5 Stipulations to make WWE Extreme Rules 2018 even better

The card for the 2018 WWE Extreme Rules event is shaping up surprisingly well so far – and it could get even better over the next few weeks when stipulations are inevitably added to the matches.

So far, five matches have been officially announced by WWE for the show, including AJ Styles vs. Rusev (WWE Championship) and The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Daniel Bryan & Kane (SmackDown Tag Team Championships).

Both women’s divisions will also be represented in Pittsburgh, with Alexa Bliss facing Nia Jax (Raw Women’s Championship) and Carmella going one-on-one with Asuka (SmackDown Women’s Championship).

Follow Sportskeeda for the latest WWE news, rumors and all other wrestling news.

Elsewhere on the card, it has been confirmed that The B-Team will finally get their opportunity against The Deleters of Worlds (Raw Tag Team Championships), while Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley are expected to be added to the show.

Traditionally, 4-5 matches at an Extreme Rules pay-per-view have ‘extreme’ stipulations added to them, so let’s take a look at five possible match types that we could see at this year’s event.

---

#5 Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax (tables match)

This PPV rivalry began at WrestleMania 34

Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax have already battled it out in three PPV singles matches over the last three months, with Nia emerging with the victory on two occasions (WrestleMania 34 and Backlash) and Alexa winning an impromptu match at Money In The Bank to regain the Raw Women’s Championship.

If WWE decides to up the stakes for their next encounter at Extreme Rules, the only obvious stipulation would be A tables match – something we haven’t seen in either women’s division since Alexa defeated Becky Lynch to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship at TLC 2016.

“Little Miss Bliss” was slammed through a table by Ronda Rousey on Raw last week, so it would make sense from a storyline perspective to have her face long-term rival Nia in that match type in what is likely to be their last one-on-one meeting before Ronda returns and re-enters the title picture.

#4 AJ Styles vs. Rusev (No Holds Barred)

AJ Styles has been WWE champion since November 2017

WWE history dictates that one-on-one matches usually only have special stipulations added to them when a rivalry has become so intense that the two competitors can no longer be contained in an ordinary singles match (e.g. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura culminated in a Last Man Standing match).

So, in the case of Styles vs. Rusev, it would probably make more sense for the first WWE Championship meeting between the two men to take place in a regular one-on-one match, allowing the rivalry to build before possibly adding a stipulation in a rematch further down the line.

That being said, this match is currently the main attraction of the Extreme Rules PPV, which means it’s likely to go on last, and it’d be a major surprise if the main event of an ‘extreme’ event didn’t have a suitably ‘extreme’ stipulation – even one as vague as No Holds Barred, which is just a glorified name for a No Disqualification match.

#3 Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas (Ultimate Deletion)

Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt have formed an unlikely alliance

Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt in an Ultimate Deletion match in March 2018, bringing an end to their four-month rivalry and kick-starting their WONDERFUL alliance as The Deleters of Worlds.

The unique match was viewed as a success by the majority of fans, so it’s only natural that WWE would look to send some more poor souls to the Hardy Compound to take part in a match over the next few months.

There have been suggestions that the current Raw Tag Team Championship storyline between Matt & Bray and The B-Team could lead to an Ultimate Deletion battle, so what better event than Extreme Rules to showcase the match one more time?

#2 Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens (steel cage)

Braun Strowman won the men's 2018 Money In The Bank ladder match

The storyline between Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens stepped up a gear this week on Raw when Owens tried to escape from tag partner Strowman by leaving the arena early – only to find that “The Monster Among Men” had stolen his keys and flipped his vehicle over in the car park.

Ever since he was thrown off a ladder and through a table by the Money In The Bank winner in the eight-man MITB match, KO has been terrified of his much larger rival and has attempted to avoid and escape him at all costs.

If WWE adds a stipulation to this as-yet-unannounced match, they will surely put Owens in a steel cage with the former Wyatt Family member. After all, the rivalry is based on KO trying to run away from Strowman, so why not reward him with a victory if he successfully escapes "Mr Monster In The Bank"?

#1 Carmella vs. Asuka (James Ellsworth in a shark cage)

James Ellsworth impersonated Asuka at Money In The Bank

Since the return of the shark cage match at NXT TakeOver: Toronto in November 2016 (The Authors of Pain vs. TM61, with Paul Ellering in the cage), WWE has had two main-roster shark cage matches (Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns, with Chris Jericho in the cage; and Big Cass vs. Big Show, with Enzo Amore in the cage).

This might not be the most popular stipulation suggestion for Carmella vs. Asuka, but this is the first time since Enzo was hanging above the ring in a cage at SummerSlam 2017 that it has felt like the next natural progression in the storyline is to have a shark cage match.

James Ellsworth is certain to get involved in the SmackDown Women’s Championship match to help Carmella retain her title, so the best way to keep him away from ringside would be to stick him in a cage above the ring!