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Extreme Rules 2020 is only a handful of days away and it is starting to look like one of the better pay per views of the year. In fact, between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman's swamp match and a multitude of titles being on the line, this is a night that could shift the very landscape of WWE.
Beyond that, it could also be the end of someone's title reign if the company decides to go in a different direction. While Drew McIntyre versus Dolph Ziggler probably doesn't belong in that category, the teasing of a mystery stipulation leaves the outcome very much in doubt at Extreme Rules.
With that being said and Extreme Rules upon us, here are five reasons WWE isn't revealing the stipulation between Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre yet. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to tell us if you think Ziggler can come out of Extreme Rules as champion.
#5 Create uncertainty around the title picture
There are a lot of titles on the line at this year's edition of Extreme Rules, but how many of them will actually change hands? While it's impossible to know the answer to that question, especially with the full match card not official yet, adding a mystery stipulation leaves the outcome of the title match in serious doubt.
Now, that's not a shot at Drew McIntyre or anything he has accomplished over the last couple of months, it's just acknowledging the fact that he is walking into the unknown at Extreme Rules. However, this is a powerful tool that WWE is using to create reasonable doubt around McIntyre and make Extreme Rules more intriguing.
In the end, sometimes the simplest storylines end up working out the best. They make you care right from the beginning, dangle a carrot right in front of you and find a way to create doubt about who the winner is. That's what WWE has done here and it is leaving the title picture in doubt as a result.
#4 The payoff
Payoffs are the name of the game in WWE and while the some don't always measure up, the company seems to have something with this mystery stipulation at Extreme Rules. In fact, it's almost like they have fans on the edge of their seats in anticipation of what this big reveal is.
The ongoing WWE title feud between Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler is only being elevated by this mystery stipulation and it's getting pretty fun to watch. Furthermore, it's one of the biggest questions heading into Extreme Rules, which has fans anxious for some answers ahead of the PPV.
In the end, fans want to know what this big stipulation for Extreme Rules is and they are following WWE's every move to figure it out. That's the kind of commitment the company needs right now and hopefully the eventual payoff is worth the wait. Of course whether it is or not will be subjective, but WWE's got to have something big planned.
#3 Possibility of a cinematic match
What if WWE has another cinematic match planned for Extreme Rules?
Whiile nothing has been announced or even rumored for Drew McIntyre versus Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules, the company has pulled swerves like this before. In fact, between the double-header Money in the Bank ladder match and Edge versus Orton being a surprise cinematic match, it's obvious that WWE can do whatever they want.
Again, nothing has been rumored to point to such a stipulation, but one has wonder why all the secrecy around the stipulation? Sure, it's creating a lot of buzz and some doubts about McIntyre, but WWE has to have something big planned for Extreme Rules to justify this much wait.
In the end, WWE probably has something big planned for this match at Extreme Rules and just don't want to reveal it yet. Whether that turns out to be a cinematic match or some other kind of stipulation remains to be seen, but there has to be something going on to justify waiting this long.
#2 Portray Drew McIntyre as a fighting champion
WWE seems to have this reoccurring trope of Drew McIntyre being a fighting champion, which could be part of the reason for the mystery stipulation at Extreme Rules. In fact, with Dolph Ziggler bringing up McIntyre's past, it feels like WWE is playing a game of keeping them guessing.
Not only will this make McIntyre look even more of a dominant fighter when the mystery stipulation is revealed for Extreme Rules, but also show WWE fans just how much of a fighter the Scottish Psychopath is. Add in the fact that Ziggler is a measuring stick in WWE and you arguably have McIntyre's toughest test yet at Extreme Rules.
If nothing else, WWE keeping McIntyre as a fighting champion is very refreshing for Raw's title picture and the company has been putting him in some pretty interesting do-or-die situations. It is also a great way to create that "anything-can-happen' atmosphere, which WWE fans seem to love so much.
#1 Uses Dolph Ziggler's heel heat to get fans behind McIntyre
It's no secret that Drew McIntyre needs a top-notch heel to work off at Extreme Rules, which is probably why he was booked to wrestle his former friend. Not only is that evident by how Dolph Ziggler oozes vitriol on the microphone when he speaks, but also how his look reminds you of that bully jock in high school.
With that being said and Ziggler's heel gimmick becoming kind of one note over time, it's obvious that WWE needed to add a little something extra to this match at Extreme Rules. Interestingly enough, they have chosen to do so by teasing a mystery stipulation at the upcoming pay per view.
In the end, just listening to Ziggler hype fans up on this secret stipulation for Extreme Rules and then refuse to reveal it is nothing short of excellent heel work. He literally has the fans eating out of the palm of their hands and rallying behind McIntyre to defeat his former mentor.
