Is anyone excited for the Raw Tag Team Championship match at WWE Extreme Rules 2018? (Photo Source: WWE.com)
With WWE Extreme Rules 2018 happening tonight, what matches should we be hyped for, and what matches might be worth skipping?
This list doesn’t get HYPED, it stays HYPED. Looking at the card for tonight’s show, I would say there is a good bit to look forward to. So, let’s go ahead and get into it. This your WWE Extreme Rules 2018 Hype Rankings, in order from least hyped to most hyped. (We’re leaving off the Kickoff Show matches, so put away your pitchforks that the Tables Match isn’t on here.)
Least Hype: The Deleters of Worlds vs. The B-Team
Let’s get into the match I am least hyped for. This match is for the Raw Tag Team Championships, and the build to it has been lackluster to say the least. For four weeks straight we have seen Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel role play as Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt. Most of these weeks have also ended with either Axel or Dallas beating Matt Hardy in a singles match.
So why am I not excited for this match? The main reason is the waste of potential in Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy. After Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt took part in the Ultimate Deletion match, I had very high hopes for Hardy going forward. When they were put together as a team, I had even higher hopes for them. They were the perfect team to break away from the WWE blueprint and be something completely different. Now, they’re just another tag team.
As far as the B-Team goes, I was genuinely interested in them at first when they first broke away from The Miz. However, I think they were awkwardly pushed into this position to be challenging for the Tag Team Titles. Their whole thing basically has been that they stumble into lucky wins and have over the top celebrations afterwards. I feel like when you have this go on as long as it has, and it being pushed to the top of the tag team division, it doesn’t work as well for me.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Carmella vs. Asuka
This one is painful for me. Asuka is probably my favorite women’s wrestler in WWE, yet I couldn’t care less about this match. Since WrestleMania when Asuka lost her first match in WWE after being undefeated, she no longer feels special like she once did.
After that, she challenged Carmella for the Women’s Title at last month’s Money in the Bank PPV where she was made out to look like an absolute fool with James Ellsworth intervening in the match… dressed as Asuka.
As far as Carmella goes, I do largely enjoy her and James Ellsworth’s act together. They work well as a pair, and they both do things that work to get heat. The problem is, though, I know what I’m going to be getting when it comes to Carmella in the ring. Even against Asuka last month, the match itself was mostly a snooze fest. You go back to Backlash, Carmella’s match against Charlotte was also not particularly good, and I think that’s a generous way of describing it.
Put this together with James Ellsworth being suspended above the ring in a shark cage, which all but guarantees that he will still find a way to interfere in this match, I’m not too enthused about seeing this match, especially because I do imagine that Carmella will be winning.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Finn Bálor vs. Baron Corb– I’m sorry, Stephanie McMahon’s personally appointed Constable of Raw, Baron Corbin
I’ll be the first to say that I really like Baron Corbin’s gimmick of being the Constable of Raw. I’m also a fan of Finn Bálor. However, I am not very excited for this match, simply because of one word; laziness.
Let’s look back to SmackDown about two months ago. Daniel Bryan feuds with Big Cass. The story? Big Cass is tall. Daniel Bryan is not. Fast forward to Raw now. Baron Corbin is tall. Finn Bálor is not. That is the basis of this story.
To give these two credit, they’ve both done a great job of trying to make something out of nothing by trying to build this match on their own Twitter pages, but I have to go based on what has been on TV. There are so many ways this could have been built into a more fascinating story. Baron Corbin is in a position of power. Why couldn’t you build the story on Corbin using this power to screw over Finn Bálor in some way? Anything like that would be better than “I’m tall. You’re not.”
It’s very possible that this will end up being a good match, because as I said earlier, I am a fan of both guys and I think they are capable of having a good match together if given the chance to. But the writing of this particular story line has not given me a reason to be hyped for this match.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Bruan Strowman vs. Kevin Owens Steel Cage Match
This match has its positives and negatives. The positives are that Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens are both entertaining characters and they work well together. The negatives are that I don’t feel like this match and story line between Owens and Strowman isn’t needed. To me, the story between Owens and Strowman should have ended when Braun threw Kevin Owens off the ladder at Money in the Bank. Since then, Braun has been tormenting Owens for what feels like no reason.
You know, now that I think about it, Braun tormenting Kevin Owens goes all the way back to before Backlash. I can recall many tag team matches where Braun was still beating up on Owens back then. Seems like forever that this has been going on.
What this really boils down to is to give Braun another win and keep his momentum going as he has the Money in the Bank briefcase. It’ll be interesting to see where they go with Owens after this. Looking at what he’s done over the last few months since WrestleMania, Owens has not won a lot at all.
There is a slim possibility that Owens may win this match by escaping the cage, but I can’t really see that happening as it would likely extend this feud even further, which I can’t really see happening
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
This is an interesting match. Nakamura is coming off the long program with AJ Styles for the WWE Championship where he ultimately failed to capture the title. Now he will challenge for a title lower on the card in Jeff Hardy’s United States Championship.
What’s interesting about this match to me is that I really think that Nakamura and Jeff Hardy’s styles mesh very well. The strong striking style of Nakamura opposed to the fan favorite high-flying Jeff Hardy should make for an interesting match up.
