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WWE Extreme Rules is the first pay-per-view for the company since their very successful SummerSlam event. The Biggest Party Of The Summer was the highest grossing and most watched edition of the major show.
To follow up from the event, Extreme Rules has not felt quite as big as the last two pay-per-views for the promotion.
Despite expectations being low, WWE has put together a decent card for different matchups since the last event with Extreme Rules 2021. For the show under this moniker, there are many standard contests, but there will be plenty at stake with five titles on the line.
The headline bout will be under the Extreme Rules stipulation and see the return of a popular character iteration.
With the pay-per-view set to start, there have been varying levels of lead-up to all the encounters of the show. In this article, let's rank the buildups for every match on the WWE Extreme Rules 2021 card.
#6 Liv Morgan vs. Carmella - WWE Extreme Rules 2021
Heading into Extreme Rules 2021, WWE has put together a card that will include three women's matches. Liv Morgan has been trying to gain momentum since venturing on her own following the release of Ruby Riott, now known as Ruby Soho in AEW. Morgan picked up consecutive wins over Carmella and Zelina Vega ahead of her appearance at Money In The Bank 2021.
On the September 17th episode of SmackDown, Liv Morgan teamed up with Toni Storm to face Carmella and Zelina Vega. During this contest, Liv catapulted Carmella into the turnbuckle, which hurt her nose.
Carmella and Zelina were counted out, but Liv Morgan wanted a one-on-one matchup against the former Women's Champion at Extreme Rules 2021.
Liv was sick of hearing about Carmella claiming to be "The Most Beautiful Woman in the WWE" and wants to rearrange her face. Carmella helped Zelina Vega get her first win since returning to WWE over Liv Morgan on this past Friday's episode of SmackDown.
This gives Morgan a motive to try to get revenge at Extreme Rules, but the buildup has been too short to amount to much.
#5 Damian Priest vs. Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE United States Championship - WWE Extreme Rules 2021
WWE Extreme Rules 2021 will feature five titles on the line, with only one being a multi-man matchup. Damian Priest will defend his United States Championship against former champions Sheamus and Jeff Hardy. Priest has had a very good run since claiming his title on the main roster.
Damian Priest defeated Sheamus back at SummerSlam 2021 last month in a good contest. He followed that up with a strong triple threat victory over both the Celtic Warrior and Drew McIntyre, pinning the former WWE Champion in the process. Sheamus then beat McIntyre in a No.1 Contenders Match to earn his opportunity at Extreme Rules 2021.
Damian Priest started doing his own United States Championship open challenge, which Jeff Hardy accepted. Priest beat Hardy in another solid affair, but Sheamus got involved post-match, attacking both men.
This set up a special challenge match between the former WWE Champions on this past Monday's episode of RAW. Jeff got the victory to make the Extreme Rules bout a Triple Threat Match.
These three men will surely deliver a quality encounter that might very well be a potential showstealer at Extreme Rules 2021. Damian Priest has put together a successful reign already. However, there isn't much doubt that he is the most likely to win here, making the build not feel as fulfilling.
#4 The Usos vs. The Street Profits for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships - WWE Extreme Rules 2021
Jimmy and Jey Uso will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The Street Profits at Extreme Rules 2021. The four men have become very familiar with one another since The Usos reunited in May.
On the May 28th episode of SmackDown, they put on a great tag team clash which showed us that The Usos were primed and ready to get back in the tag team title scene.
The Usos defeated Rey and Dominik Mysterio to win the SmackDown Tag Team Titles back on the Money In The Bank 2021 Kickoff Show. Jimmy and Jey then successfully defended their gold against The Mysterios at SummerSlam 2021.
With the Mysterios in their rearview mirror, The Usos took to helping Roman Reigns in his battles against Finn Balor.
However, it was Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins who provided backup for Balor in his fight against The Bloodline. The Street Profits then won a Tag Team Championships Contenders Match against The Usos by disqualification to set up a title match.
On the September 10th episode of SmackDown from Madison Square Garden, they got their shot in the main event match.
Roman Reigns caused a disqualification to help The Usos retain their titles, which set up this Extreme Rules contest. The Street Profits held the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Championships for 312 consecutive days and will look to reclaim the titles here at Extreme Rules against their toughest test yet. The Usos will be in for quite a fight.
