Sunday marks the second pay-per-view since WrestleMania with Extreme Rules emanating from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Vince McMahon put both Shane and Stephanie in charge earlier this month at Payback , so Extreme Rules is the first official full pay-per-view of the “new era.” There are eight scheduled matches, as of this writing, with one other rumored as a standby in the event WWE is short on time. That would involve R-Truth and Goldust vs. Tyler Breeze and Fandango. Had Emma not gotten injured, she was being held to square off with Becky Lynch, but that’s obviously been scrapped.
Here’s a look at the Extreme Rules betting odds for the remaining matches with the exception of The Usos vs The Club in their tornado tag match which was just added this week and hasn’t shown up in any of the firms. The odds come from the betting site 5Dimes and a reminder that if a particular wrestler is listed as a (-300) favorite, you’d be required to put down $300 to win $100. Conversely, if you put down $100 on a (+250) underdog, you’d win $250 back on your wager.
Extreme Rules Kickoff Show Baron Corbin (-700) vs Dolph Ziggler (+400) Corbin is installed as the heavy favorite in the pre-show match in a feud that’s lost quite a bit of luster since it began the night after WrestleMania . Ziggler was the surprise winner at Payback , also on the kickoff show, so under WWE’s current 50/50 booking style, The Lone Wolf will likely get his vengeance over Dolph. The only intrigue here is if Ziggler takes a page out of his friend Ryback’s book and enters Extreme Rules wearing a weightlifting belt that reads “Kick-Off Show-Off.”
United States Championship Match Rusev (-350) vs Kalisto (+250)Rusev is the only former member of the League of Nations with any current direction, never mind that it seems as if they’re recycling what worked for him the first time around. There are rumors floating around that WWE is considering adding a woman to Kalisto’s act, with the intention of having her wrestle in mix-tag matches. That would indicate that this feud may continue seeing how Lana has been brushing up her in-ring skills lately; but, as of now, the current favorite to walk out of Extreme Rulesas U.S. Champ is the Bulgarian Brute.
Tag Team Championship Match The New Day (-380) vs The Vaudevillains (+260) No surprise here. The New Day will most likely be holding the championships a while longer until either The Club or Enzo & Cass take them off them. The Vaudevillains have not received much support backstage, but are being given a chance in this title match Sunday nonetheless.
WWE Women’s Championship Submission Match Charlotte (-840) vs Natalya (+480) Ric Flair has been banned from ringside, but that hasn’t effected her odds of retaining her title at Extreme Rules . So, no Nature Boy, no Hitman, but likely still no title change. As has been the rumor for weeks now, Charlotte is expected to keep her belt until SummerSlam when Sasha Banks finally enters the spotlight.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Fatal Four Way Match The Miz (+140) vs Cesaro (+100) vs Kevin Owens (+800) vs Sami Zayn (+1000)Understandably, these odds have changed the most over the course of the feud because of the additional competitors. The Miz and Cesaro enter Extreme Rulesas the top two favorites. The one thing to keep an eye on, as pointed out by this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, is that if Rusev captures the U.S. title away from Kalisto, don’t expect The Miz to retain here. The reason being, the WWE feels like the Rusev/Lana and Miz/Maryse partnerships are too similar and don’t want both to have both mid-card titles.
Asylum Match Dean Ambrose (-455) vs Chris Jericho (+315) Ambrose is listed as the favorite here in the first-ever Asylum Match. This is a rematch from the duo’s first bout at Payback , which The Lunatic Fringe also won. We got a glimpse into what the Asylum is this past week, as we were informed that the only way to win is by pinfall or submission. There is no escaping — either by climbing or exiting the door — the Asylum at Extreme Rules .
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Extreme Rules Match Roman Reigns (-1050) vs AJ Styles (+550) Word is that Extreme Rules will be the final bout between the two, at least on pay-per-view. Reigns is a heavy favorite to continue his reign, regardless of what the live crowds think. Rumors have Styles transitioning into another feud that will involve Gallows & Anderson, but whether that means with or against them is still to be determined.
There are two additional prop bets available, as reported by WWELeaks , that may raise some eyebrows. Samoa Joe is listed as 14/1 to make an appearance at Extreme Rules with Finn Balor seeing much shorter odds at 9/4. This is more than likely a way for the books to make some more cash by raising suspicion, but definitely something to keep track of.
[Image via YouTube]
