Rasslin’ Roundtable for WWE Extreme Rules 2017

Columns, Top Story

Tonight is WWE Extreme Rules 2017, the latest Raw brand PPV. Here is the Pulse Wrestling crew’s full preview and analysis!

Fatal 5-Way Extreme Rules
Winner is #1 contender for WWE Universal Championship
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Samoa Joe

Michael – Honestly, I have no idea how the WWE is planning on booking this, but we have seen everyone here wrestling each other for the past few weeks so this almost feels anticlimatic. I think they are still long-term thinking about Lesnar versus Reigns at WrestleMania, so Roman might not get the victory here. I like the idea of a Seth Rollins victory, but I think a loss to Lesnar would kill whatever babyface momentum he has going. Finn Balor is interesting based on the Paul Heyman promo a couple weeks ago, and the Beast versus the Demon could be a very intriguing story, but I think they have to build up Balor more since his return. Bray Wyatt has been hitting his points in his promos, but if they try to rebuild him with a win here, they have to follow up with a victory over Lesnar, and I don’t see that happening. Which leaves Samoa Joe. Joe is probably the dark horse to win this match, but a showdown with Lesnar can be booked pretty easily with insane intensity and physicality. Did I just convince myself? Almost.
Winner: Samoa Joe

Schuerman – They are really trending toward it being Balor that EVENTUALLY faces The Brock, but I just don’t see it here. Reigns, as much as he is pushed, is a played opponent for Brock, and this person is just a place-holder for Strowman anyways.
Winner: Samoa Joe

Sam K – Whoever wins this match is ‘rewarded’ with an boring fifteen minute match with Brock Lesnar, where they’ll be German suplexed 48 times and not get a lick of offence in. How am I meant to care about this five-way when that match is where it’s going?
Winner: Anyone except Roman, whose still waiting to be anointed.

Jake Ziegler – They’ve seemed to pushing Finn Balor pretty hard (especially with the Paul Heyman segment), and he didn’t win the three-way last week so I’d say it looks pretty good for him.
Winner: Finn Balor

Widro – I think this month’s challenger for Brock Lesnar gets plowed through, and that means either Rollins or Wyatt.
Winner: Bray Wyatt

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) (c) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus

Michael – Okay, has everyone gotten the nostalgia out of their system? The Hardyz are still wrestling the same match they’ve wrestled the last 15 years. And without being able to push the stupid Broken gimmick with interviews and drones and children and pianos and time travel (and thank god they haven’t been able to do that), the Hardyz are just a tag team trading on memories. Let Cesaro and Sheamus destroy them inside the cage and win the belts. You will finally be able to put Cesaro and Sheamus over as monster heels, especially if they just annihilate Matt and Jeff. Then, you can maybe squeeze a few more pennies out of Team Extreme as they try to regain their belts. What else are you going to do with the tag division? Put the belts on Anderson and Gallows again?
Winner: Cesaro and Sheamus (new tag team champions)

Schuerman – I think the Anthem lawsuit is darn near its completion, and it’s about time for Broken Matt and Brother Nero to make their presence felt, necessitating they lose the titles here.
Winners: Cesaro and Sheamus

Sam K – I see this match as another placeholder for the Hardyz until they work out whether to push them as singles or not. I’ve loved their stiff matches with Sheamus and Cesaro and I’m sure they’ll work hard for our entertainment.
Winners: The Hardyz

Jake Ziegler – It seems like this feud has gone on forever and the Hardys have won a ton of singles matches. They probably want to get them into the singles division, so look for a tag title switch here.
Winners: Cesaro & Sheamus

Widro – The Hardys have barely (if at all) jobbed since coming to WWE.
Winner: Hardys

WWE Intercontinental Championship
If Ambrose is disqualified, he will lose the title
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. The Miz

Michael – The stipulation here is just lame, especially during a PPV titles Extreme Rules. My thinking is that the WWE will not even care about this and Ambrose will probably win clean. Which will make the whole of the match’s build to be pointless. Then maybe they will send Ambrose and Miz to NXT or England to continue this same feud again and again and again. Bored now. Let’s hope someone says we should use this inane stipulation at least.
Winner: The Miz (via disqualification in a very Eddy Guerrero way and new champion)

