WWE Extreme Rules is shaping up to be a very solid pay-per-view. Just one look at the card tells you all you need to know about the event. It’s full of first-time matchups, action, and stipulations.
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We’ve got the Hardy Boyz vs. Sheamus and Cesaro in a steel cage match for the tag team titles. Then there’s Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley for the women’s title in a kendo stick on a pole match. And of course, most notably, there’s the number one contender’s fatal 5-way match involving arguably the five biggest stars on Raw.
WWE is always more exciting when you truly don’t have a good guess as to who will win a match. This contest could go a number of different ways as every participant has a case to possibly win. All five men would make solid challengers for Brock Lesnar’s Universal title. Sure, you can pin some favourites like Finn Balor or Roman Reigns, but it’s fairly wide open.
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But even though the winner could end up surprising us, there’s a good chance that isn’t the only surprise that will take place during the match.
Fatal 5-ways are, by default, no disqualification matches. That means interferences, weapons and the like are all fair game. So what are some surprises we could see during this star-studded Extreme Rules main event? We’ve come up with a few ideas.
#5 Roman Reigns gets violent
There are a few guys in this match who are probably expected to use some weapons to gain an advantage. After all, the PPV is Extreme Rules, and the match is no-DQ. No one would be surprised to see Samoa Joe whip out a steel chair or Bray Wyatt use a kendo stick.
But it would be a bit more surprising to see one of the other participants use a weapon to gain leverage. Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Roman Reigns are supposed to be the good guys in this match. However, we have seen the vicious side of Reigns come out before, and we can’t rule out the possibility of it happening again on Sunday.
As much as WWE wishes the fans would accept Reigns as a white-meat babyface, they’ve more or less accepted it isn’t going to happen. And in the past, they’ve admitted that by allowing him to use some heel tactics and act as more of a tweener.
Reigns has used weapons more than once in the past, and even though his opponents usually deserve it, it isn’t something you see most “babyfaces” doing. So seeing Reigns bust out a weapon at Extreme Rules and take it out on Wyatt, Joe, or even his former best friend Rollins would qualify as a bit of a surprise, but it’s something we have to be on the lookout for.
#4 Triple H interferes
This bit has probably been done to death, but since we’ve seen it a few times before, there’s always the remote possibility that Triple H interferes in this match and makes sure he gets the winner he wants.
The King of Kings pulled off one of the biggest shocks of 2016 when he interfered in the fatal 4-way elimination match for the Universal title. He helped Rollins eliminate Reigns before turning his back on the Architect and helping Kevin Owens become champion.
Of course, Owens is now busy as the new Face of America over on SmackDown, but the fatal 5-way still contains one of The Game’s proteges. Samoa Joe is certainly more than capable of handling himself, but that doesn’t mean Triple H won’t make his presence known and ensure Joe becomes number one contender.
The only thing making this unlikely is there’s no clear direction for Triple H after this hypothetical interference. Is he going to have a match with whoever he screws over? That would be a recycled story. But with Triple H, you never know. Maybe he wants a match at WWE’s second biggest show of the year, SummerSlam.
Instead of Rollins or Reigns, with whom he’s already been down this road, he could help facilitate a Wyatt face turn. Or better yet, he could help put over Finn Balor as an even bigger star than he already is.
#3 Gallows and Anderson help Finn Balor win
It’s only a matter of time, right? WWE can’t possibly have so many former Bullet Club members on the same show without eventually putting them together, especially with Balor having worn “Balor Club” merch for well over a year now. Plus, these guys are all best friends; it just hasn’t been shown on WWE TV yet (aside from Balor’s WWE 24 and Ride Along).
The question is if these three will join forces anytime soon. However, Extreme Rules would be as good a time as any for Gallows and Anderson to finally join forces with the former leader and creator of Bullet Club.
This would essentially be a heel turn for Balor, which is probably an inevitability down the line anyway. He plays a great heel (or at least a tweener like the entirety of Bullet Club) and could lead WWE’s incarnation of the group to greatness. And with Gallows and Anderson by his side, he actually stands a better chance of dethroning Brock Lesnar.
Obviously, this would be a huge swerve if we were to see it go down on Sunday. A lot of fans want this to happen, but for WWE to switch Balor from being their top babyface to being a tweener similar to AJ Styles, that would be monumental.
But as the saying goes, Bullet Club 4-4-4-4-4-life.
Also read: 5 stipulations we would rather see at Extreme Rules
#2 Braun Strowman attacks Roman Reigns
Two things are for sure heading into Extreme Rules. First, based on past results, Reigns should be the favourite heading into Sunday. He’s by far the most accomplished of the superstars in the match, and he still has a mega-push under his belt where he defeated what felt like everyone on the roster.
Second, Reigns should not win this match because he should not face Lesnar just yet. WWE might be saving that match for WrestleMania 34, and Reigns still has another feud he’s not done with. Somehow, there has to be a way for Reigns to lose this match despite looking like the overwhelming favourite.
Enter Braun Strowman.
Strowman underwent surgery about 2 weeks ago. And although WWE is saying he’s expected to miss 6 months, he’s only supposed to be out 4-6 weeks. By the time Extreme Rules rolls around, he’ll be 3 weeks removed from surgery. He still won’t be able to compete, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be healthy enough to make a run-in during the fatal 5-way.
If Strowman makes a shock return and attacks Reigns, they can perfectly set up a match between the two at Great Balls of Fire (which is also the worst PPV name ever, but I digress). It also is the perfect excuse not to have Reigns vs. Lesnar just yet.
WWE would like us to believe there’s no way Strowman can show up at Extreme Rules. But be prepared for the Monster Among Men to make his presence known and keep Reigns out of the title picture.
#1 Brock Lesnar interferes and helps Finn Balor win
What? How? Why would Brock Lesnar interfere in a match that determines the number one contender to his Universal Championship? Well, after the events that transpired this past Monday on Raw, the Beast Incarnate might just have a preference.
Paul Heyman came out and told Balor he is most intrigued by the possibility of Lesnar vs. Balor compared to all the other possibilities. And on behalf of Lesnar, Heyman wished Balor luck. To which Balor replied that he’s going to win the fatal 5-way and then Beat Lesnar for the Universal title.
With that kind of message being sent to Lesnar, the Beast may want to ensure that he gets a piece of Balor so he can show him what he’s actually dealing with. If Balor’s going to be so confident, Lesnar may want to force him to back it up and take him on for the title rather than anyone else.
A Lesnar interference would also likely tick Balor off and add even more fuel to this potential feud. Balor would surely tell Lesnar he didn’t need any help and be annoyed that he wasn’t given a chance to win on his own.
There’s a fair chance Lesnar isn’t even in the arena on Sunday. But if he is, he might just try to ensure that he gets the challenger he wants for the Universal title.
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