Step into the Ring

Wednesday 30 April 2014

EXTREME RULES 2014 - A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY REPEATED?



Traditionally, Extreme Rules has been a welcome distraction in the wake of WrestleMania providing us with much needed hardcore action to offset everything we’ve digested through WrestleMania season. Taking away all the nostalgia acts and getting back to basics, Extreme Rules has been of a very high standard for a very long time and with Daniel Bryan’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory at WrestleMania XXX, 2014 is expected to be no exception.

A new dawn settled over World Wrestling Entertainment at WrestleMania XXX and one night later on Raw, it’s up to the company to carry on that momentum and who knows, by this time in 2015 we may have several new main event talents.

From the Izod Centre in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 4th 2014, this is Extreme Rules 2014.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Extreme Rules Match
(c) Daniel Bryan vs Kane

This is how it starts, you know? We saw it with Dolph Ziggler, we saw it with Chris Benoit and now we’re seeing it with Daniel Bryan. It’s almost as if its 2004 all over again. In case you don’t have any idea what I’m babbling on about, then this is WWE’s best effort to prove us wrong. The fact that we backed Daniel Bryan and as good as forced WWE’s hand and dictated the ending to WrestleMania by our reactions to the Royal Rumble and what came after, well it irked Vince McMahon greatly. Once again his audience thought for themselves and he didn’t like it.

Not that we should have expected him to. History is littered with the failed souls who we backed and McMahon cut loose just to try and prove in his own convoluted way that those who we back aren’t as good as those McMahon hand picks for stardom. McMahon, in character of course, has stated on television numerous times that we don’t know what we want and he knows what is best for us. Sadly that wasn’t just a character talking, it’s the way the real Vince McMahon thinks and I’m certain the way we took to Daniel Bryan, a man who Vince saw as nothing but a mid-card independent wrestler at best, pissed Vince off so much that WWE are now trying to punish us. If you don’t believe me then the signs are all there.

Look back into history at Chris Benoit’s World Heavyweight Championship victory at WrestleMania XX. We lobbied so hard for that to happen and it was a glorious moment when it did. But WWE didn’t see Benoit as WHC material and began to bury him almost immediately after his victory. His Championship defences at Backlash 2004 – when he lost the gold to Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2004 were capable but inspiring when they could have been the best thing about the promotion. That was because WWE had no intention of giving us what we wanted to see as that would have meant the power that be were wrong. And they can’t be seen to back down.

The same goes for Dolph Ziggler in 2013. A man WWE had no intention of making a main event star because of his height and build. Ziggler wasn’t a Batista or Brock Lesnar so WWE never meant for him to get as far as he did. The only reason WWE put the strap around his waist was because we refused to lay down and let Vince have his own way. We stood up and refused to settle for the usual faces in the usual spots. Dolph Ziggler may have been buried in his first title defence and dropped the gold to Alberto Del Rio but no one can deny his matches with the Mexican over the title were some of the best technical and well acted bouts of the year. On this occasion WWE were wrong again.

It’s become a common theme when a wrestler who displays skills we are willing to pay to see comes up to the main roster. We back them even if WWE doesn’t but should that really meant our opinions are mocked and ignored by those who think they know better when actually they’ve proven they know very little? No. After all, if WWE refused to listen to us we could always take our business elsewhere. I’m sure TNA could do with the extra support in 2014. The fact of the matter is, WWE have to listen to us because we pay the bills. Our ticket money, subscription money, pay-per view and merchandise money pay for the product we see each week and without us, they’d be out of business in five years. They don’t have to like it but they do have to move with the times.

The landscape of the industry is changing. No longer are we prepared to sit back and pay to see the likes of John Cena in the main event. We want new and vibrant talent to thrill us and Daniel Bryan falls into that category but sadly Kane doesn’t. There is a roster full of wrestlers who could have contested a classic with Bryan at Extreme Rules and looking past the obvious rematch which Randy Orton should have received, the likes of Alberto Del Rio should have been a consideration for this bout. WWE could have held a tournament the likes of the Intercontinental Championship tournament they held for the now second most important piece of gold in the company, Kane need not have factored.

But that isn’t WWE’s way. Daniel Bryan’s success is a product of his talent and our never say die attitude to star making. WWE had very little to do with it, in fact if left to them as we saw at the Royal Rumble and before, Daniel Bryan would have been a lifetime mid-card player and Batista would now be holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Now we have to stick behind Bryan and demand the same booking from WWE after WrestleMania as we did before. Otherwise this is the kind of thing we expect until he loses the gold later in the year.

