Previewing Extreme Rules 2016

Image credit: WWE. 

I’m still not quite sure what to make of this year’s Extreme Rules card. While this is the ‘new era’ of WWE, the card feels even less “extreme” than previous years. But the ongoing feuds offer some great match potential along with a few intriguing storylines.

The pre-show gives us Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin for the second month in a row, this time in a no disqualification match. (If you’re wondering how this is different than the Extreme Rules main event, the answer is they’re not at all different in modern WWE.) This feud still makes little sense to me as an ongoing storyline. Ziggler should be at a higher level than Ziggler, but Corbin should be winning if the company wants to establish him as a main roster star.

As an aside, this is the second month since his debut Apollo Crews doesn’t appear on pay-per-view. Dude has too many skills to not be used in a stronger feature.

The Top 10 Wrestlers of WWE, February 2016

Another pay-per-view and the big Raw after it have both fallen into the past and that means it is time to take a look at the Top 10 Wrestlers in WWE for the month. It has been an interesting month filled with weird pushes and negative reactions, culminating in a Fastlane card with solid in ring action but poor storytelling. Coming from that, here is this writer's choices for the best ranked wrestlers in the company. As a reminder, the rankings are followed by a two number code. The first number is their listing in the last Top 10 while the second number is the number of lists they've been on.

Kevin Owens continues to be a key player in WWE's midcard.
Image credit: WWE.com.

After Seth Rollins: The Good & The Bad

After suffering a knee injury last week, Seth Rollins had to vacate the title. Luckily for the WWE, they have some time before Survivor Series to put together a plot that will see a new champion crowned. This has created some great moments, but there is also one big stupid mistake they made that's bothered me all week, which I will get to at the end of the post.

The tournament for the title is a great idea, although the people chosen for the event was somewhat strange. No Sheamus, no Big Show, no Brock Lesnar, none of the Wyatt family, no one in New Day, and there are a whole bunch of guys at the bottom who could have used the exposure, guys like Bo Dallas who haven't been on top in a while. However, we are going to get a great match between Roman Reigns and Cesaro next week, which I think will be the highlight match of the night.

Ryback, who last month was IC champion, lost his match to Kalisto. My guess is they see Kalisto as the next Rey Mysterio, but he's a strange wrestler to push through the tournament. What a far way to fall for Ryback in such a short time though.

Now here is the ugly part of the tournament: Alberto Del Rio VS Stardust. Here was a perfect opportunity to put Stardust over with the crowd. For one, he should have been given some mic time at the beginning of the match. It would have been great if he had come out after Coulter's rant and said "I may be nuts, but that guy is crazy!"

See, here is what could have happened: Goldust beats Del Rio and goes on to face Kalisto. After a hard fought battle, Stardust cheats to beat the young Luchador. This could have set up a match between Dean Ambrose and Stardust, with both men doing their best to outdo the other in a completely insane brawl between two mentally unstable wrestlers.

Instead, you know what is going to happen?

Alberto Del Rio is going to offer Kalisto a spot in his stupid MexiAmerica, which he will refuse. Then Kalisto will lose and Del Rio will get beat by Ambrose. Ultimately, Del Rio's matches in the tournament aren't going to mean much. Had they put Stardust over, you could have him and Del Rio rematch for the US title. If Stardust had won, the match would have meant something. Now its just a platform for the writers to showcase the horrible, crappy, idea that is MexiAmerica. I am glad Del Rio is back, but this heel promo they are putting him through is ridiculous.

Now everyone is pretty certain that its going to come down to Ambrose VS Reigns, but I have a feeling that Reigns is going to see that title slip away and he's going to turn heel and take out Ambrose. This might lead to some interesting matches, especially if the Rock returns to Wrestlemania.

I tell you what, WWE, you give me a Reigns/Rock Wrestlemania match and I'll forgive you for the bad booking, okay?