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Ten matches are scheduled to take place at WWE Extreme Rules 2019 on Sunday, July 14, with Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans (Universal Championship and Raw Women’s Championship) expected to be the main event.
The Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre (No Holds Barred) is also among the featured matches, while Kofi Kingston will defend his WWE Championship against Samoa Joe.
The rest of the matches are as follows: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (SmackDown Women’s Championship), Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese (Cruiserweight Championship), Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. The New Day vs. Heavy Machinery (SmackDown Tag Team titles), The Revival vs. The Usos (Raw Tag Team titles), Ricochet vs. AJ Styles (United States Championship), Aleister Black vs. Cesaro, Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman (Last Man Standing).
While a total of 31 Superstars prepare to compete at the PPV, there are plenty of other established names who look set to miss out on the event entirely.
In this article, let’s take a look at the reasons why five high-profile Superstars will not be in action at Extreme Rules.
#5 The Miz
Reason for Extreme Rules absence: The Miz has been involved in a storyline with Elias on Raw and SmackDown Live in recent weeks, but their rivalry is less about them and more about the man who Elias associates himself with, Miz’s long-term rival Shane McMahon.
Chances of appearing on the show: Elias tweeted this week that he has the “perfect funeral song” for The Undertaker, which seemed to be a hint that he could sing a song for “The Deadman” before Sunday’s tag match. If WWE’s resident guitarist does get involved in some capacity, then we can also expect Miz to appear.
Possible future storyline: The Elias vs. Miz feud is simply an extension to the Shane vs. Miz story, which began eight months ago, so it is safe to assume that “The A-Lister” will find himself a new rival heading into SummerSlam. Baron Corbin, perhaps?
#4 Kevin Owens
Reason for Extreme Rules absence: Kevin Owens had a drastic change of attitude on last week’s SmackDown Live when he hit Dolph Ziggler with a Stunner and seemingly became a babyface. This week, he cemented his good-guy status by essentially delivering a ‘pipebomb’ promo about Shane McMahon. Despite his new-found popularity, there has not been enough time to set up a match for KO at Extreme Rules.
Chances of appearing on the show: Owens is highly likely to appear at Extreme Rules, either in a backstage promo segment or during the match between The Undertaker & Roman Reigns and Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre.
Possible future storyline: If the most recent episode of SmackDown Live is anything to go by, Owens is on a mission to end Shane O’Mac’s reign of terror on Tuesday nights. Expect him to feud with McMahon, McIntyre and Elias in the coming weeks.
#3 Finn Balor
Reason for Extreme Rules absence: Simply put, the Intercontinental Championship has been one of the least relevant titles on WWE programming since Finn Balor won it from Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 35. As a result, it has hardly featured at PPVs in recent months, and Extreme Rules is no different.
Chances of appearing on the show: Unlikely. Balor is involved in a storyline with Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown Live but their rivalry was not deemed worthy of making it onto the PPV. Unless WWE plans to tease a reunion with AJ Styles and The Club, a short interview is the best that Balor fans can hope for.
Possible future storyline: As we saw this week on SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated Balor in a non-title match to cement his status as the #1 contender for the Irishman’s Intercontinental Championship. Expect to see the former NJPW stars continue to feud over the title heading into SummerSlam.
#2 Randy Orton
Reason for Extreme Rules absence: It was initially thought that Randy Orton has been unable to compete due to a neck injury, but Fightful reported this week that his absence is simply down to him taking some time off, which he is allowed to do as part of his WWE contract.
Chances of appearing on the show: Orton returned to in-ring action at a recent live event against Aleister Black, who will face Cesaro at Extreme Rules. Unless he interferes in that match, it looks as though fans will have to wait until next week for “The Viper” to appear on television again.
Possible future storyline: WWE often tests out potential on-screen rivalries at live events, which is why it came as a surprise to see Cesaro revealed as Black’s Extreme Rules opponent instead of Orton. Perhaps the 13-time world champion will be inserted into the Black vs. Cesaro storyline in time for SummerSlam.
#1 Charlotte Flair
Reason for Extreme Rules absence: Charlotte Flair received a lot of television time in the second half of 2018 and the first half of 2019, during which time she main-evented WrestleMania 35, so WWE appears to have taken her out of the spotlight for a short time in order to focus on other female Superstars instead of “The Queen”.
Chances of appearing on the show: The Universal and Raw Women’s Championship match at Extreme Rules has enough subplots without an appearance from Flair, while the SmackDown Women’s Championship storyline seems to be setting up the return of Sasha Banks. As ever, you just never know with WWE, but Flair appearing on Sunday would be somewhat surprising.
Possible future storyline: After spending most of the last two years in the SmackDown Women’s Championship picture, perhaps we could see Flair move away from the title scene by finding a tag partner to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team titles?