This will probably miss out on the main event spot to be replaced by Evolution vs The Shield, because Triple H still has the egomaniac inside him and there’s a little piece of him that doesn’t want Bryan to succeed so he and WWE can say ‘we told you so’. But that will only be if we allow it. Like wrestling, crowds have moved on and we know what is good and what is trash so should we continue to voice our displeasure WWE will be forced to act in order to keep their audience. They know that with the WWE Network still hanging in the balance audience loss would be fatal to the subscription only channel and in turn that could cost the company a lot of money. It’s in their best interest now to listen to the people who made them, otherwise what is the incentive to purchase their events and their Network? If we can’t get what we want out of everyday WWE programming what are the chances of seeing what we want on a channel ran by inmates?

WrestleMania XXX was a glorious day for fans of wrestling. We were vindicated in our beliefs and WWE for once listened. Now it has to continue to do it or suffer the consequences. Kane isn’t a main event opponent in 2014 if he ever was at all. New blood is needed, I’d have much preferred to see an NXT wrestler win a tournament to earn the right to take Kane’s place and make a name for himself. Let’s just hope this is a small blip and soon we’ll be hearing the tune ‘Cult of Personality’ blast over system as Punk makes his return as a heel to combat Daniel Bryan in the feud of the year.

Winners Prediction: Daniel Bryan

WWE Divas Championship Match
(c) Paige vs Tamina

I told you, I told you, I told you! Okay, so it didn’t happen at WrestleMania XXX as I first predicted but hey, it did happen and that is the most important thing, right? Along with the youth revolution which seems to be taking WWE by storm, the company finally saw sense and promoted the talented and sexy Paige to the main roster in style. We could kind of seeing it coming after A.J Lee won the WrestleMania Divas Invitational and Paige strolled out the next night on Raw but who gives a damn? Anyone who witnessed the extraordinary reaction to her victory which brought back memories of Dolph Ziggler winning the World Heavyweight Championship the night after WrestleMania XXIX. The crowd went literally nuts.

It’s heartening to see that an audience who may not have been widely exposed to the brilliant NXT, let’s hope WWE bring out a release of the highlights in the near future or at least NXT Arrival on DVD it was awesome, cheer so wildly for the English girl from Norwich which is approximately two hours away from where I live. It means that not only are the audience refusing to sit back and accept the same old stars WWE are wheeling out but they’re demanding something better, something which could help change the face of not just the company but also the Divas Division which with the exception of Emma, Natalya and A.J Lee has become sickeningly stale.

I’ll touch upon the number one contender to the gold in just a moment but in three years time, with the correct backing and pushing the new banner of WWE could see Daniel Bryan with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Paige with the WWE Divas Championship and Cesaro with the Intercontinental Championship on. Wouldn’t that be a turn of events? Three excellent talents all from independent wrestling backgrounds as the face of a company who were widely known for their hatred towards anything not WWE. It would be a moment in time for sure but for that to happen the WWE machine needs to be put behind at least the two lesser names first which means Championship wins and losses and a mega push.

But then the backing from the fans is there and it just goes to prove that if you put the gold on people who fans want to see then it can rejuvenate the division altogether. Something which should happen with the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules if Cesaro wins the number one contenders tournament which will have come to a close by the time you read this. Of course it’s still happening as I write this segment so fingers crossed when you get down the article Cesaro’s name is sitting next Langston’s.

Of course, believe it or not, WWE have done the easy part of putting the gold around Paige’s slim and very sexy waist. The real trick will come with keeping it there and keeping her relevant. She has the character, the drive, the skill and determination to make it big in WWE but we all saw what happened to A.J Lee after her feud with Kaitlyn had finished in 2013. WWE ran out of challengers for her to face and she was thrown anything going at the time often with banal results. A wrestler is only as good as their last opponent, if WWE feed Paige nothing but rubbish for the next four months then there’s a chance she could be damaged by the title run instead of elevated.

How can WWE make it better? The simple answer is a re-haul of its Divas Division. They’ve already done it twice, one with A.J Lee and once with Paige, it wouldn’t take a great amount of money to do it again but with the whole roster. Wrestlers like Aksana, The Bella Twins who will stay whether we like it or not thanks to their connections up the ladder, Summer Rae, Eva Marie and Rosa Mendez to name just a few need to be shown the exit door in favour of NXT stars and possibly new blood. I have said it before and will say it again here, right now is the perfect time for WWE to hire some Japanese female stars to pad out its division with. Along with Paige, Emma, A.J and Natalya five Japanese stars would be just what the Divas league needs right now.

