On Sunday, July 19th, the WWE will be live from their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, for “The Horror Show” at Extreme Rules. This is the 12th edition of WWE’s annual PPV event.
Sunday’s lineup features at least four bouts with championship gold on the line. It will also have another cinematic match between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a Wyatt Swamp Fight. You can expect similar craziness and creativity in this match as they did in the Boneyard match and Firefly Fun House match.
Extreme Rules is set to begin at 7 PM ET with an hour long Kickoff Show. The main card will begin at 8 PM ET. Both shows will air live on the WWE Network. As of this publication, there are seven matches listed for Extreme Rules.
WWE betting sites have released odds and prop bets for the current lineup. Keep in mind, this article will be published prior to the July 17th edition of Smackdown. And, as always, WWE will add a few matches at the last minute.
It’s an EYE for an EYE when @reymysterio and @WWERollins finally settle their score at The Horror Show at #ExtremeRules. 👀 pic.twitter.com/M0BPvPWuCm
— WWE (@WWE) July 7, 2020
Bar Fight Match
- Jeff Hardy (-900)
- Sheamus (+400)
The absurdity of this storyline can’t be overstated. From framing Hardy for a hit and run to Jeff throwing urine in Sheamus’ face, this feud continues to get way too much longevity despite the criticism from fans, pundits and other wrestlers.
Hardy initially eliminated Sheamus from the Intercontinental Championship tournament, which AJ Styles ended up winning, but Sheamus got his revenge with a big win at Backlash.
Online WWE betting sites believe that Jeff Hardy will get his revenge and win the rubber match between the two this weekend, which is evident by Hardy’s large betting odds. He’s the second biggest betting favorite of the entire show.
It’s hard to argue against this thinking. The WWE has been pushing Jeff Hardy with video packages and Network shows over the last few months. Additionally, he did the job at Backlash so it makes sense to have Sheamus lose this weekend.
There’s no value to Hardy’s odds, but it’s definitely the smart play here.
Bar Fight Match –Hardy (-900)
SmackDown Women’s Championship
- (C)Bayley (-625)
- Nikki Cross (+350)
Cross earned a shot at the title when she won a fatal 4-way match on the June 26th episode of SmackDown. She defeated her tag-team partner Alexa Bliss, Lacey Evans and Dana Brooke.
Prior to this match, Cross and Bliss had been in a prolonged feud with Bayley and Sasha Banks who they ended up losing the women’s tag titles to. This singles match is a continuation from that lengthy feud.
Bayley has risen up the ranks to become one of WWE’s most reliable characters each and every week. Her title reign has surpassed nine months in July and she’s on track to approach the one year mark if she can make it until October.
In her two title reigns combined, Bayley has held the belt for over 420 days. That’s twice as long as anyone else. Becky Lynch is second with three title reigns that total 216 days.
Does anyone really think that she will lose the title now? I certainly don’t. As many have stated, myself included, Bayley will hold this belt until she drops it to Sasha Banks whenever the WWE decides to make this happen. I thought it would be at SummerSlam, but it could be pushed back longer due to the pandemic.
Method of Decision
- Pinfall or Submission (-1250)
- Any other method (+550)
With that said, I fully expect Bayley to win this match and do so via pinfall. She might have to cheat to get the pin, but that’s become the norm for Bayley throughout this year. Her gimmick has become much more entertaining and she’s really elevated the SmackDown Women’s title with her solid work.
SmackDown Women’s Championship –Bayley (-625)
Match ends via Pinfall (-1250)
United States Championship
- (C)Apollo Crews (-250)
- MVP (+175)
What started out as a silly angle has actually grown on me. I’ve enjoyed this feud as it has made both wrestlers more relevant.
Back on the June 15th episode of RAW, MVP told Apollo that he needed a manger to prolong his title reign. Crews rejected the offer which ultimately led to issues between the two men. Eventually, Bobby Lashley got involved and made Crews pay for his rejection.
On the June 29th episode of RAW, MVP beat Crews in a non-title match. The next week on RAW, MVP and Lashley unveiled a new US title and claimed that MVP was the real champ.
