This Sunday, WWE presents the most extreme night of the sports entertainment year as Extreme Rules airs live from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.
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The show is headlined by three major matches, including the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan defending his gold against Kane, The Shield taking on Evolution in a six-man tag team match and John Cena squaring off with Bray Wyatt in a steel cage.
The WWE has a lot of veterans from the last decade taking on some up-and-coming stars, and in my opinion the WWE should use this to have the veterans put over their young stars and showcase them as stars of the present, not future. The Shield and Wyatt all deserve big nights by taking a stand over the veterans and introducing a new chapter in the WWE, but it remains to be seen what the WWE will do.
Betting Odds For WWE Extreme Rules 2014
The booking of Daniel Bryan has also been a tad annoying as he's facing Kane for no discernible reason when Randy Orton never was even involved in the decision to lose the title, and his first pay-per-view match since winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship likely won't even main event here.
On to the predictions where the matches are organized in predicted order of appearance on the card and possible rumors and spoilers are attached to each along with a look back at past Extreme Rules moments throughout the years as this event has been around since 2009.
Pre-Show WeeLC Match: El Torito vs. Hornswoggle:
This has definitely been an odd feud and one that focuses more on the "entertainment" side of the WWE as Hornswoggle and El Torito will face each other in a match involving tiny tables, tiny ladders and tiny chairs. It should have some fun spots and funny moments throughout it to get the crowd into the event from the get-go before the regular event starts. In the end, Los Matadores will help lead El Torito to victory.
The Pick: El Torito
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Big E (c) vs. Wade Barrett:
I enjoyed what the WWE did this month by having a nice eight-man No. 1 contender's tournament to determine the man who would face Big E at this event as it gave the No. 1 contender a sense of importance and wasn't a randomly thrown together match that the WWE usually features for its midcard titles from time-to-time.
Barrett was the obvious choice from the start to win the match as it seemed like a heel would have to go on to face the babyface Langston, and the WWE has really started to push the Bad News Barrett gimmick which Barrett to his credit has totally embraced and put over. Cesaro was another choice, but with him having unfinished business with Jack Swagger it didn't seem as though he'd be winning the tournament.
Big E has had a solid reign with the IC gold, and while I'm not sure if he's ready to go up to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship ranks, his reign has served its purpose and I could see him losing here in order to get his rematch and continue to feud with Barrett for the next couple of months.
While it wouldn't be a shock to see Langston walk out with the gold, the WWE has a good thing in Barrett and seems to be high on pushing him to another IC title reign.
The Pick: Bad News Barrett
Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio battled in a memorable No Holds Barred match for the IC title in 2009 at this event:
Handicap Match: Alexander Rusev w/ Lana vs. R-Truth and Xavier Woods:
This is a bit of a strange one but seems like it was obviously made to get Rusev over. While I'm not exactly sure how his persona will fit in on WWE television in the coming weeks, the WWE seems like they're really going to try to put him over and R-Truth and Woods will be the first victims of him in a high-profile match on pay-per-view or the WWE Network.
The Pick: Alexander Rusev
Triple Threat Match: Jack Swagger w/ Zeb Colter vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro w/ Paul Heyman:
It seemed like we were destined for a one-on-one match featuring Swagger against the newest Paul Heyman guy in Cesaro, but the WWE added RVD to the mix. In my projected card earlier this month before it was revealed Rey Mysterio was taking time off, I predicted a match featuring RVD vs. Mysterio vs. Barrett vs. Big E for the IC Title and a Cesaro vs. Swagger one-one-one match.
I like the direction the WWE went with the IC tournament and this triple threat match has potential to be highly entertaining, though I hope it leads to an eventual one-on-one blow-off between Swagger and Cesaro down the line.
All three men will get a chance to look good in this one and hopefully it's given enough time by the WWE at Extreme Rules. As far as a winner, the WWE has been over the moon for Cesaro and has pushed him like crazy. With Cesaro winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX and aligning himself with Paul Heyman, the WWE has big plans for him.
The Pick: Cesaro
Swagger fought Alberto Del Rio in 2013 in an "I Quit" match to determine the No. 1 contender for the WHC:
Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt:
This match could and may very well be the main event and is one that I personally am looking forward to as the Bray Wyatt character has really come into its own over the last few months. Cena has a chance to elevate Wyatt by putting him over huge here. Cena has been a bit annoying lately, as during WrestleMania XXX when they clashed he sold his fear of Wyatt and the unpredictable Wyatt Family while leading up to this match he's made bad jokes and hasn't taken him seriously.
Cena went over Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX as predicted, which is fine despite the fact that Cena didn't need the win. It's fine for Wyatt to look strong and not go over, but I don't believe he should have to lose twice to the Cenation Leader. Cena won at the biggest show of the year, at a milestone event that people always look back on, which makes sense. However, there's no reason he should win at Extreme Rules.