WWE wouldn’t even need to put them through development because they know what they’re doing right from the bat. Maybe it’s not a long term solution but whilst Paige is fending off all comers and having feuds with the best of the female talent then WWE would have ample time to build another Paige, another A.J, another Natalya and they’d have a year or two in which to do it. The suggestion may not be a popular one with some people reading this but I’m sure you’d much prefer some divas who can really go in the ring rather than the half baked efforts most who need their marching order give week in and week out.

The main reason I mention new talent from abroad is because without knowing it, WWE have all but ended any hope of getting over their current female stars. You see A.J was Champion for so long that she went through just about every woman in the division. No one could defeat her. But then a new and younger star comes in and takes the gold within three minutes, even though she is more talented than almost every other diva in WWE, well it all but negates ant threat the rest had. What WWE were effectively saying was that none of the women were good enough. So how can we take any of them seriously as a threat to someone better than A.J?

So onto the matter in hand. Could someone please tell me why we’re looking at Paige vs Tamina instead of Paige vs A.J in a rematch for the Divas Championship? What mastermind decided that Tamina, who has been really sloppy in the ring over the past six months, was a better substitute for one of the best the division has at the moment? Just because A.J was becoming familiar as Champion doesn’t mean to say she’d be redundant as challenger because she wouldn’t. A.J is just what Paige needs now, a steady hand to guide her through the first tumultuous months as Champion. After three months then it would be okay to move Paige on but not now. Especially when the pair could contest some of the best divas matches we’ve ever seen.

Maybe this is a blip in WWE. Maybe they want to give the audience a rest and will introduce A.J back into the picture at Payback. It would make sense, A.J coming for payback after Paige embarrassed her the night after WrestleMania. In the meantime though WWE need to mark Paige as something different to the rest of the fake, padded and silicone field so she stands out amongst the rest. We already know that Paige isn’t going to rely on her looks to get by and her breasts, as far as I know are all real. She has the looks, the skills but WWE could do something more with her.

In NXT she was portrayed as the ‘Anti-Diva’. A tough, take no prisoners woman who didn’t see herself as a normal WWE diva and walked a different path. It was a great character. When you look at Paige compared to other WWE divas she does stand out. Because she’s British, she doesn’t possess that ‘just come the surgeons table’ look every other divas has. She doesn’t have a blinding tan or an ego and isn’t using WWE as a stepping stone to Playboy or Hollywood as some of the others are. She’s wholesome, the girl next door and she has a rough and ready look about her which I personally love. Why not go the whole hog and really force her ‘Anti-Diva’ character through. The best way to do so would be for her to come out on Raw, bin the Divas Championship and reintroduce the old WWE Women’s Championship title which was neat and not an piece of vulgar trash as the current title is.

Many fans in WWE are indifferent to the Divas division because of what it is. It’s gone from something respected with some excellent females representing it to a glorified laughing stock just to keep modern. News flash, it’s not the division which has to stay modern it’s the stars and modern stars would have kept the old Women’s Division relevant. It would be an excellent move for Paige to swap titles and proclaim her mission to rid WWE of divas and bring back the real women. Fans would love her even more for it and hell, maybe even take the league more seriously. Look what the Women’s Championship did for wrestlers like Lita and Trish Stratus and then look what the Divas Championship has done for its stars if you can find just one.

Until WWE implement that change we have cause for hope that no longer are they willing to have the audience dictate so instead they’ll act faster. Paige is proof of all the good that can happen if a chance is taken. The future is bright for her and if WWE believe we’re going to sit back and accept more of the same rubbish they’ve been peddling for the last five years, well they can ‘think again’.

Winners Prediction: Paige

Steel Cage Match
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt

It was the wrong result at WrestleMania XXX; I think that is something we can all agree on. After such a brilliant build–up which featured flawless performances all around there was a real buzz around the WWE Universe that along with other wrestlers such as Paige, The Shield and Cesaro, there was going to be a youth revolution of sorts which meant John Cena doing the right thing and putting Bray Wyatt over on the grandest stage of them all. It wasn’t an unreasonable ask or demand, that Cena do for someone else what other did for him time and time again, in fact would have shed a better and different light on the walking merchandise machine altogether.

