WWE Musings

Bianca Belair defends her title against Bayley in a ladder match at Extreme Rules. Image courtesy of WWE

Extreme Rules will take place from Philadelphia, PA tomorrow and unless something happens tonight, this PPV will only have 6 matches. This falls in line with what Triple H likes to do – have a streamlined card that can have time to tell stories in the ring. While Extreme Rules won’t feature the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns it will feature 6 feuds that have been prominently featured on RAW and SmackDown over the last few weeks.

The matches I’m interested in the most at Extreme Rules will be the following:

  • Imperium vs. The Brawling Brutes: These 6 men will absolutely tear the house down on Saturday night. All of these men are hard hitters and work a brutal style. Put them in a Donnybrook match and you will see the violence and brutality ramp up a few notches. This match will be a show stealer.
  • Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle: The Fight Pit match will definitely give Riddle a decided advantage. The lines with reality are definitely blurred as these two have had a beef with each other in real life. I think Matt Riddle will get his win back.
  • Bianca Belair vs. Bayley: The 1st ever Ladder Match for a woman’s title features two of the best women’s wrestlers alive. Bayley has made no secret of her desire to take over the women’s division and with Io Sky and Dakota Kai at her side she will have her chance. Damage Control has been on a roll since the three united at SummerSlam and they are one match away from holding all the gold on RAW. I like Bayley’s chances to walk away with the RAW Women’s title
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross: Expect these two men to wage war with each other in a Strap Match. Kross has been targeting McIntyre ever since he returned to the WWE. Both men have their sights set on challenging Roman Reigns for the top prize in WWE. A win in this violent match will get one of these men a step closer to making a run at The Tribal Chief.

AEW Continues To Be A Mess

Andrade & Sammy Guevara’s backstage antics continue to highlight the dysfunction inside AEW. Image courtesy of wrestlezone.com

AEW seemed to be just getting past the CM Punk/The Elite fiasco from All Out and finding its footing until this past week. Just before the Dynamite show on Wednesday, Sammy Guevara and Andrade El Idolo were involved in a backstage altercation. This altercation was the culmination of a Twitter war of words between the two wrestlers that stemmed from an interview Andrade did. During that interview with Mas Lucha Andrade detailed his problem with Guevara:

“I had an issue with him because he once came to the locker room and complained that we hit him too hard. It’s wrestling, solve it in the ring. If I hit hard, hit me hard too. I learned that he came in and that he accused me like a little girl,” Andrade El Idolo said (via Fightful). “After I learned about it, I spoke to him and asked if he had an issue with me, but he said he did not and that’s all there was to it. It’s funny because not even in WWE. For example, Sheamus likes to hit, and all my respect for him because he loves to hit hard and loves the strikes. He is wild. Even The Miz likes to throw strikes. Not even John Cena complained about me, so if he did not complain, imagine this kid who is just starting, but there’s that.”

Via Mas Lucha

That quote made the rounds and Sammy Guevara absolutely unloaded on Andrade via Twitter. The war of words escalated prompting Andrade to basically threaten to ‘pull up’ on Sammy at Dynamite. True to his word, Andrade pulled up and confronted Guevara which led to the physical altercation. Following the altercation, Tony Khan canceled Andrade’s match on Friday and sent Andrade home. Guevara meanwhile was a part of the main event match that saw Guevara get the pinfall win.

Tony Khan still does not have control of what’s going on backstage. He continues to allow the boys to run the asylum. Guevara has been involved in more than one altercation backstage yet he seemingly continues to be featured on AEW TV. The backstage drama continues to overshadow the wrestling that is happening in the ring. Worse yet… Khan isn’t taking advantage of real life heat to turn it into a work.

The backstage drama isn’t just limited to physical altercations. It’s been noted that several ‘notable’ stars are trying to leave AEW. This is the result of Tony Khan trying to stockpile the roster without having a plan on how to book those he signed. The roster is bloated, the storytelling hasn’t been consistent and when you can’t control egos you end up with the mess you have at AEW. I said this before after the CM Punk/Elite drama – Tony Khan has to stop being ‘one of the boys’ and start being an owner.

Tony Khan took a small but important step into righting the ship by signing the current face of the company, Jon Moxley, to a 5-year extension that will see Moxley’s role expanded:

AEW announcing a new 5-year deal with Jon Moxley. Image courtesy of AEW

Moxley is widely considered to be one of the locker room leaders at AEW and his new role will be crucial if AEW wants to take the attention away from what’s going on backstage and turn it back to where it belongs – in the ring.

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ctaylorjr14

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