On Sunday, the WWE will present the Raw exclusive pay-per-view Extreme Rules. Going into this show, the WWE scrambled to get things put together. Braun Strowman was set to be a major focal point of this show as the feud between Strowman and Roman Reigns would end and headline the show. Unfortunately, Strowman suffered an elbow injury that would keep him out of action for four to six months. This caused the WWE to look for Plan B, but their backup plan was not well thought out at all.
Instead of a Strowman vs. Reigns main event, there will be a Fatal Five-Way Extreme Rules match to determine the number one contender to Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship. The original idea was that Strowman would be the first to challenge Lesnar at July’s Great Balls of Fire show. With the injury, a new challenger must be decided and instead of a good buildup to find that wrestler, we now have a thrown together multi-man match that could be a cluster.
The competitors in the Fatal Five-Way match are interesting, even if the buildup to the match has been poor. Reigns, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor will face off and each man has a legitimate shot to win the match to face Lesnar and each man has a case as to why they deserve to challenge for Raw’s biggest title:
Roman Reigns: The man who everyone hates is currently penciled in to face Lesnar at WrestleMania in New Orleans. However, Reigns had Lesnar beat until Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania two years ago. Reigns is being seen as the next-in-line to John Cena’s throne and it’s only a matter before he assumes his rightful spot on top of the mountain.
Bray Wyatt: After finally reaching the top of the WWE at February's Elimination Chamber and winning the WWE Title, Wyatt lost the title to Randy Orton at WrestleMania and then was drafted to Raw out of nowhere in a move that killed any push that he received. Wyatt should still be WWE Champion and a Wyatt/Lesnar matchup could be interesting.
Finn Balor: Balor never lost the Universal Championship after winning the title at last year’s SummerSlam. He suffered a shoulder injury on that match and missed months before returning the night after this year’s WrestleMania. Balor had an in-ring promo with Lesnar’s advocate Paul Heyman two weeks ago and held his own. The size difference between Balor and Lesnar would make for an interesting match and he seems to be one of the favorites to win the match.
Samoa Joe: Joe has been a monster since moving up from NXT. Joe vs. Lesnar is a match that everyone wants to see and even in a defeat, Joe could come out looking great against “The Beast Incarnate.” I’m rooting for Joe vs. Lesnar because of the MMA-like match these two would put on.
Seth Rollins: Unfortunately, Rollins has not clicked with the fans since turning babyface. Rollins has a claim to the championship match after being screwed by Triple H when Kevin Owens won the title last year. Rollins will be one of Lesnar’s opponents this year but he will not win this Extreme Rules match.
My prediction for this match is Samoa Joe going over the other four wrestlers. At this point, no one in this match can afford a loss to Lesnar except Joe. Even a loss in a hard-fought match could make Samoa Joe into a star and a monster heel that the WWE needs. The match will be sloppy and full of chaos, but it is an Extreme Rules match, so it will be full of weapons and plunder that we all love to watch.
What are your thoughts about the Fatal Five-Way match at Extreme Rules? Let us know in our comment section.
