Ten Controversial Extreme Rules Rumors That WWE Fans Need To Know About

WWE, Extreme Rules,
What does WWE have planned for The Extreme Rules pay per view?

The Extreme rules pay per view is approaching fast and while fans are legitimately bummed that WWE has called off the multi man match to determine a new number one contender for The Universal title, there is still a lot of things going on at the pay per view that fans need to be aware of.

With that being said, and The Extreme Rules pay per view finally starting to take shape, here are ten rules that The WWE Universe needs to be aware of when it comes to the upcoming pay per view. Some will focus on title matches, others will focus on where individual superstars storylines are going, but hopefully there's a little something for everyone.


#10 Chances of Rusev winning The WWE Title

WWE, Rusev,
Rusev versus AJ Styles. Who wins?

Rusev shocked The WWE Universe when he survived a gauntlet match to become the new number one contender for AJ Styles's WWE Championship and now fans are hopeful that The Bulgarian Brute will walk out of Extreme Rules with the title. Unfortunately for fans, it doesn't seem like that is going to happen.

"There’s a logical reason for Rusev’s title shot at Extreme Rules. Before Rusev became the No. 1 Contender, there was a rumor that AJ Styles would start a feud with Samoa Joe. However, it seems WWE officials are holding off on their feud for Summerslam. On paper, it seems very unlikely that Rusev will win," stated Ringside News.

In the end, this is probably isn't what The WWE Universe wanted to hear, especially with how over Rusev day is right now with fans, but its at least nice that WWE is finally giving Rusev his moment in the sun. Maybe Rusev will be able to parlay it into future success or maybe it will be a complete bust, but at least they are trying something new here!

#9 Why the multi-man match was canceled

Kurt Angle, WWE,
Why did Kurt Angle miss The Number One Contenders match at Extreme Rules?

WWE dropped a bombshell when they announced that the multi-man match to determine the new number one contender for The Universal Title was canceled and fans were not happy about the change. Of course, the reason given for the change was that WWE hit a snag with Brock Lesnar's contract, but it appears that's not really the case.

In the June 28th edition of Cagesideseats.com's WWE Rumor Roundup, Bryan Alvarez said, "The apparent cancellation of the multi-man #1 contenders match at Extreme Rules was simply a case of Vince McMahon changing his mind."

With that being said, it seems like Vince McMahon might be changing up his plans a bit and the cancellation of the match could be a huge indication of that. Whether that is due to Roman Reigns continuing to fail as a babyface or not remains to be seen, but its very weird that WWE would choose to cancel a match as hyped up as the multi-man match was.

#8 Bruan Strowman's opponent for Extreme Rules

Bruan Strowman, Kevin Owens,
Bruan Strowman versus Kevin Owens in a steel cage match should be fun to watch!

The Monster among men already won The Money in the Bank briefcase just last month, but with Brock Lesnar not returning to television anytime soon, Strowman needs something to do in the meantime. Fortunately, for The WWE Universe, it seems like WWE has a big match planned for Strowman at Extreme Rules and it includes a match with Kevin Owens.

According to wrestlingnews.co and Cageside Seats, Braun Strowman's opponent will be his partner from this week on RAW- Kevin Owens as they battle inside the Steel Cage. While the steel cage match hasn't been announced at the time of this writing, some expect WWE to announce the stipulation within the next couple of weeks.

In the end, this is a great stop gap for Strowman until WWE can get Lesnar back on television and will be an interesting match to watch considering the kind of crazy stunts that Strowman has pulled of in cage matches in the past. In fact, it could be one of the best matches of the entire pay per view if the right story is told.

#7 Intergender handicap match.

Asuka, WWE,
Why would WWE do this to Asuka?

WWE has done some pretty bizarre things over the course of their existence, but none of them seem as ridiculous as the current storyline they are doing with Asuka, Carmella and James Ellsworth. In fact, it seems beneath all three superstars to be doing and a huge black mark on the Women's revolution itself.