Both belts will be on the line at Extreme Rules. I give the WWE credit for making a new US title and doing it in a creative way.
As for the match itself, the WWE can go in two directions: have MVP cheat to win or have Crews win and carry the new title.
I think the WWE will go with Crews winning and setting up a feud with Bobby Lashley for the US title heading into SummerSlam. I like this storyline to keep going for at least another month and it makes sense to put Lashley against Crews. Both men could use a prominent feud.
On a side note, I would really like to see MVP get another wrestler under his management. Lashley could team up with this new partner or the three of them can become the top faction on RAW.
United States Championship –Crews (-250)
RAW Women’s Championship
- (C)Asuka (-340)
- Sasha Banks (+225)
On the June 22nd episode of RAW, Banks and Bayley defeated The IIconics to retain their tag titles. After the match, Sasha Banks issued a challenge to Asuka for a title match at Extreme Rules. Asuka came out and agreed to put her RAW women’s title on the line. Bayley and Banks then attacked her.
At The Horror Show at #ExtremeRules, will @WWEAsuka continue to reign supreme OR will @SashaBanksWWE become a Double Champion? #WWERaw #WomensTitle pic.twitter.com/l0kWYCNN4Q
— WWE (@WWEIndia) July 15, 2020
Asuka has held the belt for over two months since Becky Lynch announced she was relinquishing the title due to being pregnant. This is Asuka’s first title reign and I don’t see it ending on Sunday.
Ultimately, I believe Sasha Banks will end up feuding Bayley for the SmackDown title. Perhaps, a loss this weekend to Asuka could pour more fuel on the simmering fire of the eventual breakup between Banks and Bayley.
Method of Decision
- Submission (-133)
- Pinfall (+100)
- Any other method (+380)
Both women have submission holds as finishers. So, that’s why the odds favor submission as the method of decision for this match. It makes sense that the WWE ends the match with a submission hold instead of a pinfall as tapping out isn’t viewed as badly as being pinned.
Both options offer betting value, but the smart play is on submission.
RAW Women’s Championship –Asuka (-340)
Match ends via submission (-133)
Eye vs Eye Match
- Seth Rollins (-225)
- Rye Mysterio Jr. (+160)
If you are asking what an “Eye vs Eye” match is, well join the club because the WWE hasn’t really given us many details to work with. The only thing we know is that the match can only be won when Seth Rollins or Rey Mysterio Jr. takes the other’s eye.
If you recall, this all started back on the May 11th episode of RAW when Rollins and his cronies took Rey Mysterio Jr. and injured his eye on the corner of the ring steps.
Following that incident, Rey’s son Dominik got involved in the storyline and even attacked Rollins. “The Monday Night Messiah” almost got his retribution on the younger Mysterio by trying to take his eye. Fortunately for the Mysterios, his plans failed.
Rey finally returned and teamed up with Kevin Owens on the July 6th episode of RAW to defeat Rollins and Murphy. Mysterio also challenged Rollins to an “eye vs eye” match on this episode of RAW, which Seth agreed to.
Rollins is favored to win the match, but it could go either way despite the disparity in odds. It certainly would look cool if Rollins wore an eye patch.
Ultimately, I believe there are more factors against Rey winning than for him. For starters, Mysterio’s contract has already expired and he’s basically working on a handshake deal right now. That doesn’t bode well for someone going into a big PPV match.
Another factor against him is that Rollins is arguably RAW’s biggest star outside of Brock Lesnar. So, having him lose another high profile match, like he did against Kevin Owens at WM 36, makes little sense especially to a veteran with one foot out the door.
Take Rollins to win this match in controversial fashion. Maybe Rey losing another eye will be the way the WWE ends his tenure with the company. Nobody wants a blind luchador on the payroll.
Eye vs Eye Match –Rollins (-225)
WWE Championship Match
- (C)Drew McIntyre (-2000)
- Dolph Ziggler (+700)
As you can see, McIntyre is the biggest betting favorite and Ziggler is the biggest underdog for Extreme Rules.
