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The 2018 WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Sunday.
Twelve matches have been confirmed for the event, including AJ Styles vs. Rusev (WWE Championship), The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Team Hell No (SmackDown Tag Team Championships), Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins (Intercontinental Championship) and Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley.
Elsewhere on the card, both women’s divisions will be represented with Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax (Raw Women’s Championship) and Carmella vs. Asuka (SmackDown Women’s Championship) scheduled for the show, while Jeff Hardy will face Shinsuke Nakamura (United States Championship) and The B-Team will challenge The Deleters of Worlds (Raw Tag Team Championships).
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In the other non-title matches, Baron Corbin will go one-on-one with Finn Balor and Braun Strowman will meet Kevin Owens in a steel cage match, while it’ll be The New Day vs. SAnitY (tables match) and Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Sin Cara on the kickoff show.
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In this article, let’s take a look at how these matches came to fruition:
#11 Kickoff show
The Extreme Rules kickoff show will feature more than one match for the first time since WrestleMania 34, with The New Day facing SAnitY in a tables match and Andrade “Cien” Almas going one-on-one with Sin Cara.
Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have been confronted by the chaotic SAnitY faction on multiple occasions on SmackDown Live in recent weeks, leading to this potential show-stealer being added to the kickoff show this week.
As for Almas vs. Sin Cara, the two men were involved in one of the most impressive matches of the week on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live. The former NXT champion emerged with the victory on that occasion, but will he do so again at Extreme Rules?
#10 Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
After being appointed the new “Constable” of Raw by Stephanie McMahon in June, Baron Corbin has made it his mission to help his fellow Superstars achieve their full potential as members of the red brand’s roster.
Corbin has specifically set out to get Finn Balor’s career “back on track” in recent weeks. However, following their implosion as a short-lived tag team against Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman, the two have done nothing but poke fun at each other and exchange heated insults.
So, in one of the few Extreme Rules encounters with no title on the line and with no match stipulation, will the “Constable” back up his big mouth once and for all? Or will Balor silence his biggest critic by defeating him on PPV?
#9 Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens (steel cage match)
Kevin Owens set out to prevent Braun Strowman from winning the Money In The Bank contract at last month’s PPV. However, he failed in his mission and ended up being thrown through a table from the top of a ladder by the one member of the Raw roster that he fears the most.
Since then, Owens has struggled to escape from “The Monster Among Men”, who has made KO’s life a living hell by toppling over his vehicle in the car park before locking him in a portable toilet and throwing him off the Raw stage.
Trapped inside a steel cage on Sunday, will Owens finally escape the MITB winner and claim a victory for his troubles? Or will it turn out to be yet another miserable night for the Canadian?
#8 Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax (Raw Women’s Championship Extreme Rules match)
Alexa Bliss looked to have lost her final opportunity at the Raw Women’s Championship when she was defeated by Nia Jax in their WrestleMania 34 rematch at the Backlash PPV in May.
However, “Little Miss Bliss” defied the odds at Money In The Bank by winning the women’s MITB briefcase before cashing in her contract later in the show, causing a disqualification in the Nia vs. Ronda Rousey match, to become Raw Women’s champion for the third time in her career.
With Ronda watching on from ringside on Sunday, will Alexa defeat Nia for the second PPV in a row to retain the title she has become synonymous with? Or will “The Irresistible Force” use the Extreme Rules stipulation to her advantage and become a two-time champion?
#7 Carmella vs. Asuka (SmackDown Women’s Championship shark cage match)
Asuka has challenged for the SmackDown Women’s Championship on two occasions in recent months – against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34 and against Carmella at Money In The Bank – but she is still yet to win her first title on the main roster.
“The Empress of Tomorrow” looked on course to defeat “The Princess of Staten Island” at MITB last month, only for James Ellsworth to make his return as an Asuka impersonator, which proved enough of a distraction to help Carmella get the win.
With Ellsworth locked in a shark cage above the ring on Sunday, will he still be able to help the champ retain? Or will Asuka finally become a main-roster title holder for the first time in her career?
#6 Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas (Raw Tag Team Championships)
After The Miz was drafted to SmackDown Live in April, the two members of his Miztourage – Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas – set out to become Raw Tag Team champions for the first time in their careers.
The plucky underdogs, now known as The B-Team, have since won seven matches in a row between them, earning a long-awaited title opportunity against Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at Extreme Rules.
Will Axel and Dallas make it eight in a row in Pittsburgh? Or will The Deleters of Worlds have another “WONDERFUL” night on PPV?
#5 The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Team Hell No (SmackDown Tag Team Championships)
Daniel Bryan was eliminated from the WWE Championship #1 contender gauntlet match in June by The Miz after he was attacked by SmackDown Tag Team champions The Bludgeon Brothers.
One week later, Harper and Rowan were in the process of dishing out further punishment to Bryan when, out of nowhere, Kane’s music hit and the WWE Universe was treated to the surprise reunion of Team Hell No.
The former Tag Team champions haven’t exactly been on the same page since reforming, so it remains to be seen if they can put their past tensions aside to co-exist as a duo at Extreme Rules!
#4 Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins (Intercontinental Championship Iron Man match)
Dolph Ziggler shocked Seth Rollins on an episode of Raw in June by defeating him for the Intercontinental Championship. One week later, Rollins invoked his rematch clause but the match ended in a disqualification following interference from Drew McIntyre.
This past week on Raw, McIntyre defeated “The Kingslayer” in the main event, meaning he will be allowed at ringside to support Ziggler for Sunday’s 30-minute Intercontinental Championship Iron Man match.
Is Rollins about to become a two-time IC champ? Will McIntyre's presence help or hinder Ziggler? Either way, this is bound to be one of the most talked-about matches after Extreme Rules.
#3 Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (United States Championship)
Shinsuke Nakamura struck Jeff Hardy with a trademark low-blow during their match on SmackDown Live last month, causing a disqualification, before following it up with a Kinshasa.
The next week, Hardy said that the post-match attack had made him “sharper focused”, adding that his eyes are now fully “open” before revealing his completely painted-up face for the first time since returning to WWE in 2017.
Nakamura teamed with Rusev in a victory over Jeff and AJ Styles on Tuesday, but will that momentum continue into the PPV? If it does, we could be looking at a new US champion after Extreme Rules.
#2 AJ Styles vs. Rusev (WWE Championship)
Rusev defeated The Miz at the end of a gauntlet match on SmackDown Live in June to become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship.
Since then, “The Lion of Bulgaria” has fired some harsh words towards current champion AJ Styles ahead of his first one-on-one match for the top prize in the company, while he teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura to defeat Styles and Jeff Hardy on this week’s SmackDown.
With no stipulation added to this match, will the presence of Aiden English help Rusev at Extreme Rules? Or will “The Phenomenal One” have too much for the former United States champion?
#1 Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley
Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley teamed up to defeat The Revival on an episode of Raw in June, but it was clear throughout the match that the two Raw heavyweights were never going to be on the same page.
The following week, the two teams had a rematch on Raw, which was won by The Revival when Dash Wilder surprisingly pinned Reigns after Lashley proved a distraction by teasing a tag-in.
Tensions boiled over between “The Big Dog” and “The Dominator” on this week’s Raw, with both men needing to be separated by the rest of the Raw roster after sparking a mass brawl.
Many deem this match to be an unofficial No.1 contender match for the Universal title. Will WWE make this official at the PPV? Which potential Universal Championship contender will emerge with the victory at Extreme Rules then? Only time will tell!
What are you looking forward to the most at WWE Extreme Rules? Let us know in the comments below!
