The comeback tour continues for me. Going into WWE Payback, I was in a dark place. Everything I thought I knew felt as if it was slipping away. I was coming off of a 2 for 9 performance at WrestleMania.. WRESTLEMANIA, and considered retiring from the game. Things weren't good. I was irritable, lashing out at my loved ones. I started hanging out with the wrong people, hoping to find solace in my failures. How could I ever call myself a WWE blogger and former $WWE Shareholder with that type of performance on the biggest stage of them all?
I'll tell you how.
By going 5 for 9 at the next PPV with one of my wrong guesses ending with the lame Chicago Screwjob, plus Baron Corbin losing seemed absurd to me. But don't ever question my abilities, because just when you think I'm down and out, I bounce back with an inspiring performance like that to buy me at least a few more blogs for The Brief.
But enough about myself. Let's start talking about the card.
Extreme Rules is probably my favorite PPV outside of the Big 3 (Mania, Summerslam, Royal Rumble). Every match seems to have some type of stipulation and seeing these wrestlers put it all on the line in big spots with no rules holding them back is as good as it gets. Especially in the new era filled with life long indie guys who used to perform these spots at VFW halls for no money, doing it for the WWE just encourages them to go even harder. I highly doubt any of these matches will disappoint on Sunday.
Pre-Show
Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler -- No Disqualification
With the No DQ stipulation to this match, I expect Dolph to possibly die at the hands of Baron Corbin tonight. Ziggler (surprisingly) won at Payback with a roll up. Although I was not a fan of the decision by the company, it gave Dolph some credibility in this feud while barely taking any away from Baron Corbin. But I think this is where some type of push for Baron Corbin starts. Not necessarily a title push, but a push as the new monster that destroys people for the sake of being a big bad ass. Dolph will most certainly get his offense in and I'm expecting some high flying spots from him. But as the match goes on and the wrestlers realize there are no rules, Corbin will find himself some nice weapons under the ring or maybe start using the outside as his weapon. I would LOVE to see The End of Days put Ziggler through a table. As far as a prediction goes, I don't see how Corbin can lose this one, unless he managed to get himself on Vince's bad side and is in the process of getting buried, which is most certainly not the case.
Prediction: Baron Corbin via Murder
Main Card
*Match Order is Not Official*
Gallows & Anderson vs. The Usos -- Tornado Tag Match
For those of you unfamiliar with the rules of a tornado tag, it's literally just a tag team match where every member is fighting at once, so no tag ins. but it's still a tag team match.. trust me.
Gallows & Anderson are awesome. The Usos are as boring to me as it gets. They're technically a high flying duo but all they do is jump over the top rope into a crowd of people and do frog splashes in unison. NICE.
Basically, Gallows & Anderson need to give the club some legitimacy. We have yet to see what they are truly about in the ring and I think Sunday night will be a showcase to show us exactly how good they are. They've let The Bloodline best them a few times these past couple shows and I think they'll come out firing in an exciting match. I also think that having them win will open up the possibilities of the main event to take away the predictability of it all and there is just no way that they lose in their PPV debut.
Prediction: Gallows & Anderson
Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho -- Asylum Match
The Laws of 50/50 booking make Jericho seem like the logical pick. Typically, big name feuds will stretch out over the course of 3 PPVs, but whenever you think the WWE is going to zig, they zag (like Jericho beating AJ Styles at Mania, smh).
Not only that, but this is apparently Dean's new character specific stipulation, and him losing in the debut of the Asylum Match honestly just makes me sad. This is all about getting vengeance for Mitch. Dean HAS to win this match.
The rules of the match were never fully explained and are honestly kind of random, but I still like the idea of it all.
In the end, I think Jericho's ego gets in the way and doesn't stand a chance against Dean Ambrose's insanity. Let's all just let Dean go on a little win streak for once.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
Kalisto(c) vs. Rusev -- United States Championship
So Kalisto's run as a champion kind of flopped, eh? This goes to show that no matter how exciting you are in the ring, you can only get so far with zero mic skills.
*Stares directly at Roman Reigns*
There have been rumors of Cena getting his United States Championship back to bring back the Open Challenges, so picking this one is tough. Do you give the belt to Rusev to keep the belt warm for Cena until he returns in a week? Rusev seems like the logical choice. He finally broke free from the League of Nations and seems to be out of Vince's dog house. On top of that, he injured Kalisto on last week's Raw, giving him the clear advantage. But if Cena is going to get the belt back sooner rather than later, is that short title run worth it?
Or maybe you continue Kalisto's underdog run as champion and let him live it out for these last few weeks until Cena takes the belt back.
For me, I think it's time to reestablish Rusev as the monster heel that he is. But if it's just going to be a brief run and a loss to Cena, that isn't the way to do it. I think Rusev gets too aggressive with the attacks and ends up costing himself the match here. Maybe he'll lock Kalisto into The Accolade and won't let go when Kalisto grabs the ropes, or perhaps an out of the ring thrashing will result in a DQ or Count Out.
Basically, I think Kalisto retains, but Rusev leaves on top.
