'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WWE Extreme Rules was another enjoyable pay-per-view brought to us by WWE in the comfort of our homes. With no real audience being present once again, except the WWE Performance Center recruits, the focus was on the in-ring action and the cinematic match that ended the show.
We saw a great match between Kevin Owens and Murphy on the pre-show that set the tone for the night, and the opening Tables match between The New Day and the team of Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura made things even more enjoyable.
Fans got to saw Seth Rollins pluck out Rey Mysterio’s eye, while Drew McIntyre managed to humiliate Dolph Ziggler by retaining his WWE Championship under unfavorable circumstances.
Bayley and Sasha Banks stole the night with their antics, but their current characters seem to be taking things a bit too far now.
By the end of it all, we were left with a few major questions that need to be addressed by WWE sooner than later.
In this article, we will look at the 5 biggest questions we have from this year’s WWE Extreme Rules.
#5 What’s next for Nikki Cross?
Nikki Cross got another big opportunity at WWE Extreme Rules as she looked to win her first individual title in WWE. She was up against WWE SmackDown’s biggest heel, Bayley in a battle for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Cross was aggressive and tried to gain control throughout the match, but her pure babyface character got the better of her as the heel took advantage of whatever opportunity she got.
However, with the help of Sasha Banks present at ringside, Bayley was able to put away her challenger using some illegal tactics. This marked the end of another Championship chase for Cross who was in a similar position after last year’s WWE Extreme Rules.
Nikki Cross lost a big opportunity at WWE Extreme Rules
With Alexa Bliss appearing as Sister Abigail during The Wyatt Swamp Fight between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman, one wonders what’s next for Cross?
She’s already enjoyed WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship reigns with Bliss, and now it seems like their partnership isn’t working too well together. She’s lost another opportunity to win the SmackDown Women’s Champion, and it will take some time for her to get such an opportunity once again.
Where will Cross head from here, and will we see a change of character from the former member of Sanity?
#4 What’s the deal with the WWE United States Champion?
A couple of weeks ago, MVP unveiled the new United States Championship belt on WWE RAW and claimed ownership of it, stating that he would fight United States Champion Apollo Crews at WWE Extreme Rules and win the title by defeating him.
This week, MVP came out wearing the new title belt, while Crews was nowhere to be seen with the old design of the Championship. Tom Phillips announced that Crews was unable to pass a pre-match physical and was not cleared to compete during the night and defend his title at WWE Extreme Rules.
MVP and Bobby Lashey were in the ring and MVP trash-talked as he declared himself the winner by forfeit and the new United States Champion.
What happened during the United States Championship match at WWE Extreme Rules?
This was a rather odd way to end things after a big title match had already been announced for the night. Fans want to know whether Crews is legitimately injured, which would explain his absence from WWE RAW for a few weeks.
Is MVP the new interim United States Champion until the younger WWE Superstar returns and fights MVP to crown the real Champion, or was that all it took for MVP to get ahead of several younger and more deserving Superstars to become the leader of the mid-card?
#3 Is Dominik ready to avenge Rey Mysterio’s eye?
Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio competed under one of the most bizarre stipulations we’ve ever heard of. After Rollins injured Mysterio’s eye several weeks ago, Mysterio picked the 'Eye for an Eye' stipulation for their match at WWE Extreme Rules.
The only way to win the match was to poke out their opponent’s eye, and that is exactly what both men looked to do throughout the match. While Mysterio was on top of the action for quite some time in the match, Rollins was able to get his face near the steel steps once again and used the corner to pick out the eye of his opponent to win the match.
This was an interesting decision as many fans were expecting Rollins to wear the eye-patch going forward. However, the result opens up a big question as Dominik Mysterio was not around throughout the match.
If you think this was the most bizarre stimulation match WWE has ever booked, check out the video below to be proven wrong.
Will the result at WWE Extreme Rules bring out Dominik to the ring?
Will his father’s loss result in Dominik finally making his result and going after The Messiah and his eye to avenge his father? It seems very likely, given the circumstances, but we’ve already gotten several start-stop storylines that could have already gotten Dominik going. Will this be the trigger point?
#2 Have we lost our WWE Universal Champion?
Bray Wyatt is very well-known for going over with his wrestling gimmicks and ideas and giving fans something to remember. While he has only competed in a handful of matches since turning into The Fiend character and bringing us the Firefly Fun House, he still ensures that each match leaves a mark the WWE Universe.
At WrestleMania, Wyatt gave us the Firefly Fun House match where he overcame John Cena after a bizarre cinematic experience.
At WWE Extreme Rules this year, he competed in The Wyatt Swamp Fight against the Universal Champion Braun Strowman in a non-title match. While Strowman tried to fight out during the match, Wyatt’s mind games got the better of him.
Did we lose our Universal Champion for some time at WWE Extreme Rules?
At the end of the match, Wyatt pulled him into the swamp and likely drowned him, after which The Fiend appeared from the swamp and the night ended with Wyatt’s evil laugh.
The biggest question we have from this segment is whether we’ve lost out Universal Champion for some time, or not. Will WWE play along and keep Strowman off television and social media for some time before Wyatt agrees to bring him back to compete against him at SummerSlam for the Universal Championship?
This would add a really good touch to their rivalry as the only way for The Monster Among Men to get out of Wyatt’s swamp could be to lose the title to him and join him in his quest for destruction.
#1 Can any Superstar wear the referee’s shirt and count the pin?
One of the most questionable ending to a match this year came at WWE Extreme Rules after Sasha Banks challenged Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship.
Both women put on a great match, and it seemed like Banks’ match against Io Shirai on NXT had gotten her prepared for what Asuka could throw at her. The two women traded the action and gave fans one of the best matches of the night, but the ending of the match threw the entire hard work out the window.
Bayley looked to repay Banks for helping her retain her WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship and attack Asuka at first. Afterward, when Asuka mistakenly sprayed the green mist into the face and eyes of the referee while targeting Banks, Bayley entered the ring and hit The Empress of Tomorrow with her title before taking the referee’s shirt and counting to three. This allowed Banks to become the new WWE RAW Women’s Champion.
The end to this match at WWE Extreme Rules confused a lot of people
This was a highly questionable booking decision as one wonders whether the Creative was desperate to make it seem like The Golden Role Models need to cheat for everything. The Boss deserved a cleaner victory, and we aren’t even sure if she is officially the new RAW Women’s Champion or not.
While we will likely get a rematch between the two women, they might not be able to top their performance from Sunday which was A-grade and deserved a much better ending.
