It was announced tonight that WWE’s Extreme Rules will take place on April 26th, 2015 in Chicago at the Allstate Arena.
A pre-sale is set for Ticketmaster with the code EXTREME.
Extreme Rules in Chi-Town - the return of CM PUNK?! Sigh, CLEARLY we are JUST JOKING folks! Not happening.
-- New "Old School" episodes from 1990s Madison Square Garden events will be added to the WWE Network later this month.
-- Here is the cover art for the 2014 WWE Extreme Rules DVD and Blu-ray. It will be out on June 3. It will be DVD only in North America and Australia, but there will be a blu-ray release in the UK and Europe.
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WWE Extreme Rules takes place this Sunday night, May 4, 2014 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. WWE will put forth their first pay-per-view efforts since their big WrestleMania XXX event last month.
Going into this Sunday's show, the focus has been primarily on three key matches -- Evolution vs. The Shield, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a steel cage and Daniel Bryan defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against masked Kane.
Despite the fact that this is Daniel Bryan's first title defense since capturing the gold on the grandest stage of them all and finally receiving his long-awaited "moment" in the spotlight, his match feels like the third most important on the show. That's unfortunate, and while many point to the passing of Bryan's father as a reason why WWE was unable to capitalize on his momentum as champion as much as they would have liked, it seemed clear to me straight out of the gate that Bryan was at best going to be second-fiddle to the Evolution-Shield program. I actually wrote an editorial on that topic a few weeks ago.
Either way, it's a decent lineup, one that has some comedy sprinkled in, some gimmick matches and a solid main event, so it should be a good show from top-to-bottom on Sunday night. Having said that, let's take a look at my predictions for the show.
WeeLC Match
- El Torito vs. Hornswoggle
Boone's Breakdown: You can obviously expect a step-ladder, mini-chairs and mini-tables in this one. We've reported that veteran midget wrestler Short Sleeve Sampson has been booked by WWE and will likely serve as the guest referee in this one. I've also heard that there's a possibility that some other midgets (or little people, whatever) have been contacted and will be used in this match as well. This is what it is, which is WWE doing bad comedy, but in all actuality, the El Torito-Hornswoggle matches and segments -- in my opinion -- have actually been pretty entertaining. Since it doesn't really matter who goes over in this one, unless WWE is continuing the program, you would expect that the babyface goes over.
Boone's Prediction: El Torito
Handicap Match
- Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth & Xavier Woods
Boone's Breakdown: This really should be a two-minute squash at best, however WWE actually booked Rusev to sell more than I think he should be doing at this point considering his gimmick. On the "go-home" edition of SmackDown, WWE actually had Rusev go back out and do his match over again, so that's not a good sign. Generally when WWE loses confidence in a guy, no matter how much he has been pushed, they tend to slam on the brakes. We'll find out Sunday, depending on how the match plays out, if that is the case with the "Bulgarian Brute." Obviously he's still going over, but depending on how much selling he does, how strong his win is put over, etc., we'll see if they intend to continue on with him being an unstoppable monster.
Boone's Prediction: Alexander Rusev
WWE Divas Championship
- Paige (c) vs. Tamina Snuka
Boone's Breakdown: This was originally slated to be a Divas Championship rematch between Paige and AJ Lee, but after Lee requested some time off, her bodyguard Tamina Snuka was moved into the picture. It seems that WWE is booking Paige in a way where she isn't quite on the level of the current WWE Divas, but somehow finds a way to pull out a victory regardless. Considering the fact that Tamina is the big girl of the Divas division, one would expect that Paige will be doing a lot of selling in this one, but ultimately I expect her to get her hand raised by the end of the night. There's always the possibility that AJ Lee returns in this one, but I don't personally see that happening.
Boone's Prediction: Paige
Triple-Threat Match
- Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger
Boone's Breakdown: I'm actually surprised that WWE didn't go with a straight Cesaro vs. Swagger match here, which leads me to believe that there will be a lot of Paul Heyman and Zeb Colter involvement, leading to a Van Dam victory. This would allow Cesaro and Swagger to break off into their angle, leading up to the inevitable one-on-one showdown between the former Real American teammates. This should be a damn good match, by the way.
