Extreme Rules 2014 Preview and Predictions

No relation to Extreme Rising. R.I.P.

Giving their thoughts and predictions on what to expect from the PPV are members of the site @JoeySplashwater, @TimWelcomed and @TomBlackett.

El Torito vs. Hornswoggle in a WeeLC Pre-Show match

Joey:

I’m kind of interested in this. Is that bad? El Torito is a better performer than a lot of the wrestlers on the main card. The shenanigans and TLC parody of it should provide fun.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: El Torito wins.

Tim:

I’m a huge supporter of El Torito. Him in a TLC match should be pretty awesome. I am ridiculously intrigued about whether they’ll have mini-weapons or not. I’m probably more excited for this than most of the actual PPV card.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: El Torito wins

Tom:

FUCK YES. I’m thrilled by the prospect of this. TLC and ladder matches are ripe for a little parody (no pun intended) and El Torito’s tremendous.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: El Torito wins.

Big E. Langston vs. Bad News Barrett for the IC Championship

Joey:

If I were these wrestlers, I would hope to lose this match if I wanted to ever be higher on the card. These mid-card titles just destroy any momentum you have these days, which is going to be bad news for Bad News Barrett fans once again.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Bad News Barrett wins.

Tim:

Every time someone I like wins the Intercontinental Championship I think “Oh, maybe they are going to try and make the belt worth something” and a few weeks after that I think “Man, whatever happened to _________? I really liked him.” Big E. Langston is one of those people.

I’m ready for Big E to move on and now is as good a time as any to go ahead and let Barrett’s push slowly fade away in mid-card championship oblivion… Oh, maybe with Barrett’s push they are going to try and make the belt worth something again!

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: Barrett Wins.

Tom:

I’m somewhat interested in Barrett push #217, but the problem is he still has something of the Smackdown Stink on him (i.e. it feels like I’ve seen him wrestle every single guy on the roster at least five times on shows I don’t care about and it’s become very difficult to look forward to any of his matches as a result).

NOW, hopefully he’ll put on a good performance and it’ll be fun, but I wish they’d done a little more to build this up from Big E’s end – so far, he’s just been shown awkwardly watching the monitors in the back, and I could do with him being a little more involved and invested in all of it.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Bad News Barrett wins.

Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam

Joey:

Hopefully this one delivers as triple threats are typically fun and these guys all have talent. Cesaro has to win this one, no? Can’t imagine Swagger getting another opportunity and RVD is likely in another short Jericho-esqe stint where he’ll put guys over for a few months. Swing ’em all, big man.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Cesaro wins.

Tim:

This will be a Cesaro Showcase and I’m 100 different kinds of olay with that. A triple threat match is ideal when dealing with RVD so he can rest a lot and Swagger can do whatever it is that he does. I can get behind this one.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Cesaro wins.

Tom:

TONI’S GOT THIS. I’m looking forward to this! I like any match with the potential to be a little chaotic and messy and all of these guys should deliver on that front. RVD’s a little too thick and old to be the guy that the others toss around but I’m sure we’ll still see some fun feats of strength, not to mention MANAGER WARZ between Heyman and Zeb.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Cesaro Wins

Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth and Xavier Woods

Joey:

Observations:

• Does he really have a first name or did a prankster prince edit the name Alexander on the Extreme Rules Wikipedia page?

• Are WWE teaming R-Truth and Xavier Woods together because of their past history or just because they are both black? Rhetoric as we all know the answer to that one.

Interest Level: 1/10
Prediction: Rusev wins.

Tim:

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Rusev wins,

Tom:

His first name’s Alexander? I thought it was Aleksander! No real difference but it seems much more menacing when it’s spelled all Russian-y.

Anyway, impossible to care much about this one but, for all you genetic scientists out there, here’s the formula for creating your very own Rusev:

Interest Level: 2/10
Prediction: Rusev wins

Paige vs. Tamina Snuka for the Divas Championship

Joey:

Paige is good. Tamina is fine. Should be solid. People will probably give it the NXT rub in their asterisk rating reviews.

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: Paige wins.

Tim:

I would give this one the NXT rub in my out-of-ten rating preview but Tamina is involved. Paige is pretty damn good. On the Diva’s roster I don’t think she has much to work with outside of Emma. Tamina is very unreliable when it comes to how she is going to perform. I’m hoping for the best but that’s not enough to get me too excited for this one.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Paige wins.

Tom:

Isn’t this a gimmick match of some kind? I Quit, maybe? Does it matter? I liked Tamina as the Diesel to AJ’s HBK though I don’t care too much for her as a wrestler. Paige is good, though she’s had a very strange introduction to the roster so far. Hopefully they’ll give her a little more character – for example, they could really play up the fact that she’s from Norwich, home of The Mustard Shop. That’s enough, right?