On the June 22nd episode of RAW, Dolph Ziggler returned to the red show and announced that he was part of the trade that sent AJ Styles from RAW to SmackDown.
Ziggler then interrupted McIntyre’s promo and challenged Drew to match for his WWE championship. Ziggler declared that it was because of him that McIntyre has had this success. Dolph is referring to their run as a tag team in 2018 when Drew returned to the main roster. They even ended up as RAW tag champs.
After a prolonged run as a solid tag team, the WWE eventually decided to split them up with McIntyre turning on Ziggler and making his march toward singles stardom. Ziggler returned to mediocrity.
Now, the two men will fight at Extreme Rules, but the stipulations for their match haven’t been made clear as of yet.
A nice little twist along the way saw Heath Slater return to RAW for a match against McIntyre. The two men were former teammates in 3MB. After the match, the two went after Ziggler and became besties again.
For this match, there’s no way that McIntyre will lose the title. A cool thing to do would be to have Ziggler win via DQ or count out, which then can prolong this storyline. However, I don’t see it happening. The WWE will have Ziggler lose once again and pretty much render this last month of feuding a waste.
WWE Championship Match –McIntyre (-2000)
Wyatt Swamp Fight Non-Title Match
- (C)Braun Strowman (+150)
- Bray Wyatt (-215)
Braun Strowman won the Universal Title at WM 36 by defeating Goldberg. He got the opportunity after Roman Reigns pulled out due to Covid.
Following WM 36, Strowman entered a feud with Bray Wyatt. The former family members would go on to fight at Money in the Bank where the Firefly Funhouse version of Bray Wyatt lost to Strowman.
This thread is … horrifying 😱😱😱😱😱 #ExtremeRules
————–@BraunStrowman vs. @WWEBrayWyatt
Wyatt Swamp Fight pic.twitter.com/GJuoPlbFl9
— WWE (@WWE) July 14, 2020
This Sunday, the Wyatt Family version of Bray Wyatt will return. In other words, “The Eater of Worlds” will look to chow down on Strowman’s universe.
This match was born out of Strowman’s story of how he first joined the Wyatt family and their time at the compound in the Florida swamps. Braun then challenged Wyatt to a swamp fight at Extreme Rules in a non-title match.
The stipulation that the title won’t be on the line is a clear indicator that Bray Wyatt will win. It should then set up a trilogy fight between the two where Strowman will take on The Fiend, which is Wyatt’s most powerful character.
On the flip side, there is a small chance that Strowman could win which would prompt The Fiend to want revenge on Strowman for the champ beating the other two versions of Bray Wyatt. As for now, the smart money is on Wyatt to win and prolonging this feud.
After how successful the Boneyard match and the Firefly Funhouse match were at WM, I am excited to see how this Wyatt Swamp Fight match turns out. The WWE has found something successful with their cinematic approach, but they have to make sure that they don’t do it too often.
Could we see some crocodiles, snakes and other swamp creatures? What about a return of Sister Abigail or another Wyatt Family member?
Wyatt Swamp Fight Non-Title Match –Wyatt (-215)
Other Potential Matches Added to Extreme Rules
As of this writing, the following matches have yet to be made official.
(C)The New Day vs Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura
It’s so hard watching WWE’s tag team divisions on RAW and SmackDown especially when you see just how great the tag division is on AEW. It’s almost like comparing an NFL game to a junior high football game.
The WWE has lost their minds by forgetting how important tag team wrestling is and can be. Instead, it’s all about making individual stars. How’s that working for the WWE? They continue to set record low ratings. But, I digress.
This tag team match could be confirmed as soon as the July 17th episode of SmackDown on Friday night or it could be added the day of the PPV event.
On the June 12th episode of SmackDown, Cesaro and Nakamura beat The New Day in a match. They then fought again on July 10th in a title match, but the bout ended in a No Contest. After the match, the tag champs were put through a table.
So, it’s safe to assume that the WWE will make this tag team title bout at Extreme Rules a tables match, which The New Day will most likely win because the WWE just can’t get their heads on right.
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