#3 Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship - WWE Extreme Rules 2021
In what may be the toughest matchup to predict at WWE Extreme Rules 2021, Charlotte Flair will defend the RAW Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss. The Queen defeated Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley in a Triple Threat Match at SummerSlam to claim her 12th title reign on the main roster, while Alexa Bliss beat Eva Marie at the same pay-per-view.
Bliss made her presence known to Charlotte Flair on the following night's episode of RAW. Since then, Bliss has been trying to play mind games with the Women's Champion heading into Extreme Rules, most notably gifting her a special doll named Charly akin to her Lilly doll.
The two women have traded barbs back and forth, which led to a final confrontation on this past Monday's episode of RAW on Alexa's Playground. Alexa and Charlotte talked trash to one another and brought a significant amount of heat to their Extreme Rules 2021 showdown with Bliss standing tall at the end.
These two have faced each other only once before on pay-per-view back at Survivor Series 2017. Charlotte got the victory there when the two ladies were both champions.
This is a completely different Alexa Bliss now though. She has embraced a darker side of her personality and has been a force to be reckoned with. Bliss may be one of the most difficult challenges of her career.
#2 Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship - WWE Extreme Rules 2021
Becky Lynch will defend the SmackDown Women's Championship against Bianca Belair at Extreme Rules 2021. The Man returned to WWE back at SummerSlam 2021 in a major surprise on the show.
She injected herself into the SmackDown Women's Championship Match that evening and proceeded to defeat then-champion Belair in 26 seconds.
The result was met with a lot of fan apathy on social media following the event. Bianca Belair has spent the better half of the past year being a top star for the promotion. The EST Of WWE won the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble Match and defeated Sasha Banks in the main event of WrestleMania 37.
Belair was a mainstay on SmackDown in a good feud against Bayley before the latter's injury.
Belair was supposed to face Sasha Banks at SummerSlam 2021 before The Boss was medically unable to appear, which left the door open for Becky Lynch to come in and win the gold.
Since SummerSlam, Becky has been undergoing a character change heading into Extreme Rules. Her confident persona has gotten more cocky and displeased with the fans' reception to her much maligned win.
Bianca Belair has stayed confident in her ability and won a Fatal Four Way to earn her a rematch at the SmackDown Women's Championship. This will surely be a very good encounter that will highlight two of the top faces of the WWE women's division.
This has all the makings to be the best match of the night at Extreme Rules 2021.
#1 Roman Reigns vs. 'The Demon' Finn Balor in an Extreme Rules Match for the WWE Universal Championship - WWE Extreme Rules 2021
The main event of Extreme Rules 2021 will see Roman Reigns defending the WWE Universal Championship against the Demon Finn Balor.
This will mark the third time that Reigns has main evented the Extreme Rules pay-per-view and the return of The Demon for the first time since Finn's return to the main roster following his second stint in NXT.
Ahead of Extreme Rules, Finn Balor has made it clear that he has returned to regain the Universal Championship that he never lost. Balor looked like he would get his shot at SummerSlam 2021, but Baron Corbin and John Cena put a stop to that.
Roman Reigns defeated John Cena to retain the Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2021. Brock Lesnar made his return immediately following the victory to confront Reigns. Despite Paul Heyman claiming that he didn't know Lesnar would show up, Brock has added to the speculation about where Heyman's allegiance lies.
Just when Lesnar looked like he would be Roman's next hurdle, Finn Balor stepped up and challenged the Universal Championship. The two men faced on the September 3rd episode of SmackDown with the title on the line, with Reigns winning thanks to help from The Usos. However, the Demon was teased following this loss.
The following week's SmackDown from MSG saw Roman Reigns make it clear that Brock Lesnar could step up if he wanted a shot at the Universal Championship, but The Demon Finn Balor made his return to set up the Extreme Rules main event.
The contest was made an Extreme Rules Match for the gold and provides quite the challenge for the Tribal Chief.
If Roman Reigns defeats The Demon Finn Balor at Extreme Rules, he will defend the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel next month. However, the Demon persona is undefeated on the main roster. This is a case of two unstoppable forces going against one another because Roman has been undefeated since his return back at SummerSlam 2020.
The Extreme Rules stipulation will allow both men to do whatever it takes to win the title and use anything to make this an entertaining capper for the event. For many fans, the Demon Finn Balor may be the first superstar to hold the potential to beat the Head of the Table for his Universal Championship.
That's why Roman vs. Finn has been the best buildup heading into Extreme Rules 2021.
