Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Dallas Allsopp, Ben Williams and Bodeen Green will be previewing Extreme Rules 2020.

Extreme Rules takes on a sinister motif this year, as the tag line is ‘The Horrorshow at Extreme Rules’. This sounds more like a warning than an exciting description, so let’s hope the show is memorable for all the right reasons. Will Dolph Ziggler vs Drew McIntyre steal the show? Will the Wyatt Swamp Fight be another fine example of cinematic wrestling? And just who will come out of the show as the Women’s Champions?


ALLSOPP: The only thing that truly intrigued me about this match is the distinct lack of a definitive match stipulation. Dolph Ziggler does absolutely nothing for me, and in all honesty, Heath Slater’s involvement interested me more than anything Ziggler has done. I am adamant Drew McIntyre has no chance of losing this match, as he is not only better than Ziggler, but looks certain to face Randy Orton at SummerSlam.

WILLIAMS: This feud doesn’t particularly interest me as the thought of Dolph Ziggler becoming any kind of champion is a painful one. Ziggler has been an absolute non entity for the best part of 5 years in WWE, yet he still seems to get shoehorned into major SummerSlam feuds every year. I firmly believe Drew McIntyre should, and will, retain his WWE Championship at Extreme Rules, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the history between these two carries them to a pretty good match.

GREEN: Considering there is a match stipulation where a competitor has to rip their opponent's eye out, a Dolph Ziggler win wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen. But in all seriousness, there is little to no chance of Ziggler winning this Sunday. Unless Otis was to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, it wouldn't feel right to have The Show Off beat Drew McIntyre. I am excited to see this match however, mainly due to the fact that we don't know what the stipulation will be until Sunday. Hopefully this will lead to a great match in which we see McIntyre adapt to the stipulation to beat Ziggler.


WILLIAMS: The WWE Universal Championship has been held this year by both Goldberg and Braun Strowman, neither of whom have done anything of note with the title, so I don’t think the championship could be any more devalued if they tried. This match has been designed to extend the feud, therefore the non title stipulation allows a Bray Wyatt win to lead to an inevitable match between The Fiend and Strowman at SummerSlam. I’m looking forward to seeing what WWE pulls out of the bag here to cover for Strowman’s imperfections, and I hope to see Wyatt reclaim the WWE Universal Championship as soon as possible.

GREEN: The WWE Universal Championship has a strange history with not being defended. First it was the infamous Brock Lesnar title reign, then it was The Fiend not defending it at TLC. Due to this, I feel that Braun Strowman not defending the title at Extreme Rules doesn't devalue the title. It will be interesting to see how things will unfold, as like the Firefly Fun House, the swamp is shown to be Bray Wyatt's personal playground. I do feel this will lead to another match down the line at the next pay-per-view in which Strowman will take on The Fiend.

ALLSOPP: Bray Wyatt should never have lost the WWE Universal Championship to Goldberg in the first place, as this neutered The Fiend character and made the title look weak. Additionally, the debacle of Roman Reigns not competing at WrestleMania 36 and not addressing this properly before the show devalued the title further. Braun Strowman is just not the guy to carry the title and make it seem important. Bray Wyatt busting out his most infamous character is a great moment for his fans, but this continues to add to the farcical situation of the title. Until Reigns returns, I’m afraid the big blue belt will play second fiddle to the WWE Championship.


GREEN: I've lost a ton of interest in Sasha Banks and Bayley. It's not a criticism of both women, but rather the way they have been booked. It's felt like either one of them will betray the other for way too long. If these two do finally break up at Extreme Rules, I'll be glad it's over, especially as both women work well against each other. As for the quality of their matches at Extreme Rules, I don't see Bayley vs Nikki Cross being too amazing. Banks vs Asuka however could be an amazing match if given the right amount of time.

ALLSOPP: Sasha Banks is clearly on a collision course with Bayley, therefore it would only make sense for her to lose to Asuka whilst Bayley retains. This would ideally set up a match at SummerSlam once they have dropped the Women’s Tag Team Championship. I pray that their feud is advanced soon, as I’ve been anticipating this match for a while now, and both Banks and Bayley are quite frankly the two strongest wrestlers in the women’s division currently.

WILLIAMS: The idea of Sasha Banks becoming Raw Women’s champion at Extreme Rules seems highly unlikely, but stranger things have certainly happened in WWE in 2020! These two title matches are carrying the Extreme Rules pay-per-view and thus most episodes of Raw and SmackDown preceding the event, and I’m expecting big things to come from both. I believe Banks will help Bayley win her SmackDown Women's Championship match against Nikki Cross, but Bayley will accidentally cost Banks the Raw Women's Championship match against Asuka, thus setting the stage for what is easily the most anticipated match of the year, Banks vs Bayley.