Instead of being someone obsessed by his legacy, which wouldn’t have been harmed in the smallest by losing to Wyatt at WrestleMania as it didn’t even have to be clean, John Cena would have propelled The Wyatt Family into the atmosphere had Bray pinned him clean in the middle of the ring with Sister Abigail regardless of whomever had interfered on his behalf. You see, when things are really going the way fans want we don’t care about how it happens and we can even overlook slight misdemeanours such as run-ins and interference if it means a new star is going to be solidified.

Was it really too much to ask for, after Cesaro had won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Daniel Bryan had began his ascension towards immortality and WWE had proven that it was serious about getting behind its younger stars when The Shield went over fossils The New Age Outlaws and Kane? Just imagine how much better WrestleMania would have been if WWE had have had the courage to book John Cena to look at the lights. That way, almost every new star on the roster or at least those who had the most prospect would have triumphed where it really mattered. If only WWE were courageous enough to pull that proverbial trigger.

In future years, when Bray Wyatt is at the top of the tree and he will be, everyone would have looked back at WrestleMania XXX and pointed to the event as a milestone, a turning point in a young mans career where the company who were signing his pay cheques really put the entire force of the machine behind him. Now though it will be looked upon as a stumbling block for Wyatt who surely has to rectify the wrong at Extreme Rules, otherwise where does he go from here? Surely there’ll be no coming back from two defeats at the hands of John Cena no matter how hard Wyatt is pushed.

Had WWE had the balls to do the right thing on the night then the company would have had the perfect storyline going into Extreme Rules and even Payback in June. Even better, had Wyatt defeated John Cena twice in a row then it would have been expected and logical for John Cena to go over at Payback with no comeback on Wyatt. Now though Bray Wyatt stands on the edge of a very awkward situation because if he does lose inside the steel cage then he and The Wyatt Family are going to tumble to the bottom of the pile and they have worked far too hard for that.

So what would have been the perfect situation for Bray Wyatt and John Cena at WrestleMania XXX? Well, ideally, the Mercedes Benz Superdome would have erupted had Luke Harper and Eric Rowan inserted themselves in the match, beat John Cena so badly that they carried him out and we didn’t see him again until Payback. One victory would been as powerful as two and meant more had The Wyatt Family put one of the company’s top stars on the shelf for a month or so. That way, the John Cena kidnap story would have opened the door for Bray Wyatt to combat Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on this night whilst the new and improved Evolution battled The Shield elsewhere on the card.

Bray Wyatt wouldn’t have had to beat Bryan, that wouldn’t have been necessary. Had Wyatt been distracted at the death of a superb match by John Cena’s theme tune playing and then the lights going off before a haunting promo aired of John Cena breaking out of The Wyatt stronghold, before Daniel Bryan levelled Wyatt with a running knee to retain the gold it would have been one of the best things about the product in many years. That would have set up a John Cena comeback at Payback along with weeks of haunting promos in which Cena would have adopted the Wyatt mantra to fight fire with fire. People may have even found a new respect for John Cena that way, that he was willing to change his gimmick to give us something different.

However, now we’re left with someone that could ultimately spell the end downfall of The Wyatt Family should things go awry on the night. I hope for everyone’s sake that WWE don’t sacrifice one of the biggest stars of its future just for John Cena’s ego or unneeded development because Cena can’t develop anymore without a heel turn, which would be a sumptuous conclusion to the ending of this feud I’m sure you’ll all agree. At Extreme Rues, WWE have to make an extreme sacrifice and one which ultimately benefit all involved.

Follow the Buzzards and they will lead you to a promise land which is better than the scene we currently have, which admittedly is getting better and better by the minute. The Wyatt Family, in their own creepy and unsettling way could change WWE forever and that can only be a good thing.

Winners Prediction: Bray Wyatt

The Shield vs Evolution

Is it me, or does the re-coming together of Evolution all seem a little too coincidental after Triple H was bitten by the wrestling bug again at WrestleMania XXX? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad thing that he’s decided to step back between the ropes when he stood idly by for far too long and ruled over all and sunder but he was leader of The Authority which Randy Orton and to a lesser degree Batista were both a part of, why feel the need to bring back a group which previously made Randy Orton and Batista but only allowed ‘The Animal’ to flourish. If anyone disputes that claim then rewind your collection to 2004 / 2005 and look at the difference in Batista and Randy Orton’s ascensions.

When Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit in a cracking bout at SummerSlam 2004 for the World Heavyweight Championship, it should have been the beginning of something meteoric for ‘The Viper’. He should have been given the full force of WWE’s machine and pushed as the next big thing. Instead, Triple H became greedy and instead of allowing his young protégé to flourish by giving him assistance of several high level pay-per view victories over ‘The Game’, Triple H furiously lobbied backstage and got his wife to overturn the push. The result was Randy Orton dropping the gold which should have made him star one month later at Unforgiven 2004 in a rather lacklustre bout. And that wasn’t the end of it either.

After losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H, Orton was continually buried by Triple H who was still notoriously selfish at the same and couldn’t bare to sit back and watch people take his spot. Even Survivor Series 2004, Randy Orton wasn’t allowed a clean singles victory of Triple H and ever title match the pair contested ended only one way and that was the Triple H way. The consequence of Randy Orton being treated like such a jobber was that fans didn’t see him a legit main event player for the next few years and to build his image Orton was forced to again turn heel, align himself with his father and feud with The Undertaker who did treat him with the star quality he needed. All that would have been negated had Triple H done the right thing the first time around and allowed Randy Orton the spotlight he’d earned.

On the flip side, Batista, Triple H’s best friend in real life, was given the red carpet treatment even though ‘The Animal’ was far inferior to Randy Orton between the ropes. As where Orton was thrown into the deep end and not given the chance to swim, Batista was granted with a slow and methodical push which made sense and was a better product to watch as a whole. Triple H did everything he could to ensure that his best friend got the very highest quality treatment on his path to the main event and World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H gave everything he had to his WrestleMania 21 bout against Batista, unlike what he gave to Randy Orton months before. Even after he’d dropped the gold, Triple H voluntarily lost to Batista on pay-per view cementing the Guardians of the Galaxy star’s aura.

There was a notable difference in the way Triple H viewed his compares in Evolution and Randy Orton got the worst of it. What’s to stop Triple H doing the same this time around? Clearly, even though Randy Orton is the better wrestler though he has had some horrible months with the gold around his waist, this whole set-up is designed to favour Batista who was given a rough ride by the fans upon his return. Triple H believes that if he can give Batista another high profile story then fans will change their minds about ‘The Animal’ and back him once more. I would even go as far to say that Batista has been handpicked to replaced Daniel Bryan as WWE World Heavyweight Champion come SummerSlam.

Where that would leave Randy Orton is anyone’s guess and regardless of whether you believe Evolution was needed when The Authority already existed and we all have to move with the times, the one fact that remains is that Triple H, the man who vowed to put youth first when he got hold of the reigns, should be using this as a platform on which to launch The Shield who are clearly favourites in the WWE Universe’s mind to go far in the future.

Maybe I was wrong about not splitting The Shield. At first I thought it was a great idea because it would favour Roman Reigns who is on a collision course with Triple H at SummerSlam in what would surely be a stature enhancing victory for the young gun and future star. Now though, seeing how WWE treated Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose when the pair weren’t affiliated with Reigns in singles and doubles competition then it wasn’t such a great idea after all. Yes, the feud with Evolution is a great idea which hopefully will result in three young stars being elevated higher than they could have imagined by going over three established main event stars but could this have been the main event of the event? Of course it could and had WWE added Daniel Bryan to The Shield team and Ric Flair to Evolution to complete their re-gathering it would have made for a spectacular eight man battle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It would be only natural for Randy Orton to chase the gold he lost at WrestleMania XXX.

Ric Flair would have been a contentious decision and if WWE didn’t want to employ him in an in ring capacity then add someone else to Evolution ranks to give them exposure. Either way, it would have been an excellent idea to have Bryan here and The Shield in the main event which they could still be in anyway. But now WWE have booked themselves into a hole. If they don’t put Daniel Bryan in the main event of the show then his reign risks beginning like Chris Benoit’s did in 2004 namely in an unmoving fashion but if they leave The Shield out of the top liner then it could be viewed by some that the company don’t see the trio as future stars who could carry the company.

It’s a problem which will be sorted out on the night but for now, I think WWE have done the right thing with the exception of rebranding the trio as Evolution once again. Those who remember Evolution’s first time in the company will be expecting Randy Orton to take a backseat to Batista which isn’t fair on him after all his hard if unspectacular work since summer 2013. Not only that, but people will be expecting an ego trip by Triple H which will only serve to diminish The Shield and the effect they could have come August. Our only hope is that at Extreme Rules, justice is served.