Prediction: Kalisto via DQ
The New Day(c) vs. The Vaudevillains -- Tag Team Championship
The Vaudevillains could most certainly benefit from a title run considering the lack of support they've gotten since their debut. Plus The New Day can easily succeed without the belts. But to end their 270+ day run just to help boost The Vaudevillains seems pointless to me. The WWE has started to build up the tag team division with some new faces and I think the belt changing hands at this moment would be a step back. It's time for the New Day to win, move on, and start running through the tag team division again. Allowing The Vaudevillains to win just seems way too bold to me. Speaking of which, it's time for a
Besse's Be Bolder Prediction Brought To You By Butterfinger
I definitely see a world where The Vaudevillains winning makes sense. Like I said, The New Day can survive without the title, especially since they are already 2 time W.. W.. E.. World.. Tag.. Team.. CHAMPIONS, and are sure to make a run at the Dudley's record over the course of their careers. But The Vaudevillains beat the champs down on Raw and 50/50 booking leads me to believe that Big E and Kofi are going to get them back on Sunday.
After the match, The Vaudevillains will start attacking the champs much like they did on Raw. Except now they're fighting in New Jersey. So why not have Enzo and Cass come out to save the champs? Cass has done some great work with The New Day in Enzo's absence and built an alliance with them. Not only that, but a return of Enzo will most definitely lead to a huge pop from my guys Crilley, Neroda, and PJ who will be in attendance, along with the rest of the hometown crowd (shoutout Hussey and Fusco too..)
Whether or not my prediction is true, one thing remains constant. New Day Rocks.
Prediction: The New Day
The Miz(c) vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn -- Intercontinental Championship
I'm predicting this match with next month's Money In the Bank PPV on my mind. Look at who is in this match, then think about the 3 wrestlers who NEED to be in the match to keep it interesting. Now everybody list them on 3. 1.. 2.. 3.. Owens, Zayn, and Cesaro! Glad we're all on the same page here.
Aside from the WWE Championship match, I'd say this one has had the most build. Two of the best talkers on the roster (Miz and KO) have done an unreal job on commentary during the feud, and the two silent assassins of the roster (Cesaro and Zayn) have also kept us entertained in the ring.
As long as Owens and Zayn aren't fighting one on one for the belt, I think they will always keep each other from winning. So I'm eliminating them from winning this match. Which leaves it between The Miz and Cesaro. Like I said, Cesaro will probably be in the MITB match and The Miz has been a great champion who deserves a little more run. I'm predicting a false finish for Zayn where he gets screwed and beat down by Owens. This leads to some run between Miz and Cesaro but ultimately, The Miz will snake his way into another victory and retain.
Prediction: The Miz
Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya -- Women's Championship Submission Match
For Payback, I let my heart control my brain and picked Natalya to win. I will admit, I screamed when she locked in the Sharpshooter, but the Chicago Screwjob ruined me. Never again will I make that same mistake. Very Bad.
The end of this feud serves the purpose of proving that Charlotte can win without the help of her father who was banned from ringside. I don't have much more to say. Just give Sasha Banks the belt already.
Prediction: Charlotte
Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles -- WWE Championship No DQ
Fuck being rational. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. I don't write this blog to only take the chalk picks. I'm a betting man. I live for the thrill of the chase. I'd rather make a billion bold predictions and be right once than correctly guess the safe picks every time. It's called having the courage to go against the grain. I'm the Rosa Parks of WWE wrestling predictions. That's why I have partnered with Butterfinger to make a
Besse's Be Bolder Prediction Brought To You By Butterfinger
I will predict a Finn Balor debut every PPV until it actually happens. For those of you who read my Payback Preview you'll notice that this prediction is basically the same thing. So i'm gunna lay it out for you.
Around 10:48 pm Eastern Time, The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey will 1) probably smell bad because that's New Jersey's thing (burn) and 2) be going nuts over the WWE Championship match that is perfectly capping one of the most exciting PPVs in a while. Roman Reigns and AJ Styles will both be growing more and more frustrated over the fact that they can't put their adversary away and will both resort to using weapons -- specifically chairs -- to try and gain an edge. About 5 minutes after the first chair is pulled out from underneath the ring, The Bullet Club will come out hot, ready to take down Roman Reigns. Naturally, The Usos will come out and deflate everybody because they are depressing to watch. The Club will quickly dispose of those two bums and focus on what really matters. The actual match.
But there is something peculiar about the demeanor of the modern day NWO. They don't seem as cordial to AJ Styles as we've all seen since their debut. That's because they're here for AJ Styles. Once the lights go out, you know it's on. Finn Balor is here.
Finn Balor along with his team of Gallows & Anderson attack both Styles and Reigns and lay them out on the floor. I don't know exactly how it'll happen, but Reigns will retain while the new Bullet Club stands tall over the rest of the WWE with boos raining down on them. Finn Balor has made it to the big leagues, and what an entrance he has made.
But ultimately, don't expect anything else besides a Roman Reigns victory. Sad.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
That's basically all I've got on Extreme Rules. It should be a good one.
As always, I can be found on Twitter @KButter_22 for any words of encouragement or complaints that you might have.
Blessings,
Little Besse
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