If the WWE is looking to push Bray Wyatt then they shouldn't have him lose two high-profile matches to John Cena and they should have just booked him to feud with someone else to get over. Cena got his win at 'Mania, but Wyatt is the one who deserves to have his arm raised on Sunday in order to be taken seriously as a character and a threat to every other babyface in the locker room.
I'm not a Cena hater like most people out there, but I do agree with Mick Foley's recent critical Facebook post about Cena's character being stale. With his merchandise selling at a rapid pace and all of the Make a Wish stuff he does, I'm not holding my breath for a heel turn but it would be awesome if The Wyatt Family abducted him and he had a change of character for a few weeks at least.
That likely won't happen, but I do believe that Bray Wyatt should and WILL leave the steel cage on Sunday a winner.
The Pick: Bray Wyatt
Cena defeated John Morrison and The Miz in a Steel Cage Match at Extreme Rules 2011:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kane:
While Kane and Bryan have some great history, as I said above this match is disjointed and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I hope the WWE doesn't bury it too far towards the top of the card, but if the last few RAWs are any indication, The Shield and Evolution match will likely close things out.
Bryan missed a few shows due to his honeymoon and the loss of his father, but the WWE hasn't built this like it will be the main event as The Shield and Evolution closed RAW last week. Following the RAW after WrestleMania, I wrote that the logical card would put Bryan against Orton for the title since Orton lost it at WrestleMania and wasn't involved in the decision.
I then stated that I thought Kane should team with Triple H and Batista to take on The Shield while Bryan battled Orton or that Bryan and The Shield should take on Evolution and Kane in an eight-man match with some sort of stipulation attached. The WWE opted to have Kane face Bryan and Evolution battle The Shield instead.
The WWE has once again booked Bryan into the underdog role and he'll come out and overcome the odds again to defeat Kane here after Kane savagely attacked him on RAW. The WWE seems to be building towards a Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar match at SummerSlam and I have a take on how the booking should go.
Bryan should survive Kane and then Orton at Payback and then the WWE should have Triple H sick a returning Batista on him at Money in the Bank in July after Batista's hiatus ends. After Kane, Orton and Batista fall to Bryan, Triple H should then decide to take on him himself at Battleground in a WrestleMania rematch and lose, making Bryan look strong for an inevitable matchup with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam in August.
As for this match, Bryan will no doubt go over Kane it's just a matter of whether or not the WWE actually makes him look strong in his defense.
The Pick: Daniel Bryan
Bryan battled Sheamus in a 2-out-of-3 falls match at Extreme Rules 2012:
That same year, Kane fought Randy Orton in a Falls Count Anywhere match:
WWE Divas Championship: Paige (c) vs. Tamina Snuka:
After the Steel Cage match and WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, the WWE will give the crowd a breather before the main event with the WWE Divas match. Paige has been a great call-up from NXT and it was surprising to see her take down A.J. Lee on the RAW after WrestleMania.
With Lee off with her new fiancé and the departed CM Punk, Paige should have her run of the division. Paige will likely be booked as a strong Divas Champion for the next couple of months until Lee returns to get her rematch from her down the line.
The Pick: Paige
Six-Man Tag Team Match: The Shield vs. Evolution:
As I said in the opening, the WWE has a chance to start really pushing the young talents by having their top guys from a decade ago put them over huge here. Roman Reigns is the star of The Shield while Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have also been impressive. Batista is set to take some time off while Randy Orton should really be getting a rematch for his title and Triple H doesn't need a win since he runs the company.
I expect The Shield to look great in this match and come out strong, especially Reigns, who will likely have a conflict with Triple H that will lead to a match at WWE SummerSlam on Aug. 17 down the line. The long-term impact a win here can have on The Shield can't be measured.
The same can be said for a loss as the trio's momentum could be hampered if they lose this match and look weak in the process, unless the WWE does something creative.
Since Evolution has always been a foursome and Ric Flair sided with The Shield on Monday, the WWE could pull a swerve and have one of The Shield members turn on his partners and join the new Evolution.
While that may not happen, it would provide the other two members something to distract them until Reigns eventually faces Triple H down the line and it would fill the void in Evolution when Batista takes his expected couple of months off following Sunday's show. Since the WWE is high on pushing Reigns as a top babyface, it would have to be Rollins or Ambrose turning.
Flair is rumored to appear at the show so it will be interesting to see how he factors into the plans.
While that likely isn't going to happen, it would make for an interesting scenario. Overall, this match will end up being chaotic with The Shield ending up as the winners with Reigns getting a pin on Batista and sparking his eventual match with Triple H, while Orton will set his sights on Bryan following the event.
The Pick: The Shield
The Shield had a big night at last year's Extreme Rules with Dean Ambrose winning the United States Championship and Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns capturing the Tag Team Championships:
The WWE has a chance to make their up-and-coming guys shine at the expense of veterans with Daniel Bryan taking on Kane, The Shield battling Evolution and Bray Wyatt taking on John Cena, but it remains to be seen if they'll pull the trigger on putting these guys over on Sunday in New Jersey at Extreme Rules.
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