11 HUGE WWE Extreme Rules 2018 Predictions You Need To Know
Extremely Crappy Wrestling
For a company creatively malfunctioning as aggressively as WWE are at present, it should come as no shock that they're now seemingly unable to effectively deliver the gimmick/themed pay-per-view they were once so fond of.
Extreme Rules remains the last living ember of Paul Heyman's innovative and evocative ECW - a show borne from the rebranded crew's 'One Night Stand' supercards that gradually morphed into a WWE production loaded with enough gimmicks to keep the card interesting no matter how moribund the pairings were.
No such luck this year. Just as 2017's Clash Of Champions promoted a tag team main event with no titles at steak, how the only Backlash to the may supershow came from the early-exiting audience and how the Greatest Royal Rumble was actually f*cking sh*t, Extreme Rules remains bizarrely low on bells, whistles and - most importantly - interest.
Once the explosive location for battles between John Cena and Brock Lesnar or Evolution and The Shield, Extreme Rules has now been relegated to summertime filler - trapped in the deepest valley following the steepest and lengthiest post-WrestleMania slump since records began. With less than 50% of the card actually gimmicked, the remainder looks remarkably intimidating for a viewer already over-stuffed with meaningless filler on the weekly shows.
'The Beast' and 'The Champ' will of course be nowhere near the nothing pay-per-view, as won't Triple H's suited crew. The Shield, however...
11. The New Day Vs SAnitY (Tables)
But first, some other trios.
SAnitY's delayed debut on SmackDown Live! may have been related to the sudden disappearance of Raw newbies The Authors Of Pain after both made the post-WrestleMania NXT jump. According to various sources, Vince McMahon had soured on idea that had required the front-loading of his doubles division - a tag team Money In The Bank match was binned, rendering a few of the pairings surplus to requirements.
The insta-feuds that followed didn't particularly inspire, but this time-filling angle between The New Day and Eric Young's gang of weirdos should at least provide the NXT graduates a major scalp without either Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods having to take a needless fall.
That the kickoff show will play host to it is the most confusing thing of all. The pre-show no longer needs to chase viewers to their phones or cable boxes to make orders - surely one of the biggest pops of the night emerging from the sound of a body crashing through wood would have been better served on the main show.