WWE Extreme Rules: 10 Things to Know About the Triple Threat Steel Cage Match

For the second straight year, WWE's first pay-per-view since WrestleMania will be Extreme Rules, and all of the featured matches will be variations of feuds that culminated at the annual spectacle last month.

Coming off a WWE Draft that was about as planned as Usher's melodic "Confessions" child, many last-minute/logical changes have become necessary to a handful of Extreme Rules matches, including the World Championship Ladder Match between Alberto Del Rio and Christian.

Poor Alberto Del Rio has been slated to win the World Championship since the Royal Rumble. However, sudden changes have prompted the habitual last-second nixing of an inaugural World Championship run for the fast-rising star.

The Mexican Aristocrat now finds himself on the deep side of the pool, where many rising stars drown, by virtue of him being drafted to RAW.

While Del Rio will remain in the SmackDown main event for the World Championship, the RAW main event will see John Cena take on Miz for the WWE Championship inside of a steel cage.

Cena and Miz were involved in a shaky main event at WrestleMania where both came off looking weak after the Rock laid waste to WWE's two biggest stars. Now, the lengthy feud between Cena and Miz will resume its next chapter as the two do battle within the confines of a feud-killing steel cage.

John Morrison will be in the match as well. WWE seemed to be content in keeping Morrison in a mid-card feud with R-Truth on the go-home show despite this, so one can't blame me for almost forgetting about JoMo.

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1. The Rock's Birthday Is on May 2, 2011

A much-hyped birthday celebration for the Rock will commence the night after Extreme Rules. With both the Miz and Cena figuring to get involved in the festivities, WWE surely doesn't want either to step to the Rock after having been pinned inside of a steel cage.

The luxury of this particular Triple Threat match is that both Cena and Miz, who looked weak following WrestleMania, will have a chance to look strong coming off the Extreme Rules main event.

I can easily see a situation where Miz earns a pinfall over Morrison while Cena attempts to climb out of the cage, or vice versa, thus keeping both top-flight stars strong headed into Monday Night Rock.

2. John Morrison Is Not Leaving Tampa with the WWE Championship

Critic or no critic, any objective pro wrestling fan can discern the simple fact that John Morrison is basically an afterthought in all this.

Despite competing in a pay-per-view main event for the WWE Championship, an otherwise spectacular accomplishment, I can't help feeling that Morrison is nothing more than the chum bait in this match used to enhance the top two stars in the company.

3. John Morrison Will Do Something Cool

As is always the case with Morrison in a dangerous atmosphere rigged with opportunities for spots, Morrison will be sure to use his parkour style of pro wrestling to create a memorable spot in the steel cage.

4. R-Truth Is Watching, Waiting...

Don't be surprised if R-Truth makes an appearance in the main event. Truth has been feuding with John Morrison for the past couple of weeks and was originally slated to be in this main event.

Since R-Truth is not scheduled to compete, expect him to stick his nose where it used to belong, as Truth is a strong candidate to screw John Morrison out of a WWE Championship opportunity.

5. John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio Is Planned for SummerSlam

But take that with a grain of salt. WWE's last two major "backstage matches in the making" were Wade Barrett vs. the Undertaker and Sheamus vs. Triple H, both of which failed to materialize at WrestleMania 27.

But if John Cena and Alberto Del Rio truly is planned for SummerSlam, expect Cena to go over at Extreme Rules to set up a would be WWE Championship feud.

Given Del Rio's luck with planned Championships, however, this match will probably be scrapped.

6. Alex Riley Has Been Drafted to SmackDown

Alex Riley's drafting to SmackDown, via the supplemental draft, is huge news, as the Miz will be without his longtime assistant heading into Extreme Rules.

It will be interesting how Miz is booked solo against Cena and Morrison, as Riley is usually integrated into Miz's matches to give him the upper hand.

7. The Florida Crowd Could Get Hostile

Florida loves its wrestling, and the Sunshine State tends to carry an above-average number of traditional wrestling fans who despise John Cena.

With Miami native The Rock set to return to WWE TV in Florida the next night, expect this crowd to be nice and ready to boo Cena out of the building.

8. The Commentary Could Be Anywhere from Good to Awful

Depending on what happens in the Ross-King/Cole-Swagger Country Whippin' match, assuming the match goes on before the WWE Championship match, WWE could mix and match a handful of announce teams to call its main event.

We could see Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler (good), Michael Cole could be peppered in (bad), Josh Matthews could make an appearance (better, but still bad) or a Booker T sighting could be imminent (worst).

9. The Miz's Championship Pay-Per-View Winning Streak Currently Stands at Four

Since winning the WWE Championship on RAW, Miz has defended the crown jewel of WWE on four separate occasions at pay-per-view events, and in all four matches Miz was victorious.

It's worth mentioning that Alex Riley was instrumental in all of these aforementioned championship victories, and he has since been drafted to SmackDown.

A WWE Championship win for the Miz without the help of Alex Riley would go a long way in allowing more people to take Miz more seriously as a WWE Champion.

10. John Cena's Extreme Rules Winning Streak Currently Stands at Four

Dating back to when the pay-per-view was branded "One Night Stand," John Cena has won in his last four appearances at WWE Extreme Rules-themed pay-per-views.

Something's gotta give between Cena and the Miz in terms of their respective pay-per-view winning streaks, and given the different possibilities coming out of Extreme Rules and the WWE Draft, this match will be quite tricky to predict.

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