WWE Extreme Rules 2022 is two weeks from now, and the WWE has already made three matches official for this “premium live event”: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in an Extreme Rules Match, Seth Rollins vs. Riddle inside the Fight Pit, and Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley for the Raw Women’s Championship. Since there were eight matches on this year’s SummerSlam and seven matches on this year’s Clash at the Castle, there will likely be four more matches added to this PPV in the upcoming weeks.
The following will provide some extremely early match card predictions post-Clash at the Castle for what should be the most extreme PPV of the year: WWE Extreme Rules 2022.
WWE Extreme Rules 2022 is scheduled to take place on October 8, 2022, live on Peacock. Here are some extremely early match card predictions.
Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai (c) vs. Asuka & Alexa Bliss [Women’s Tag Team Championships]
Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai will dethrone Asuka and Alexa Bliss to retain the Women’s Tag Championships because they recently won the championships from Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah. Also, they need to solidify their new, legitimate heel faction and should hold onto the titles until the real champions, Sasha Banks and Naomi, return to reclaim the titles. Furthermore, Alexa Bliss should turn heel on Asuka after this title match because her babyface run has gone stale and she needs to reignite her run as a main event player, which evidently works best as a heel.
Prediction: Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai
Dexter Lumis vs. The Miz [Grudge Match]
Dexter Lumis will defeat The Miz because this is his PPV debut since returning and would be a neat way to officially introduce him into the main roster. He has been haunting Miz from under the ring, in the backstage area, and even at his house. Although Miz is a former world champion, he frequently finds himself in matches that he will inevitably lose. It is understandable that he is in that veteran status after having an established career, but he needs at least some wins under his belt to maintain his credibility. That way, when someone defeats him, it means something.
Prediction: Dexter Lumis
Mr. MITB Austin Theory vs. Johnny Gargano [MITB Briefcase]
Johnny Gargano will defeat Austin Theory to win the MITB Briefcase because Gargano is an established main event player who already knows what it takes to be a world champion, as can be indicated by his work in NXT, whilst Theory is not yet ready for that spot so early on in his career. The fact that Theory is gloating about all his rapid-fire successes at a young age is merely building up to Gargano teaching his former protege a lesson and shutting him up for good. Furthermore, Gargano needs to win his PPV debut and this would be a great start to his main roster career.
Prediction: Johnny Gargano
Seth Rollins vs. Riddle [Fight Pit]
Riddle will defeat Seth Rollins in this higher stakes Fight Pit match to to tie up the score in this feud. Due to this MMA background, this should be his specialty. The fact that Riddle grabbed the same steel chair at Clash at the Castle that Rollins used to stab The Shield in the back was not only a sign of his downfall in that match but also a sign that this feud is far from over. 50:50 booking could hinder the momentum that Rollins needs after losing so many PPV matches in 2022, but he will inevitably win the trilogy once they break the tie at Crown Jewel in November.
Prediction: Riddle
Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey [SmackDown Women’s Championship: Extreme Rules Match]
Liv Morgan will retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Ronda Rousey because she needs to solidify her reign by attaining a clean victory against Rousey, who does not need the championship to remain established. It also would be completely counterproductive for the future of this division if Morgan to loses the title back to the same individual she dethroned in the first place. Furthermore, Morgan still needs to bring everything full circle by defending the title against Charlotte, who will very likely return after the match and set up a title match for the next PPV.
Prediction: Liv Morgan
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley [Raw Women’s Championship]
Bayley will defeat Bianca Belair to become the new Raw Women’s Champion because she needs to win the title to establish her leadership of Damage Control. Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai did their part to win the tag titles, so Bayley has to do her part. The same concept that was applied to The Bloodline and Toxic Atteaction need to be applied to Damage Control. Belair can always win the title back on the road to WrestleMania since she is a constant in the main event scene, but the WWE needs to capitalize on this faction’s momentum as soon as possible.
Prediction: Bayley
Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross [Extreme Rules Match]
Karrion Kross will defeat Drew McIntyre in the main event of WWE Extreme Rules 2022 because he simply needs to win his PPV debut on the main roster in order to solidify his main event status. Kross has clearly been more obsessed with crushing the world title dreams of McIntyre than actually winning the world title from Roman Reigns. Nonetheless, this victory over McIntyre will set up Kross for a future world title opportunity whilst McIntyre gets sent back to the mid-card. In fact, McIntyre is the most likely candidate on SmackDown to dethrone Gunther.
Since McIntyre lost to Reigns for the fourth time, his world title dreams are basically over. There is no reason for McIntyre to hinder Kross’ momentum after his own momentum has been completely shut down by Reigns. The main event scene is eminently boring with Reigns as champion right now, especially since he won’t even be defending the title on PPVs like this one. However, a triple threat amongst Reigns, McIntyre, and Kross will likely be booked soon after Reigns is finished wasting time with Logan Paul at the Crown Jewel PPV.
Prediction: Karrion Kross