Winners Prediction: The Shield

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
(c) Big E vs Bad News Barrett

Seeing as Big E didn’t win the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX, WWE needed to do something drastic in order to make the gold relevant again. When news came through that Christian was injured in action again, surely it’s time for the injury prone Captain Charisma to call it day before he does some serious damage, he’s just come back from injury for crying out loud, then I believed that WWE were just going to throw in someone no one cares about and be done with it. I have been pleasantly surprised.

Whilst some matches in the tournament have been questionable to say the least, not to mention the outcomes, one has to believe that now the company have gotten rid of WrestleMania XXX the WWE Intercontinental Championship is top of their list as the reimaging of their product comes about. For too long has it languished around the waist of someone we don’t care about and in feuds which meant little, by announcing a tournament and having such stars as Rob Van Dam, Alberto Del Rio and Cesaro take the quest for the gold so seriously then it shouts to the audience that WWE intend to restore the division back to its former glory.

However, as it turned out, none of the three men mentioned above won the tournament and instead of the beginning of what would have been Cesaro’s moment of glory, an unprecedented rise to the top of the company which would have resembled that of the glory days of wrestling when one participant was handpicked by management to be elevated to main event level, ends up being yet another chance for the rather lacklustre Bad News Barrett who has had little to no effect on the company since leaving NXT way back in 2010 and falling down the roster to almost obscurity. Even his Intercontinental Championship reign in 2013 was bloody terrible barring his Payback outing and WrestleMania XXIX pre-show bout with The Miz.

I had heard rumours circulating that Barrett was in line for a shot and even a Championship victory to help further his new image, however having witnessed Barrett over the past few weeks and months I just cannot believe this is true. Wade has had nothing of note to do for the longest of times in WWE and his character sitting at ringside and delivering the ‘bad news’ of the match and slating each wrestler before he runs down the town may be a gimmick which could be hot in 2014, but one which has been done before, over and over again. I concede, Wade Barrett does have the talent and skill to pull off such a device and there’s nothing guaranteed to rile an American audience more than an Englishman telling them what is what, but does that really deserve a shot and possible reign with the second most important Championship in the company today?

Right now, as things stand, the answer is no. Simply put, there’s nothing to the character just yet, however if WWE gave it another four months with intense build whilst putting the WWE machine behind him, Barrett could be huge. It’s a sad truth that Wade Barrett holds no interest with the audience at the moment and to have him featured here without any real reason is a disappointment enough, to have him defeat Big E for the title at Extreme Rules would just put everything Langston has achieved with the title so far back to square one.

WWE needs a leader of the division at this point in time. Someone they can count on and more importantly someone the WWE Universe can get behind. Should WWE keep the gold on Langston until Money in the Bank or SummerSlam they could build him to be a real threat to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 2015 not to mention a huge babyface to rival John Cena. All the signs are there for WWE to do this. The audience are yearning for someone else but Cena and whilst Daniel Bryan fills that void right now I doubt he will forever unless WWE begin to take his role seriously. With a great catchphrase and a little more tweaking in the ring, Langston could be the next big star and certainly someone to battle Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXXI.

A loss to Wade Barrett so soon after the biggest event of the year would be disastrous for Big E’s career. There’s an argument as to whether Big E could drop the title if Cesaro was his opponent or if the company had something else lined up for him to partake in but they don’t, on either level. What would be the sense of bothering to unravel all the hard work you’ve done with Langston over the last year just in the uncertain hope that things will be different this time around with Barrett. It’s surely much better to bide your time, allow Barrett to simmer slowly before making him a main threat to the Intercontinental Championship. We would be far more likely to accept him as a heir to the throne if that course of events were to transpire.

There have been so many ‘big guy’ failures in WWE over the last couple of years that everything should be done to ensure Langston isn’t the next casualty in a long line of disappointments. From Bobby Lashley to Vladimir Kozlov to the other guy whose name escapes me now, every big guy after 2007 has flopped horrendously but this time there is something special about Langston. First he was dull and boring, and then suddenly something happened and the current champion was on fire. We couldn’t get enough of him and almost overnight it appeared that the wrestling fairy had visited him and waved her magic wand.

If WWE makes sure to protect Langston at all costs and not job him out to someone who will almost inevitably fall at the first hurdle when WWE lose interest in him, they could have lightening in a bottle and it would make a change to see the company actually stick on one person instead of twist on several.

Winners Prediction: Big E

Cesaro vs Jack Swagger vs Rob Van Dam

I have to say, that I didn’t see this coming when Cesaro split with Jack Swagger and though you will read elsewhere in this preview of my belief that Cesaro would be opposing Langston in the Intercontinental Championship match, that was written before WWE put their own beliefs before thought and booked this filler bout. Which when you look at it, is exactly what it is.

