order to keep his push alive. 

For that reason alone, expect the Celtic Warrior to find a way to edge out the Game. Don't expect much more than a brawl, probably involving sledgehammers and lead pipes.

Steel Cage Match - Edge vs. Chris Jericho

Much like Edge's match against Jeff Hardy last year, this one has the potential to be a great one. These two put on a solid match at WM26 and this rematch should be just as good, if not better.

Edge will likely find a way to overcome the ankle injury that they have been working leading up to this match and come out on top, though I highly doubt this will mark the end of this feud.

Extreme Rules for the World Heavyweight Championship - Jack Swagger vs. Randy Orton

Swagger may be the champ but he can't buy a win these days. Clean losses to The Undertaker on Raw and John Morrison on Smackdown have killed any momentum the All-American-American had built up after his first successful title defense.

Orton's popularity is growing by the week and it's hard to imagine him not winning, though for the sake of Swagger not being the biggest lame duck champion of all-time, I'll pick him to somehow sneak out a victory.

Last Man Standing for the WWE Championship - John Cena vs. Batista

Rumors are flying all over the Internet about Batista taking some time off from WWE, so I highly doubt we are going to see a new WWE Champion crowned at "Extreme Rules." Plus, Cena just got the belt last month and I don't see him dropping it so fast.

These two actually had a pretty good match at Wrestlemania and if this comes anywhere close to that one, it should be an entertaining fight if anything.

With the draft looming the next night on Raw, it'll be interesting to see how these matches play out and what will happen next. "Extreme Rules" may not be very extreme, but it could be a good show if the WWE plays their cards right.