All that aside, Bryan Alvarez is speculating that the confrontations between James Ellsworth and Asuka is going to lead to a inter-gender handicap match at Extreme Rules. Alvarez mentioned that this match would be problematic due to the fact that guys aren't really allowed to fight back against women in WWE, but it seems they are going to try to work around that.

“It’s not official yet but that’s certainly the rumor […] We’ve seen mixed tags, we had one at WrestleMania. We just can’t have the men beat up the women. The women can beat up the men. So basically you have to do a match where Asuka beats up James Ellsworth but he doesn’t lay a hand on her and Asuka and Carmella beat each other up and then somehow you do a finish,” said Alvarez.

In the end, it seems pretty bizarre that WWE would even pull something like this in the age of The Women's revolution and is even more bizarre when you consider the fact that WWE seems to be turning Asuka into a complete laughing stock in the process. If nothing else, this has to be one of the worst storylines of the year and not worth fans time at all!

#6 Shinsuke Nakamura's status for Extreme Rules

Shinsuke Nakamura,
Looks like Shinsuke Nakamura will be returning soon!

Shinsuke Nakamura has been on a bit of downward spiral after winning The 2018 Royal Rumble in January and that trend only continued in June when he was bitten by a police dog during a security check in Bakersfield, California. The incident forced WWE to pull Nakamura from Smackdown Live that week and he was later seen at a house show on crutches.

With that being said, it is being reported by Cagesideseats.com that Nakamura will not be wrestling for the next two weeks, which means he should be back for Extreme Rules. Unfortunately for Nakamura and WWE, the company has little time to build up any kind of feud for him in that amount of time, but maybe WWE can somehow fix that.

It is worth noting that Nakamura was attacked by Samoa Joe after a short promo during a house show in Tokyo, which could be an indication that Joe will be going up against Nakamura at Extreme Rules. Either that or maybe WWE will have Nakamura sit out the pay per view to make sure that he is fully healed for future events.

#5 Jeff Hardy losing The United States title at Extreme Rules

Jeff Hardy,
Will Jeff Hardy drop The United States title due to injury?

While there have been no official rumors about Jeff Hardy dropping The United States title at Extreme Rules later this month, a new rumor from The Wrestling Observer notes that he is apparently dealing with a pinched nerve and an arm injury. With that being said, it makes sense that WWE would take the title off of him relatively soon to give him a chance to rest.

Whether that actually happens at Extreme Rules or not remains to be seen and will probably be dependent on just how severe Hardy's are, but it really doesn't make sense for WWE to keep a championship on an injured superstar for long. In fact, his match against Eric Young of Sanity seems to point to the former NXT standout taking the title at Extreme Rules.

Again, that part is just speculation at this time, but it seems like a great way for WWE to help establish a new star while simultaneously giving Hardy a little time to rest up. It could also be the start of a huge push for The Sanity stable, which would be a great way to rebound after being defeated in a six-man match on Smackdown Live.

#4 Possible stipulation for Roman Reigns versus Bobby Lashley

Roman Reigns, Bobby Lashley,
Could this become a Number one Contenders match for The Universal Title?

Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns have been butting heads on Monday Night Raw lately and fans are starting to wonder where it's all going to lead to. While the original plan was apparently a six-pack challenge match to determine the new number one contender for The Universal Title, but WWE seems to have a new plan in place.

It is being rumored that Lashley and Reigns will face off at Extreme Rules, which hasn't been officially announced yet and Wrestlingnews.com is also speculating that WWE could make it a number one contenders match as well. Why WWE would do that after canceling the first match is a little confusing, but it looks like the company still wants to focus on Reigns.

In fact, according to Cagidesideseats.com's Rumor Roundup, "Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal title is still the plan, and Vince McMahon is sticking with the original story idea from WrestleMania. That’s the point behind all the Lesnar stuff, to get fans hating him and babyface Reigns for his title win."

