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We are less than 48 hours away from the 2019 Extreme Rules PPV, which will come live to us from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As many as 10 matches have been scheduled for the show so far, and most of them look promising.
The WWE creative currently would be finalizing the match outcomes and certain final calls, and they should be careful not to take any unpopular decision that might turn the fans against them. Hopefully, Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff will have a say in the outcomes and segments on the show.
In this article, let's take a look at the five decisions at Extreme Rules that could cause a massive backlash among fans.
#5 Bray Wyatt not returning
The Firefly Funhouse segments were so amazing that many fans were almost addicted to it. With them having seemingly ended a few weeks ago, the WWE Universe has been waiting for the new Bray Wyatt or his demonic avatar The Fiend to show up on TV.
From the last three weeks, Bray's puppets have been showing up in backstage segments on both RAW and SmackDown, spying on multiple wrestlers. This surely indicates that The Fiend is nearby as well, but when will he make his return? That is a question that many are asking.
While suspense is good, there has to be a point after which fans start losing their interest, and WWE should make sure that this does not happen in this case. Extreme Rules is the perfect platform for Bray to return and reveal his first victim, building towards a solid feud at SummerSlam.
Another absence from the Firefly Funhouse leader might upset his fans.
#4 Drew McIntyre taking the pin
The weird pairing of Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon has done more bad to the Scottish Psychopath than good. The way he has been playing the role of Shane's sidekick has hurt the 'monster heel' nature of his character.
At Extreme Rules, the duo is set to face the team of The Undertaker and Roman Reigns (The GraveYard Dogs, as per the new WWE t-shirt design). It's not hard to guess that the chances of Drew and Shane winning are very less. But even if they lose, it should be Shane who takes the pin instead of Drew. I don't see the point of protecting Shane over McIntyre, whom many consider being the next big thing in WWE.
There should come a point when Drew realizes that Shane is of no use and just a liability, and destroys him.
#3 Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans winning the titles
It's not a good thing when fans are not interested in the story of the match that is supposed to be the main event of a PPV. Same is the case with the Winner Takes all match this Sunday for the Universal and RAW Women's Championship.
Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch are arguably the biggest babyfaces, even after the fans complaining about the cheesy way their relationship is portrayed on-screen. Corbin and Lacey, while being two really good heels, aren't yet ready to become champions, especially considering SummerSlam is just around the corner.
While the chances of this happening are low, WWE should avoid putting the titles on the two heels as it won't be a good long term decision.
#2 The Revival losing their titles again
RAW's Tag Team division hasn't been the top priority of the creatives, very clearly. The way the teams are booked doesn't go well with Tag Team wrestling fans like me. At Extreme Rules, The Revival is set to face The Usos in yet another match, this time defending their RAW Tag titles.
The Revival and The Usos have had a long history, and if you observe keenly, it has been The Usos who have had the upper hand in this rivalry. But it is high time now that the top guys actually get a big win under their belt, and that should be a clean victory over The Usos.
The two teams would surely have a classic tag team fight, but The Usos again coming out victorious and taking off the titles form The Revival would not be a good idea. The Revival should go into SummerSlam as the RAW Tag Team Champions.
#1 Brock Lesnar cashing in his MITB contract successfully
This past week on RAW, Paul Heyman announced that his client, The Beast in the Box, Brock Lesnar will cash-in his Money in the Bank contract this Sunday at Extreme Rules. In the typical Paul Heyman style of "this is not a prediction, but a spoiler", the advocate warned both the World Champions to watch out for The Beast.
Whether it will come true or not is something we'll find out only at the show, but I have done a small analysis on why Heyman announced Brock's cash-in at Extreme Rules. You can check it out here.
Now, the fact is that whenever Lesnar does indeed cash-in and become the champion, there will surely be a massive backlash. And same would happen if Heyman's spoiler turns out to be true. Lesnar was highly criticized for his 500+ days Universal title reign where he hardly showed up on RAW and PPVs to defend it. No one wants that again, seriously!
On one hand, you have Kofi Kingston, the WWE Champion, who is arguably having the best year of his career, and putting up great matches every time he steps inside the ring. And on the other hand, you have the Beast Slayer Seth Rollins, who proved to be the saviour for wrestling fans when he dethroned Lesnar at WrestleMania to become the Universal Champion. Both top fan favourites! It's going to be tough for WWE to book Lesnar's MITB run.
Who do you think would Brock cash-in on and why? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