Cesaro is better than this. We all know that to be true. After his WrestleMania XXX bout it would make sense to surely crown him the new I.C Champion to capitalise on the momentum he has coming out of Mania and splitting from Jack Swagger which is the best career move WWE have done for him since he joined the company. The Real Americans duo was wearing thin after WWE decided to book them as not a threat to the Tag Team Championship but a joke for all other teams including the dead in the water, Rybaxel, to get one over on. Had Cesaro stayed next to Jack Swagger much longer than he may have been unsalvageable.

Not only were the tandem already pointless before they reached Royal Rumble back in January, Cesaro was being severely affected by the association with the racist Zeb Coulter regardless of the amusing signs the artist formerly known as Dutch Mantel carried to the ring. Things looked bleak at TLC when Cesaro and Swagger ate dust in the tag team turmoil bout and then worse when he and Swagger jobbed to John Cena in what could have been a career damaging mini feud which Cesaro managed to shrug off. Now, with his new association with Paul Heyman, Extreme Rules should have been the beginning of something special.

If anyone needs convincing of what the ‘Paul Heyman’ affect can have on wrestlers looking for a break, look at what it did for C.M Punk, Brock Lesnar and for a short time only, Curtis Axel. Each one of the thrived under Heyman’s keen eye and with someone as popular as Cesaro, this plan surely cannot fail to, well, fail. Most are even touting Cesaro as Lesnar’s WrestleMania XXXI opponent when the whole association turns sour as it did with Punk in 2013. Cesaro vs Brock Lesnar, possibly for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is one match I would pay big money to see.

But it could all be academic if WWE don’t do the right thing and push Cesaro until he cannot possibly go any further. Had Cesaro been placed in the Intercontinental Championship bout, it would have been natural progression. In order to carry on the re-imaging of the title which once dipped in form and importance then WWE must carry on pushing it up the ranks onto more important wrestlers or at very least wrestlers with enough popularity to take the next step up with and without the title. By association the title would then become more valuable and important to the audience as it once was. Extreme Rules would have been the perfect time for Cesaro to take the next leap forward but at this rate I cannot see Cesaro being anything beyond a mid-card player by Money in the Bank in July let alone a serious contender to take the briefcase, which naturally would be a great tension builder should he hold into the object long enough for Lesnar to dethrone Bryan.

What then for Rob Van Dam and Jack Swagger? Well the latter really needs a personality boost in order to do anything else meaningful within the company. Since returning from inactivity and his first burial, Swagger has gone no further despite at first looking like a favourite to reclaim that main event spot he once held in 2010 when holding the blue brand’s top title. Since then though, he’s become an even bigger joke than he was before and right now, the best thing I can think of for Swagger to do with his career is seek out other opportunities because he’s going nowhere in WWE.

Is part of the problem Zeb Coulter? Yes. No one can take anyone who is managed by an aged racist seriously. Coulter has to be shelved. He got across his and Vince McMahon’s point and was amusing for a time but now he’s just plain offensive and when people see that all they see is Jack Swagger. Also, it’s time to do away with the ‘We the People’ chant which only compounds problems and saying that I have just purchased a Cesaro shirt from WWEshop.com with that inscribed on the back. But hey, it was all they had for him. Time for WWE to rebrand the shirt with ‘Paul Heyman Guy’ on the back I think.

There’s a market for Jack Swagger in the world of wrestling. Sadly, it’s just not in WWE. Anywhere else around the world, Swagger would be a headline star. He has the talent and qualities to be the main man in TNA where his style fits perfectly and like MVP, Japan would welcome him with open arms though under a different name. As much as I look and try my hardest, I cannot see a future for Jack Swagger in WWE. He’s never going to hold another piece of meaningful gold and certainly never be a main event player again so what the hell is the point of keeping him around when you have a roster full of NXT stars such as Adrian Neville and Sami Zayne ready to make their debut on the main roster? The kindest thing WWE can do for Jack Swagger now would be wish him well in his future endeavours and not make the same mistake with the next candidate.

Rob Van Dam still has something to offer the wrestling world as a legend of the business. Not yet has he passed his best and put with someone who needs a boost, say, one of the NXT up and comers, Van Dam could still be a valuable part of McMahon’s enterprise. Don’t get me wrong, ‘Mr. Monday Night’ doesn’t have tons left in the machine and I doubt he’ll be able to go another three years even on the schedule he’s working now, but whilst he’s still here WWE must make the best of him. With no Chris Jericho anytime soon, Van Dam could fill that mantle ably.