Boone's Prediction: Rob Van Dam
WWE Intercontinental Championship
- Big E. (c) vs. Bad News Barrett
Boone's Breakdown: I've got some bad news -- for Big E. at least, which is that I think we have ourselves a new WWE Intercontinental Champion after Sunday night. Anything short of that would be kind of retarded, as Barrett has a ton of momentum right now, and a loss here wouldn't be doing him any favors. Big E. has...
-- As previously reported, Batista is not scheduled for any events after this Sunday's WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. As things stand right now, which could always change, "The Animal" is scheduled to finish up after television in Albany, NY (RAW) and Buffalo (SmackDown) this week.
-- Michael Cole tweeted the following photo of himself rock climbing on Saturday:
Nothing like a day of rock climbing! #alpineendeavours #thegunks. Bring on grand Teton pic.twitter.com/6eqWJ3u9by
— Michael Cole (@MichaelCole) May 3, 2014
-- WWE's official YouTube channel has added a video of the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view promotional poster being created. You can check that out below.
As noted earlier, the Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro match at Extreme Rules will now be an Elimination Rules match.
With that being said, here is the updated and likely final card for tonight's WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. The show takes place from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey and will air live on the WWE Network (DirecTV, AT&T U-verse and DISH Network will not be carrying the show).
WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Extreme Rules Match:
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kane
Evolution vs. The Shield
Steel Cage Match:
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
2-on-1 Handicap Match:
Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth and Xavier Woods
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match:
Big E (c) vs. Bad News Barrett
Triple Threat Match - Elimination Rules Match:
Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger
WWE Divas Championship Match:
Paige (c) vs. Tamina Snuka
Pre-show Match: Wee-LC Match:
Hornswoggle vs. El Torito
eWrestlingNews.com will again set the standards for live coverage of a WWE pay-per view as we present free play-by-play of tonight’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per view!
It all goes down like this. At 7:30pm Eastern Time, 4:30pm Pacific Time tonight, the main pages of the website will re-direct you to our live coverage center. There you will find information on tonight’s coverage. Live play-by-play updates will begin with the pre show. From there we will go right into the PPV and have updates every 1 minute until the conclusion of the pay-per view. Most websites tend to wait until a match is completed before posting one update. Not us. We will be posting updates every 1 minute from the beginning of the pay-per view until the very end. You will constantly be aware of what’s going on from start to finish. WE WILL ALSO PROVIDE **FREE AUDIO** OF THE EVENT - LISTEN LIVE TO THE ENTIRE PAY-PER-VIEW RIGHT HERE ON THE WEBSITE!!
We would like to ask you, the visitors, to tell anyone you know who is a pro wrestling fan to check out our free live play-by-play coverage of the WWE Extreme Rules PPV tonight. We will be working very hard, so we hope to have a good turn out tonight.
It all starts live, TONIGHT, at 7:30pm Eastern Time, 4:30pm Pacific Time.
Partial Source: PWinsider.com
- WWE NXT stars Jason Jordan and Baron Corbin are being brought in for Extreme Rules and this week's WWE TV tapings. No word on if they will be used or not.
- WWE will return to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on July 7th for a live RAW TV Taping.
The next night, WWE will travel to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada at the Canadian Tire Centre for Main Event and SmackDown TV tapings.
-- As noted this past week here on the website, the WWE Extreme Rules pre-show panel will feature Josh Mathews, Booker T, Sheamus, and Alex Riley.
-- ShopWWE.com is now selling an Extreme Rules poster featuring WWE world heavyweight champion Daniel Bryan.
-- HallofVeryGood.com has an article up on CM Punk giving a pep talk to the Holy Trinity High School baseball team in Chicago.
-- The WWE Network will start airing WCW Clash of the Champions events starting on Monday (May 5) at 6AM, starting with the first event from 3/27/88 featuring Ric Flair vs. Sting.
The following are the updated online betting odds for this Sunday's WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Odds are courtesy of BetFair.com. The favorites are listed in bold.
John Cena +188
Bray Wyatt -275
Paige -1200
Tamina Snuka +600
The Shield -150
Evolution +110
Bad News Barrett -700
Big E +450
Alexander Rusev -2000
R-Truth & Xavier Woods +700
Cesaro -1500
Jack Swagger +450
Rob Van Dam +600
Daniel Bryan -1200
Kane +550
El Torito -300
Hornswoggle +200
We reported on Thursday here on the website that veteran midget wrestler Short Sleeve Sampson will be appearing at tomorrow night's WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. As you'd expect, the current plan is to use him during the Hornswoggle vs. El Torito "WeeLC" match.
