What Stipulations Should Be Implemented to WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Matches?
Previously, WWE Extreme Rules was a pay-per-view where every match had some sort of gimmick or stipulation attached to it. Everything had an interesting twist to it, rather than a series of regular singles bouts.
While the company continues to mark it as "the one night a year WWE goes extreme," not a single match that has been announced has a gimmick attached to it.
Perhaps those stipulations haven't been built to because WWE has been so creatively chaotic that nobody can decide on which gimmicks to go with and a mad rush will ensue ahead of the event on Sept. 26.
In that case, let's toss out some ideas for how to spice up the Extreme Rules 2021 card.
Steel Cage Match for Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor
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Finn Balor challenged Roman Reigns prior to SummerSlam but was pushed aside for John Cena. When the time came for The Prince to get his shot at the belt two weeks ago, he came up short, but it wasn't a fair fight.
Prior to the contest, the Irishman was attacked by The Usos. Jimmy and Jey made sure he wasn't 100 percent when he fought The Tribal Chief, which called into question the legitimacy of that victory.
Balor has now turned to his Demon persona ahead of the bout at Extreme Rules, but no gimmick has been announced for the match.
However, Balor should be looking to keep The Usos and Paul Heyman away so nobody can get involved to give Reigns an edge.
While history has shown it's not the most effective strategy, the go-to answer is a steel cage. It's intended to lock the two opponents in the ring together so they can settle their differences without interference.
Falls Count Anywhere Match for the Raw Women's Championship
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Alexa Bliss has her eyes on Charlotte Flair's Raw Women's Championship and offered her a doll to play with on Monday's Raw so she wouldn't be sad after she takes her title. The gesture wasn't appreciated by The Queen, who isn't up for the mind games The Goddess relishes in.
If WWE is going to continue to book Bliss in this Bray Wyatt-esque character, the feud needs to go full-force. This can't be a generic No Disqualification match or it will seem like a wasted opportunity.
Set up a scenario in which the challenger is able to pick the stipulation and chooses to fight it out on her battleground—or, rather, her playground. Make it a Falls Count Anywhere match where the action is a playground set complete with doll houses, traps and dangers that can give her an advantage over Flair.
The supernatural character work has to be in Undertaker fashion, where he can summon lightning and make you suspend your disbelief, or it shouldn't be happening at all. Either this is a live-action equivalent of a cinematic match or Flair might as well be beating Nia Jax again in a regular match.
Street Fight or Last Man Standing Match for the United States Championship
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Sheamus is a brawler and a brute who should be on everyone's list if they're looking for a buddy to back them up in a bar fight. While that made sense to take place during his feud against Jeff Hardy, the pub setting doesn't naturally fit with the United States Championship storyline opposite Damian Priest.
The Archer of Infamy has talked about partying it up with Riddle, but the bigger focus has been on how he's willing to take on any fights.
Sheamus should be looking to not just take the title back, but also to put Priest in a mask with a broken nose of his own. To do that, a Street Fight could be the best choice.
This is just one of WWE's many names for a generic No Disqualification match. Whether it's named an Extreme Rules match, a No Holds Barred match or a special hokey name like a Belfast Brawl or Celtic Clash, the idea is the same: These two get to use weapons and won't be disqualified or counted out.
It's a bit bland, but if they use enough weapons and pull off a couple spots to pop the crowd, it will work.
The alternative is to make it a Last Man Standing match, which means someone has to be knocked down for 10 seconds rather than lose to a pinfall or submission.
Triple Threat Match for the SmackDown Women's Championship
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The SmackDown Women's Championship will be on the line between Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair at Extreme Rules. It's a logical match to do, since The EST of WWE lost her title to The Man in such a shockingly quick fashion at SummerSlam.
While this is supposed to be the follow-up to allow them to do the real match they would have done if WWE didn't go with the surprise squash, throwing Sasha Banks back into the fold could make it even more intriguing.
The Boss was set to challenge for the title at SummerSlam, and she should still have a championship match on her contract.
If she's able to come back and attack both Lynch and Belair to insert herself into the feud, that could be a balance WWE is looking for. The Man hasn't fully turned heel yet and could play more of the tweener role while Banks is the heel and Belair can be the fan favorite everyone is rooting for.
Since Lynch is likely to retain the title, she could win by pinning Banks or making her tap out. That would save Belair from taking another loss and could open up the room for her to argue she still deserves a shot at winning her belt back.
Triple Threats are easy. Just let these three have a normal match where some of the rules are bent, and it doesn't need to be too heavy on weapons to still technically be an Extreme Rules scenario.
Ladder Match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
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Ideally, WWE would have spent the past few weeks setting up scenarios that make perfect sense for each match to involve whatever stipulations they get. However, since WWE hasn't bothered building to any specific gimmicks, it's okay to toss out random ideas for these matches without giving them the proper foundation.
Putting a ladder between two tag teams almost always results in success. Whether it's The Hardy Boyz, The Revival, American Alpha, The New Day, or even Authors of Pain, there's something inherently natural about tag team ladder matches with both belts hanging above the ring.
The Usos and The Street Profits are among the most talented teams WWE has had in years. They've both been in some amazing ladder matches before, showing they can pull this off just as well, if not better than what's preceded them.
Given how The Usos' signature maneuver is a splash and Montez Ford finds ways to hit his Frog Splash from the heights of a ladder just from his natural vertical leaps, this is a particularly fitting gimmick that differentiates itself from the rest of the matches on this card.
The WWE Championship Situation
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Bobby Lashley had been set to defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton at Extreme Rules, but Big E successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Monday's Raw to claim the belt.
So, we're left wondering what the replacement match will be, and the WWE title contest is without a stipulation because of that.
There are several ways WWE could go about handling this, though.
Lashley and MVP could face Orton and Riddle for the Raw Tag Team Championship in an MMA Rules match that is more on The All Mighty's level after his time in promotions such as Bellator and Strikeforce.
This would be interesting as former UFC fighter Riddle can help coach Orton in a reversal of their dynamic. WWE could even say the NXT Fight Pit is now a snake pit because The Viper is inside it.
More likely, though, is Lashley going straight into a rematch with Big E. It's doubtful this will have any gimmick unless WWE rushes into one on Monday's go-home episode of Raw.
There's a chance this becomes a Triple Threat that also involves Orton, but since he already lost his shot at the title, it would be unnecessary for him to earn his way back into being a contender.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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