Schuerman – Who really gives a crap? Ambrose is dead in the water, but at least the Miz gives the title some credibility.
Winner: The Miz (by nefarious means)

Sam K – This is WWE, so this contrived stipulation will have a fittingly contrived finish. Oh boy I can’t wait.
Winner: Miz and Maryse

Jake Ziegler – It wasn’t that long ago that the IC Title felt cool again. It has just DIED on Ambrose, so I guess let’s put it back on The Miz and see what happens.
Winner: The Miz

Widro – The DQ stipulation seems to be too obvious for a title change, but I think they will do it anyway.
Winner: Miz

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries

Michael – Will they have Aries lose to Neville for the third PPV in a row? I doubt it. In fact, this Submission Match seems to be set up to make Aries’ Last Chancery seem like a deadly move. (Although, to me, it still looks weak and fairly harmless.) Neville’s work as champion has been great, but maybe it is time to change it up some. Plus, once Aries takes the belt maybe they can let him return to his more natural heel persona.
Winner: Austin Aries (new champion)

Schuerman – I really think it’s time to put the cruiserweight title on Aries. He’s the only other over crusier, and it’s time to go in a different direction.
Winner: AA Double

Sam K – I love both of these men and the characters they’re putting 100% into on television over the past couple months. As much I have loved Neville’s reign, if Aries doesn’t win he’ll come away too weak, as this will be yet another loss for him in the big title match.
Winner: Austin Aries

Jake Ziegler – Neville left Aries laying on 205 Live, which is often a sign that the babyface is going over. Plus, the length of the feud, and Aries having a new book out, I see a third title change on the show happening.
Winner: Austin Aries

Widro – I still love Aries but he has not gotten over in WWE and they gave away the finish when they had Neville tap on TV.
Winner: Neville

WWE Raw Women’s Championship
Kendo Stick-on-a-Pole match
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Bayley

Michael – God, I thought we were done with stuff-on-a-pole matches. They couldn’t do better than this? Plus, this feud has zero heat and got infinitely worse through the This is Your Life segment. My only hope is they are actually planning something long term which would get Bayley and Sasha Banks in a title match at WrestleMania next year, but I am not counting on it. They do need to reset Bayley a little though, so let’s stick with a little bliss.
Winner: Alexa Bliss

Schuerman – They are hyping the idea that Bayley can’t “go to the extreme,” so of course that means Shane Douglas interferes on her behalf.
Winner – Alexa Bliss

Sam K – The less said about this ridiculous stipulation the better. I really don’t get what all the fuss is about when it comes to Alexa Bliss. Her character work is superb, absolutely, but her in ring stuff leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t see why she’s been the ‘chosen one’ in recent months.
Winner: Alexa Bliss

Jake Ziegler – Alexa was given the title too early, and this feud has just been brutal (and I like both of these wrestlers). I just don’t see Bayley winning it back yet.
Winner: Alexa Bliss

Widro – They switch the Woman’s title a lot but I don’t think there will be a change here.
Winner: Bliss

Rich Swann and Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar and Alicia Fox

Michael – Really? A mixed-gender tag match? Why? And why is Sasha Banks being forced to work second fiddle to the guys in any storyline? Shouldn’t she be insulted by that? I really don’t care who wins this match, I just want the storyline done. My guess is they give the crowd a big pop with Sasha putting the Bank Statement on Noam Dar, only to fall victim seconds later to a botched scissor kick by Alicia Fox.
Winner: Dar and Fox

Schuerman – There is ABSOLUTELY no reason why Sasha Banks is on this card other than to interfere in Bayley’s match says I. Well, her and 911 of course. She gets one last face pop before her turn.
Winners: Sasha Banks and Rich Swann

Jake Ziegler – Can Noam and Alicia handle it? I don’t think so.
Winners: Rich Swann & Sasha Banks

Widro – Really surprised at how Sasha Banks has fallen.
WInners: Swann and Banks

Jonathan Widro is the owner and founder of Inside Pulse. Over a decade ago he burst onto the scene with a pro-WCW reporting style that earned him the nickname WCWidro. Check him out on Twitter for mostly inane non sequiturs