WWE Extreme Rules 2016: Booking Decisions That Must Be Made at PPV
WWE Extreme Rules 2016 is just over a week away, and the card for May 22 is shaping up to be rather remarkable. In addition to how the event has consistently delivered the goods over the years, there is little doubt that this year's installment will follow suit.
Of the five matches made official for the show up to this point, two will be contested under extreme rules. It was once mandatory for every match on the card to have some sort of stipulation, but that hasn't been the case in several years.
It should be a strong show regardless, so perhaps the lack of stipulations will be for the better. Extreme Rules will also have its work cut out for it following the generally well-received Payback pay-per-view earlier this month.
As awesome an event as it was, there were a handful of flaws with the match outcomes that left fans scratching their heads. Whether it was how they were handled or who won, the show wasn't all it could have been, but now WWE has a chance to right those wrongs at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Let's look at the booking decisions WWE must make at Extreme Rules next Sunday.
Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch Must Reunite to Take on Emma and Dana Brooke
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Becky Lynch has been determined to re-establish herself as a worthy contender for the WWE Women's Championship since falling short of capturing the gold at WrestleMania 32. But she has had one major roadblock in getting back into the title hunt: Emma.
The two have been at odds since shortly after The Shows of Shows, clashing in backstage segments and trading shots on Twitter, but their rivalry escalated to another level when Emma beat her in one-on-one action on the May 2 edition of Raw. She relied on underhanded tactics to score the win, so Lynch is out to avenge the loss.
When they came face-to-face this past Monday night, Lynch was ambushed from behind by the debuting Dana Brooke, Emma's old running mate from NXT. Brooke has apparently arrived on the main roster to aid Emma in her crusade against The Lass Kicker.
But who will align with Lynch to help settle the score? The most obvious candidate would have to be Sasha Banks, who paired up with Lynch earlier this year to rival Team B.A.D.
The Boss has largely been absent from WWE TV over the past month, and this would be the perfect way to reintroduce her to programming. Although we already have one women's match scheduled for the show, nothing is stopping WWE from adding this undercard feud to the event as well.
Baron Corbin Must Earn Decisive Victory over Dolph Ziggler
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Baron Corbin arrived on the WWE scene with a purpose: to embark on a path of destruction and annihilate anyone who dared to step in his way.
He did just that by winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32 and following it up with a vicious attack on Dolph Ziggler on the next night's Raw.
Ziggler didn't stay down for long, though, and he was back battling Corbin the very next week, showing that he wasn't one to be overlooked. Their feud culminated in a match on the Payback Kickoff show, which saw Ziggler eke out the victory by way of a roll-up.
It was a surprising albeit unnecessary victory for the bleach-blond Superstar, seeing as how it halted Corbin's momentum. His lackluster elimination from the No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal on Raw at the hands of Ziggler didn't help matters, either.
Thankfully, Corbin evened the score by beating Corbin this past Monday night, but their feud is far from over. It's safe to assume that their rivalry is set to continue through Extreme Rules, where they can face off in a rubber match.
From ringside to the crowd to the stage, they have taken their fight all around the arena, so a Falls Count Anywhere stipulation would be fitting for their third match. Either way, it should be Corbin who has his hand raised at the end of the bout to ensure he is back on the right track to superstardom in WWE.
United States Championship Must Be Defended on Main Card
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Kalisto's shocking United States Championship victory at the onset of 2016 was seemingly a sign that WWE was going to start investing in him as a singles star.
He had an impressive first month as champion by knocking off Alberto Del Rio on several occasions, but his reign has been rather forgettable in the months since.
Although he and Ryback contested one of the best bouts of the night at Payback earlier this month, it was relegated to the Kickoff show. That marked the third time in the last three months that the star-spangled prize wasn't defended on the main card.
Kalisto's next title defense will come up against Rusev at Extreme Rules. Rusev won a No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal on the May 2 edition of Raw to earn the opportunity to challenge for the strap at the impending pay-per-view.
As of now, the match is scheduled to take place on the main card, but that was the same assumption fans had regarding his WrestleMania match with Ryback before it was later bumped to the Kickoff show. Anything can change between now and next Sunday, but this match definitely deserves to be positioned higher than the pre-show this time around.
The U.S. title was arguably the most prestigious belt in WWE one year ago. It has lost a lot of its luster in the year since, but making it more than a throwaway title by featuring it more prominently would be a step in the right direction.
Dean Ambrose Must Soundly Defeat Chris Jericho for Second Time
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Dean Ambrose's high-profile status in the company was put into question following his poor showing against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. However, he rebounded quite nicely in his feud with Chris Jericho, where he has been made to look more like an equal to Y2J than he was to Lesnar.
They produced a very solid match at Payback, and in the end, Ambrose emerged victorious in clean fashion. Prior to that, he hadn't won a singles match by pinfall on pay-per-view since facing Luke Harper at Extreme Rules 2015.
The win was long overdue for Ambrose, and as a Superstar with plenty of untapped main event potential, it did quite a bit to re-establish him as a credible threat in the eyes of the fans.
Although Jericho teased taking another hiatus from WWE on Twitter one day removed from the event, he resurfaced on Raw and laid out Ambrose with "Mitch" the potted plant. The Lunatic Fringe exacted his revenge this week by tearing Jericho's patented light-up jacket to shreds.
A rematch at Extreme Rules has yet to be confirmed for the card, but it's only logical given what we've seen from them recently. It's unknown how long Jericho will be around for, but there is no need to give him his win back so soon, if ever.
Ambrose can benefit from going 2-0 against the inaugural undisputed champion before resetting his sights on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or possibly the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson Must Reveal Where Their Allegiance Lies
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The biggest question on everyone's mind in the WWE Universe of late is what Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson's motives are.
Are they here in WWE to wreak havoc, or do they simply want AJ Styles to be WWE world heavyweight champion?
Their interference in the Payback main event may or may not have cost Styles the title, but either way they have remained loyal to him in the weeks since in his war against Roman Reigns and The Usos. At the same time, Styles has been reluctant to ambush Reigns the same way they have.
Fans have speculated that there could be a higher power that Gallows and Anderson are answering to, potentially Finn Balor. The Demon has ties to all three men dating back to his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of The Bullet Club.
Balor will be in NXT for at least another month, as he will be challenging for the NXT Championship on June 8 at TakeOver, but that hasn't stopped the likes of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn from debuting on the main roster before. Balor could be in a similar position, so there is a chance he'll appear at Extreme Rules.
Perhaps there is someone else whom no one expects to be in cahoots with the former IWGP tag team champions, or maybe it has been The Phenomenal One all along. We didn't get the answers we wanted at Payback, but Extreme Rules would be the optimal time to pull the trigger on the big reveal.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
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