WWE Rumors: Latest Buzz, Potential Spoilers Ahead of 2020 Extreme Rules

WWE made a late addition to Sunday's Extreme Rules card in the form of a SmackDown tag title matchup between The New Day and Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Otherwise, most details about the show remain shrouded in mystery, which permits the rumor mill to spin and create seemingly endless buzz.

Extreme Rules always sits as a hotbed for rumors thanks to its status as a staging ground for SummerSlam, the second-biggest event of the year. But 2020's edition is particularly interesting with only several matches announced and the directions for names like Brock Lesnar a question mark.

Here's a look at some of the latest buzz, including potential spoilers.

Match Card

• Apollo Crews vs. MVP (WWE United States Championship match)
• Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus (Bar Fight match)
• Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins (Eye for an Eye match)
• Bayley vs. Nikki Cross (SmackDown Women's Championship match)
• Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship match)
• Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Championship match)
• Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt (Wyatt Swamp Fight, non-title match)
• The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) vs. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown Tag Team Championship match)

Title Changes? 

Plans seemingly remain subject to change right up until wrestlers shove aside the curtain and hit the ring in WWE these days.

But one rumor remains a safe bet given circumstances and the positioning of Sunday's event. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), there won't be any title changes at Extreme Rules.

And it's not too hard to believe.

Extreme Rules usually boasts some fun gimmick matches but otherwise serves as a final setup for the bigger event in August. This year, it's especially the case as WWE staggers a bit without some top stars like Roman Reigns on hand.

Much of WWE's programming has been in a holding pattern, and the company is clearly itching for the return of live audiences. Just glancing at the card, it seems pretty clear Drew McIntyre won't be dropping his title to Dolph Ziggler, Braun Strowman's title isn't even on the line and both women's titles have little wiggle room for changing hands because their storylines figure to main-event SummerSlam.

A lack of title changes doesn't mean the pay-per-view event won't be fun. Title matches involving Sasha Banks and Bayley boast a ton of intrigue simply because of how the tag team champs figure to help and/or hurt each other's chances. Ziggler's always a believable upset winner. Strowman's off in a taped Wyatt Swamp Fight wherein fans will probably see The Fiend pop up.

Done well, the storyline developments could make fans forget no gold changes hands.

Big Show vs. Randy Orton Moved

Randy Orton is arguably the biggest notable absence from the Extreme Rules card besides Brock Lesnar.

And there's apparently a big reason for it.

According to that same report from Meltzer (via Ortman), Orton's match against Big Show was shifted to Raw for one reason: ratings.

On one hand, Orton going against the ho-hum presence of Show at this point in their careers probably won't inspire a ton of fans to watch. But on the other, Orton's been so red-hot as the best heel in wrestling lately that the potential for shenanigans is hard to ignore.

It seems clear Orton will be the guy to challenge McIntyre at SummerSlam. Edge remains out with an injury, and WWE would be foolish not to have the guy doing his best character work in arguably a decade near the top of the card at an event like SummerSlam.

This isn't the first time WWE has thrown Orton into a prominent role on a weekly broadcast in an effort to boost ratings recently. And given how he's performing, it probably won't be the last.

Brock Lesnar?

WWE fans probably shouldn't get up their hopes of seeing Lesnar anytime soon.

Were this a normal year, Lesnar probably would have already been back to challenge McIntyre to a title match at SummerSlam, setting up a must-see event.

Instead, it sounds like Lesnar won't be near Extreme Rules, SummerSlam or anything else for the foreseeable future.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Robert Gunier of Wrestling Inc), Lesnar won't be on the card at SummerSlam. That means there's zero chance he shows up at a transitional show like Extreme Rules.

That could always be what WWE wants fans to think. It's not like Lesnar hasn't already appeared in audience-less shows and still put on well-received bouts. His showing up within a month or so of SummerSlam to serve as a headline act wouldn't exactly be the most shocking thing to happen in modern pro wrestling.

But WWE's behavior lately has been rather predictable. Keeping things in a holding pattern when it comes to title changes and not wasting appearances for a part-timer like Lesnar makes sense, especially when a guy like Orton is doing so well right now anyway.

Barring a major shock, Extreme Rules is a setup for the conclusion to storylines, and the developments won't feature Lesnar until things return to normal.