How this ultimately all plays out remains to be seen and will be highly dependent on if WWE still has faith in Reigns as a top star. With that being said, however, it still seems pointless to cancel an exciting multi-person number one contenders match in favor of just having Lashley and Reigns fight for the chance to face Lesnar.

#3 Original plans for Finn Balor

WWE, Finn Balor,
What did WWE originally have planned for Finn Balor at Extreme Rules?

Its no secret that Finn Balor has been on a mission to win back the title he never lost two years ago at Summerslam, but WWE seems more interested in sending him on detour after detour along the way. In fact, now with the multi-man number one contender's match at Extreme Rule officially canceled, it looks like Balor will be taking yet another detour.

Interestingly enough, Wrestlingnews.com, speculates that the original plan for Balor was for him to be involved in the multi-man match, which could have been a great way to catapult him into a new storyline. It also could have finally been WWE's chance to put him back in The Universal Title picture, but once again, WWE seems to have no interest in doing so.

With that being said and Balor's current back and forth with Constable, Baron Corbin, it looks like WWE plans to have some kind of match between the two at Extreme Rules. While it's not the situation that The Balor Club was hoping for, especially since it means that Balor is no longer in the title hunt, it could be a great thing for Balor in the long run.

Not only does Corbin versus Balor mean that WWE is building up Balor as an anti-Authority figure on Raw, it could also give him a huge win and allow him to finally enter the title picture again in The Fall. In the end, this might be the best case scenario for Balor and might even lead to the championship moment that fans have been waiting for.

#2 WWE's plan for Seth Rollins at Summerslam

Seth Rollins, WWE,
Looks like WWE is planning another rematch between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins!

Seth Rollins won The Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 34, but his reign finally came to an end in June when he lost to Dolph Ziggler on an episode of Monday Night Raw. Of course, Drew McIntyre getting on the ring apron and distracting Rollins played a huge role in the loss, but it was still shocking to see WWE's most popular superstar take a loss like that.

What was even more shocking however was that Seth Rollins lost his rematch against Ziggler for the title when McIntyre attacked Rollins to end the blockbuster title bout prematurely. With that being said and Rollins still not having a dancing partner for Extreme Rules, it looks like he might get one more shot at The IC title.

According to WWE Rumor Roundup," It is expected that Seth Rollins will get another shot at Dolph Ziggler and the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules, and it will have a stipulation." What that stipulation will be remains to be seen, but it will definitely be interesting to see what WWE does with Ziggler and Rollins third encounter over the title.

#1 Ronda Rousey interfering in The Raw Women's title match

Ronda Rousey,
Does Ronda Rousey have revenge on her mind at Extreme Rules?

It's probably the worst kept secret in WWE right now, but it's becoming very apparent that Ronda Rousey will be interfering with The Raw Women's title match in some way shape or form. Of course, it's not known how exactly it will happen or what it will mean for The Women's title picture heading into Summerslam, but it does introduce a lot of interesting possibilities.

According to Cagesideseats.com's WWE Rumor Roundup,"Ronda Rousey is expected to get involved in the Raw Women’s title match at Extreme Rules." It is also being reported by Cagesideseats.com that Rousey will then return from her suspension the next night on Raw, which will supposedly set up some kind of match at Summerslam.

One possibility is for Triple threat match between Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, and Ronda Rousey, but one has to wonder why WWE would go with that option when Rousey versus Stephanie McMahon sounds like a much better idea. Not only that, it also serves as a continuation of their match at WrestleMania 34.

In the end, maybe WWE thinks a Triple Threat match will be a better idea, especially since it allows Rousey to finally win the title at Summerslam without having to pin Bliss to do it, but it still pails in comparison to the other options WWE has. As for the rumored interference at Extreme Rules, it could be a really cool ruthless aggression era style moment if done right.

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