5 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 19)
The closing moments of SmackDown expertly hyped Extreme Rules...
WWE didn't have the luxury of announcing the main event of Extreme Rules after business at Payback had concluded, but that was a design choice by the promotion itself. As Payback faded to black, fans were left with the knowledge that Roman Reigns and AJ Styles would clash in the titular Extreme Rules battle on that next pay-per-view.
It proved to be a smart decision, because the company could then focus on pushing ahead the story between The Club and The Bloodline on Raw and SmackDown. The main event was already established, so it was simply a case of hyping the bad blood between Reigns and AJ.
Similarly, it was obvious that Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho would collide once again at Extreme Rules. Another straight singles match wouldn't cut it though, so WWE had to come up with a stipulation that didn't feel second-rate next to the WWE Title situation.
That's exactly what they achieved, giving Ambrose his own signature match and fans the chance to see an interesting Steel Cage twist on the show.
SmackDown furthered both rivalries, with varying degrees of success. Let's look at the chief positives and overhanging negatives from WWE's final show before Extreme Rules...