To me this is a match that Nakamura has to win. If you have Nakamura fail to beat AJ Styles to win the WWE Title, then also fail to win the United States Title, where does he stand? Where could he possibly go from there? Hardy doesn’t lose a lot from losing this title, I feel like he’s someone who will always be over no matter what as long as he’s in WWE. When he won the United States Title, it felt like it would be a transitional reign to me.
Related Story: 5 Wrestlers Who Should Defeat Jeff Hardy for US Title
Dropping the title to Nakamura, who can hopefully have a long run with the title to add some credibility to the US Title since there has not been a long reign with that title in a long time, would be a good thing.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax, Extreme Rules Match
The Raw Women’s Championship on the line in what is a rehash of a prior feud dating back to WrestleMania. This match was set up following Alexa Bliss cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase on Nia Jax during her title match with Ronda Rousey. Rousey would get suspended for 30 days the next night, and will now be sitting front row for this title match.
There are some things I can be negative on in this match, like Nia flip-flopping between face and heel, but I’m mostly looking forward to this. Granted, I think most of the reason I am looking forward to this is that Ronda Rousey will be sitting front row for this match and will likely have some sort of run in.
This match itself probably won’t be thrilling or anything, but it certainly will be interesting to see where they go with Rousey. An idea I’ve had is having Ronda actually coming in to help Bliss win, not align herself with her, but to be sure that she has the title when Ronda comes back. There’s a lot of avenues that can be taken with this match, and I’m interested to see what direction they go in.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley
I’ll start by saying that the build to this match has mostly been disappointing. This was originally going to be a multi-man match with the winner being the next challenger for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Title. That then turned into a singles match between Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley for “pride.”
The three weeks of tag team matches between Reigns and Lashley going against The Revival made it very hard to get invested into this story line, but I will say I thought they had a strong go-home angle with the pull apart brawl between the two.
This match will be the first time we get to see Bobby Lashley in a prominent match since returning to WWE, so I’m interested to see how he and Roman mesh in this one. They’re both big physical guys, so I think they should be able to have a good match together. The problem I can foresee though is that if this is the main event, it will very likely be rejected by the crowd.
I’d much rather see this not main event the show, but I believe it will. Having this be the main event would certainly put these two in an uphill battle just to try to get the crowd into it.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Team Hell No vs. The Bludgeon Brothers
Since the return of Kane to team with Daniel Bryan, I’ve very much enjoyed the few weeks of build to this match. You have the hints of dissension between Bryan and Kane that could possibly lead to a turn as early as this match. The Bludgeon Brothers are also a perfect match up for these two I think.
Since becoming the Bluedgeon Brothers, Harper and Rowan haven’t really been put in a position to have a show stealing match. I think they have a very good chance of doing that here with Bryan and Kane.
This match is for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, and I am interested to see if we end up getting a Team Hell No title reign out of this. It wouldn’t be the worst thing for sure. It’s funny how the last time Kane came back in the program between him, Brock Lesnar, and Braun Strowman, I dreaded seeing Kane. Not because I didn’t like Kane, but because that clearly wasn’t the right spot for him.
Where Kane is now is absolutely perfect, and he does such a good job in this role. He can do bits of comedy with Bryan, and then also still be the demon we are used to.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins 30 Minute Iron Man Match
It’s easy to be excited for this match because all you have to do is watch the previous couple matches they’ve had and you would be sold on it. Ziggler and Rollins clearly are two guys that just click in the ring at a very high level.
More from Daily DDT
- It’s time for Adam Cole and MJF to drop the ROH tag team titles
- Tom Lawlor talks MLW return, AEW opportunity, CM Punk’s WWE return and more
- Eddie Kingston stands to gain the most from the AEW Continental Classic
- Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
- Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline
Now, I’m not typically a big fan of Iron Man matches simply because I feel like it takes a lot of the drama of near falls out of the match until you get to the end of the match, but that doesn’t make me any less interested in this match because I know it will be an excellent showing from both guys.
The added element of having Drew McIntyre on the outside of the ring is also interesting. I don’t think it will happen yet, but I am waiting for the point where Drew decides to turn on Dolph and go on a big singles run of his own.
Another reason it’s easy to be into this match is I do think it could go either way. I lean toward Ziggler winning to continue his reign with the title, but I can also very much see Seth winning and taking the championship back.
Regardless of the variables, there’s little doubt this one could steal the show. But there’s another match that just has me a bit more excited…
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Most Hype: Rusev vs. AJ Styles
For the first time, we will see Rusev challenge for a world title in WWE. It’s a joy for me to see this, as I’ve always been a big fan of Rusev. He’s one of those guys to me that just seem to be able to make anything work.
He can be your foreign heel and make it work, or he can be your comedic baby face and also pull that off. Or he can do what he’s doing now and have a mixture of comedy while also remaining a threatening force as a heel. It’s good to finally see Rusev get the shot that I believe he has deserved for a long time.
The build to this match is one I’ve very much enjoyed, as WWE have done a great job in positioning Rusev as a threat to AJ’s title, even though he most likely will be losing. I have no doubt that this will be a great match, and it will be a great match for Rusev to have to show that he’s capable of delivering in a big title match.
Next: Biggest Storylines Heading into WWE Extreme Rules
Even though he might not win this match at WWE Extreme Rules 2018, hopefully showing how capable he is in on the big stage in this match will help Rusev win a major title at some point down the line. Oh, and AJ Styles is still AJ Styles, so there’s no reason this match won’t deliver.