WWE Extreme Rules 2016: Biggest Takeaways from Latest PPV Event

With the huge Money in the Bank 2016 pay-per-view on the horizon, Sunday's Extreme Rules pay-per-view gave WWE fans plenty to sink their teeth into.

Some of the takeaways were good, and some were bad. Some set up an exciting future for a handful of the company's brightest stars, with others leaving big names heading down uncertain avenues.

Money in the Bank always has a telling impact on the rest of the year, especially the show's marquee match.

That meant that Extreme Rules was always going to set up a whole host of ramifications for the immediate future with MITB just a few short weeks away.

Here are the biggest things we learned from Sunday night.

The Miz Is Proving to Be a Fine Intercontinental Champion

Credit: WWE.com

The excitement among WWE fans to see Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Cesaro all wrestle one another on Sunday night was substantial enough to overshadow the champion's involvement in the bout.

However, the standout bout of Extreme Rules saw all four guys bring their very best to the contest—including The Miz.

He had become lost in the shuffle somewhat over the last year or so, but since Maryse returned to WWE the night after WrestleMania, they have excelled as a duo.

The Miz is a fine heel with impressive mic skills, and he and his real-life wife make a superb double-act. 

His sneaky victory at the expense of the other three kept his momentum going heading towards Money in the Bank, too. 

The Intercontinental Championship has been in need of something special for a good while now. The Miz may not be the greatest champion to wear the belt, but in terms of the current state of WWE, he's proving to be an excellent custodian.

WWE Has a Bona Fide Top Heel on Its Hands with Rusev

Credit: WWE.com

The booking of Rusev in Sunday's United States Championship match may have caught a few by surprise, given how dominant he was during his victory against Kalisto. 

WWE wasted no time during the early exchanges of the match in having Rusev assert his authority—and although it seemed as if the referee would postpone the bout at one point, it was great to see The Bulgarian Brute go over in such a convincing manner.

What it means is that although Kalisto has a rematch scheduled later this week on SmackDown, Rusev should come through it and continue to fulfil his potential as a top heel once again.

WWE dropped the ball with its booking of Rusev following his feud with John Cena, with a confusing love-triangle storyline followed by insignificant involvement with The League of Nations.

But now that Rusev is back on his own and is a champion in his own right again, expect him to grow stronger and stronger.

Sasha Banks Has to Return to WWE TV

Credit: WWE.com

With Charlotte's controversial victory at Extreme Rules and the events the following night on Raw, the cards are starting to fall into place for The Boss' return to the main stage.

If there's one takeaway we could gain from the women's division following Charlotte vs. Natalya on Sunday, it's that the champion needs a new contender.

With controversial victories on the two pay-per-view shows Charlotte and Natalya have fought, it's a sure sign that WWE aren't keen on taking the belt away from Flair and put it on the Canadian.

So WWE should move on from this feud, and bring Sasha Banks back—maybe even with Ric Flair by her side after Charlotte lashed out at him on Raw. The feud can run right through to SummerSlam and would arguably be one of WWE's best over the next few months.

Fans have waited long enough. When she's cleared to wrestle, The Boss should be back on TV as soon as possible.

AJ Styles Is Now in Limbo

Credit: WWE.com

AJ Styles' WWE career was already entering a state of limbo before his latest defeat on Monday's Raw.

Defeat to Roman Reigns for a second consecutive pay-per-view was obviously far from ideal. However, given the return of Seth Rollins, it's understandable that WWE would want to keep the belt on Reigns ahead of a feud between two former members of The Shield.

But the way Styles was booked during the two big matches of the feud was pretty disgraceful. He was made to look exceptionally weak, while Reigns looked incredibly strong in getting past The Phenomenal One.

But crucially, there's been no storyline development with The Club. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have been booked in a way that makes them look weak. If they had looked fairly dominant, Styles could have aligned with them and begun to tear through the rest of the roster.

Defeat to Kevin Owens means he's not in the Money in the Bank match next month, too. So where next for AJ Styles?

Right now, it's pretty tough to work out.