According to one source, Sampson may serve as the special referee for the pre-show match.
We can also report that several additional midget wrestlers were contacted by WWE but they apparently settled on Short Sleeve Sampson. It's possible they could have some of those other midget wrestlers involved as well but we don't have that confirmed as of this writing.
-- The Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro match at Extreme Rules will now be an Elimination Rules match.
-- WWE NXT talents Jason Jordan and Baron Corbin are on the road with WWE for the PPV and TV this week. No word on their roles at this time.
-- The first Clash of Champions will air Monday on the WWE Network as part of that day's streaming schedule, while the second debuts on Tuesday. The first one is already available via VOD on the Network.
eWrestlingNews.com will again set the standards for live coverage of a WWE pay-per view as we present free play-by-play of tonight’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per view!
It all goes down like this. At 7:30pm Eastern Time, 4:30pm Pacific Time tonight, the main pages of the website will re-direct you to our live coverage center. There you will find information on tonight’s coverage. Live play-by-play updates will begin with the pre show. From there we will go right into the PPV and have updates every 1 minute until the conclusion of the pay-per view. Most websites tend to wait until a match is completed before posting one update. Not us. We will be posting updates every 1 minute from the beginning of the pay-per view until the very end. You will constantly be aware of what’s going on from start to finish. WE WILL ALSO PROVIDE **FREE AUDIO** OF THE EVENT - LISTEN LIVE TO THE ENTIRE PAY-PER-VIEW RIGHT HERE ON THE WEBSITE!!
eWrestlingNews.com would like to ask you, the visitors, to tell anyone you know who is a pro wrestling fan to check out our free live play-by-play coverage of the WWE Extreme Rules PPV tonight. We will be working very hard, so we hope to have a good turn out tonight.
It all starts live, tonight, right here at eWrestlingNews.com at 7:30pm Eastern Time, 4:30pm Pacific Time.
-- Dean Ambrose is now the longest-reigning WWE United States champion since WWE brought the belt back in 2003. He has held the title for 344 days, the longest since previous record-holder MVP.
-- Seth Rollins posted a message on Twitter, hyping his Extreme Rules PPV match with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns against Evolution. He wrote:
6 days. Evolution vs. The Revolution. Cage the animal, cut the head off the snake, and change the game. #riseup pic.twitter.com/RZ6AzV6S7R
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) April 28, 2014
Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
According to one source, Bad News Barrett is scheduled to defeat Rob Van Dam, possibly with interference from Cesaro, on next Monday's RAW in the finals of the WWE Intercontinental Championship contender tournament. This would mean Barrett will be the challenger for Big E. at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 4th.
Also expected for Extreme Rules, in addition to the previously reported matches, is a three-way between Cesaro, Van Dam and Jack Swagger, as well as a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between The Usos and the team of Ryback and Curtis Axel.
So ... expect these matches to be added to Extreme Rules:
* Cesaro vs. RVD vs. Jack Swagger
* The Usos defending the tag team titles against Ryback and Curtis Axel
WWE sent out the following today:
It was announced on Friday night's WWE SmackDown broadcast that Evolution vs. The Shield will headline the WWE Extreme Rules "special event" (pay-per-view). With that being said, here is the updated card:
Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton & Batista) vs. The Shield
WWE Intercontinental Title Match:
Big E. (c) vs. ??? (Rumored to be Cesaro)
WWE Divas Title Match:
Paige (c) vs. Tamina Snuka
Steel Cage Match:
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
-- DISH Network has made an announcement that they will make a decision on if they will carry Extreme Rules on PPV when the event gets closer.
-- UltimateClassickRock.com published a story earlier this month on pro wrestlers who resemble members of Metallica. For example, Roman Reigns is compared to Robert Trujillo. Sheamus is compared to James Hetfield. Sean Waltman is compared to Kirk Hammett. Heath Slater is compared to Dave Mustaine.
-- RVAMag.com has a review up of Mick Foley's stand-up comedy show in Richmond, Virginia.
This year's Extreme Rules poster features Daniel Bryan. As noted by EWN head writer Ryan Clark, they are using a new logo this year. You can see the new poster below. Extreme Rules will take place on May 5th at the Izod Center in New Jersey.
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