Interest Level: 3/10
Prediction: Paige wins.

John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a Steel Cage match

Joey:

This feud has had its ups and downs and it’s probably the second most important spot on the show with a chance to be the best match on the show. Personally, I do not enjoy the steel cage match that much these days so the stipulation will probably be a hindrance to me.

My expectations for the result is that Bray Wyatt wins with the help of The Wyatt Family. Yes, in the cage. Something weird will distract Cena that leads to Bray winning and tying their series of matches. Expect a blow off match at the next PPV Payback before WWE resets a lot of feuds at Money In The Bank.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

Tim:

Steel Cage matches are so out of style. Raven had his Clockwork Orange match. Undertaker had the Hell In A Cell. Khali had the Punjabi Prison. Where’s Bray’s Bayou Bistro match? Fill the ring up with lobster and crocodiles. Maybe bags full of seasoning and spices as well. First to lose eats fried skunk or something. I don’t know. These are just ideas.

The build up to this has been weird. Bray’s side has been good but Cena has been very wishy-washy on if he’s threatened or scared of these guys. I can’t relate to Cena at all. AS A NORMAL PERSON I JUST WANT TO RELATE TO CHARACTERS OR UNDERSTAND THEM. That said, this should be pretty good if they express emotion and act on par with how they did during their Wrestlemania match. Bray HAS to win here,

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

Tom:

UM. I mean. First of all, the build to this has really kind of been all over the place. Second of all, fuck cage matches. Third of all… I dunno, we’ll see. I like both guys and I enjoyed their ‘Mania match but we’re still firmly stuck in the second act of this feud. Hopefully the ending to this one amps things up and the build to the next one’s a little more consistent.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane in an Extreme Rules match for the WWE Championship

Joey:

Daniel Bryan needs to get away from this program as fast as possible but I doubt it happens. As horrible television as Monday was, the match should be very good. It’s Daniel Bryan, folks.

What I expect as the finish is a Bryan roll up or small package followed by Kane beating him down and prolonging the feud another month as we all sigh. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Inferno Match down the road.

Interest Level: 7/10 (+10 for Daniel Bryan)
Prediction: Daniel Bryan wins.

Tim:

Could this be Kane’s best match ever? I hate this is where Daniel Bryan is at after his big Wrestlemania moment but I know he’ll make the best of it and hopefully be back in the main event spot next month… RIGHT? Anyway, I had hoped they would play up the Team Hell No stuff a bit but the build-up has been small probably because of Bryan’s crazy rollercoaster month.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Daniel Bryan wins.

Tom:

Oh Kane, why you always gotta feature in post-Wrestlemania title matches?! Hopefully this is the only PPV he’s featured on and Bryan moves onto better things (though I really have no idea what those better things might be – there are a few guys bubbling in the mid-card, but no-one who really jumps out as an immediate title contender).

Anyway, this match. Kendo sticks will happen and it’ll be about as fun as a Kane match in 2014 can be.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Bryan wins.

The Shield vs. Evolution

Joey:

Not sure how I feel about this one. I’m excited to see babyface Seth Rollins at least one more time and Roman Reigns fuck people up. I don’t think the heel turn will happen on the PPV but rather on the RAW after or the next PPV.

My prediction is that we end up eventuall getting a new Evolution with HHH in the Flair role, Orton in the HHH role and Dean Ambrose/potentially Seth Rollins in the Orton/Batista roles. Maybe Sheamus as well. But yeah, the match should be interesting. Very much looking forward to seeing what happens.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Evolution wins.

Tim:

I wasn’t as into an Evolution reunion as I thought I would be. Come to find out, the guys of Evolution have pretty much evolved into people I don’t care to watch over the years. I think The Shield can bring the best out of them though.

I’m hoping Evolution takes a younger guy into their ranks by the end of this match. Be it Ambrose or Reigns who then eventually gets kicked out only to beat them all and prove himself as a face later down the line. I’m not all that invested in this match. The Shield is always good and hopefully Evolution can keep up. I think Evolution comes out on top here though.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Evolution wins.

Tom:

Another match where the build’s been pretty weird! I think it’ll be solid, though that’s probably dependent on how much The Shield are allowed to keep things fast and peppy – Big Dave, I’m looking at you here. It might be too early, but I’m assuming we’ll see one Shield member turn on the others – maybe Ambrose? None of them are really a natural fit for Evolution but those three old guys need some FRESH, RAW TALENT to keep them lively.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Evolution wins.