WWE Extreme Rules 2017: Match Card, Potential Spoilers, Predictions and More

Steel, splintered wood and wrenched ligaments will highlight WWE Extreme Rules 2017.

WWE's annual celebration of gimmick matches is set to arrive in Baltimore on Sunday with the pursuit of championship gold at the heart of the event. Sheamus and Cesaro will look to dethrone The Hardy Boyz inside a steel cage. Bayley and Alexa Bliss will tangle over the Raw Women's Championship, with a kendo stick sure to play a major part in their drama. 

And the pay-per-view will decide the No. 1 contender for the Universal Championship when Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt all collide in the ring.

Raw's latest PPV doesn't look set to be as extreme as previous editions of the event. Rather than No Holds Barred bouts and ladder matches, much of the card features lighter stipulations. Dean Ambrose will lose his Intercontinental Championship to The Miz if he's disqualified, for example.

That doesn't exactly scream hardcore.

Can Extreme Rules live up its name? Will it be an electric event regardless? Fans only have to wait until Sunday at 8 p.m. ET to find out.

Read on for a full preview of the PPV, complete with rumors and picks.

Potential Spoilers

Extreme Rules' main event just got harder to predict.

Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the winner of Sunday's Fatal 5-Way match won't be involved in a lengthy feud with Brock Lesnar (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc). The reported plan is for the No. 1 contender to face Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire in July before Braun Strowman steps in to take on The Beast Incarnate at SummerSlam.

That opens the door for a dark horse to win on Sunday.

WWE could go with Wyatt or Joe as the winner instead. It makes little sense to do a one-shot Reigns-Lesnar match—at Great Balls of Fire, of all places.

And the betting world certainly thinks The Destroyer has a shot.

Meltzer noted on Figure Four Online on Friday: "For whatever this is worth, there was so much money bet yesterday on Samoa Joe to win on Sunday that he was taken off the board at Paddy Power." 

Elsewhere, despite the growing animosity between the men who once formed The Golden Truth, one report says R-Truth and Goldust aren't going to clash at Sunday's PPV.

Chris Featherstone of Wrestlezone reported: "After reaching out to a source in WWE, the match between R-Truth and Goldust is not scheduled for Extreme Rules. There is no word yet on whether it will occur at the following event, Great Balls of Fire, but it is off the books as of now for the upcoming event this Sunday."

Match Card

• Noam Dar and Alicia Fox vs. Rich Swann and Sasha Banks
• Neville vs. Austin Aries (Submission match for Cruiserweight Championship)
• Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz (Intercontinental Championship)
• Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley (Kendo Stick on a Pole match for Raw Women's Championship)
• The Hardy Boyz vs. Cesaro and Sheamus (Steel Cage match for Raw Tag Team Championships)
• Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt (Universal Championship No. 1 Contender's match)

Predictions

• Swann and Banks over Dar and Fox.
• Neville over Aries.
• Ambrose over The Miz.
• Bliss over Bayley.
• The Hardys over Cesaro and Sheamus.
• Balor wins Fatal 5-Way match.

Top Match Previews

Bliss vs. Bayley

Bayley's rematch after losing the Raw Women's Championship to Bliss at Payback will allow her to enact some brutal revenge as well as reclaim the gold. 

A kendo stick will loom over the title bout. The weapon will hang from a pole, and the first one to retrieve it can use it freely on their foe.

This all began when Bliss nailed Bayley with a kendo stick in May. Suddenly, Bayley wasn't satisfied with wrestling a standard match. She wanted something more extreme.

And while a Street Fight would have fit that bill better, WWE went with a Vince Russo special: the object-on-a-pole match.

Bayley will look to prove her toughness as Tommy Dreamer did in ECW back in 1994. She'll have to deal with the red-hot Bliss and potentially the champ's ally, Nia Jax.

The pole element could make this more humorous than WWE intends, but done right, the contest could feature some striking images.

Steel Cage Collision

The Hardy Boyz got to name the stipulation of their latest title defense thanks to Matt Hardy's victory over Sheamus on May 22. Surprisingly, the champ chose not to make this a ladder match, a brand of bout they have long specialized in.

In fact, The Hardys won the Raw tag titles at WrestleMania 33 in such a contest.

The cage will fit Cesaro and Sheamus' rugged style better. They can slam Matt and Jeff against the structure and batter them with any weapons they find. 

The European bruisers, though, haven't had a ton of success of late. They spent the past few weeks dropping bout after bout to The Hardys.

That pattern is poised to continue in a clash wherein Jeff Hardy is sure to perform a breathtaking stunt off the top of the cage.

Fatal 5-Way

A date with The Beast Incarnate awaits the Superstar who can outlast his competition on Sunday.

Balor, Wyatt, Joe, Rollins and Reigns all believe they have a claim to the next shot at the Universal Championship. Raw general manager Kurt Angle decided to let them figure out who is first in line with a five-way battle.

Lesnar's manager, Paul Heyman, made it clear Balor is his pick to win.

Joe and Wyatt go into the match as tenuous allies. They have briefly teamed up in recent tag matches, but have always appeared a moment away from trying to choke each other out.

The match will incorporate the ongoing rivalry between Joe and Rollins that dates back before WrestleMania, Wyatt and Balor's burgeoning issues and Reigns and Rollins' long history.

The light card suggests this contest will go on for a long time. With all the talent it will feature, it should be a hell of a thrill ride.

And WWE will immediately start the push toward Great Balls of Fire when the winner is crowned in Baltimore.