It’s how legends like Van Dam should be used in 2014. WWE should stop believing they could have designs on the upper-mid-card spot and instead book them a logical story in which to elevate younger talent. For example, and this is only a theory here, WWE could bring up Zayne or Neville from NXT, even Bo Dallas and have them target RVD as their first statement of intent in the company. Their reason could be that by defeating Van Dam they would have a notch in their belt a lot of regular WWE stars don’t currently have therefore could theoretically used RVD as a stepping stone to better things.

Van Dam has the agility and the popularity to carry a younger star in his first ever main roster feud and even the capability to lose effectively or even help them up the ladder by defeating them. Truly great wrestlers like Rob Van Dam could easily defeat younger stars whilst elevating them, no problem. It’s something WWE need to do right away because there is no other role in the company for him than this. At his age, there’s no space for him in a younger and somewhat rejuvenated main event; so ironically, it may take a younger generation to make a star of the old one vital again.

Winners Prediction: Cesaro

2 on 1 Handicap Match
R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs Alexander Rusev

On one hand, this is great news. Another example of WWE listening to its audience and giving us someone new to believe in and for those who saw Rusev at the Royal Rumble and weekly on NXT, which I still believe they should bring out a ‘Best of’ release for but only for the last year or so since the show became a talked out commodity of WWE, will know what a talent this guy this. He may look like the disastrous Vladimir Kozlov but he has talent in abundance. In many way Rusev is WWE’s Samoa Joe, only one the company will take seriously because they never did with Joe thanks to his size and weight.

Whilst this is good news, it’s also bad, because Rusev isn’t pitted against two of WWE’s finest. Instead he’s forced to face the surplus R-Truth who can’t believe his luck that he’s pitted in an advertised pay-per view outing and the still undecided Xavier Woods who whilst straddled at Truth’s side is going nowhere in WWE. Woods is a talent no doubt but R-Truth is holding him back and even then he’s a clear mid-card player, you only have to look at his image to see that. There’s no way WWE are going to book this guy in a main position on the card, rather he’s comic relief and the pair will undoubtedly fade away before fans can get bored of them.

Here though, we concentrate on the beast that is Rusev and his future in WWE which is very bright indeed. Whilst he could be a match for Brock Lesnar in a years time and I’m betting Vince is lining him up for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign in the near future, at Extreme Rules he would have been better suited as an opponent for Big E should the Intercontinental Champion not be pitied against Cesaro which is still a possibility as I type this. Even though you will have already read the preview for the match above, it was the last thing I typed thanks to not knowing who the opponent would be. Alexander Rusev and Big E could have contested what would have been the surprise match of the night and it would have gotten over WWE’s younger roster better than this will.

When you look at the facts in the cold light of day, R-Truth and Xavier Woods are mere cannon fodder. Whilst the former has no future in WWE in 2014, the latter would have a better shot at stardom if WWE began booking one NXT match on their monthly pay-per view events. Woods could then show what he’s capable of against wrestlers of his own standing and maybe be taken a little more seriously than he will be here when he’s crushed by the monster Rusev. This match has ‘squash’ and ‘filler’ written all over it, but then again if it’s going to create a new star then you won’t find me complaining.

Winners Prediction: Alexander Rusev

Extreme Rules Pre-Show Match
WWELC Match
El Torito vs Hornswoggle

At least this spot hasn’t been given to two wrestlers who could have done with the exposure of being on the main body of the card right? Unfortunately, that’s the only good thing I can see about this match because it’s going to totally suck whilst giving birth to a new match type in a modified, that’s WWE’s way of saying they’re ready to mock those restricted by height in their very own comedy TLC match which is what this basically is.

I haven’t been that thrilled by the El Torito vs Hornswoggle feud as of late. It may have always been coming to this, seeing as they are the only two smaller men in the business, but seriously? Another singles match between the pair? This could have been a six man tag team match which pitted Los Matadores and El Torito vs Hornswoggle and two of 3MB; it would have been more preferable to this which is booked solely to be a comedy effort in order to relieve the audience before the heavy stuff kicks in. I have nothing more to say on the matter, it may be good, but it won’t be worth a spot on pay-per view or even before the event kicks in.

Winners Prediction: El Torito

In an event with the name ‘Extreme Rules’, 2014’s offering suffers from a lack of stipulation matches of which there are only two proper ones on the entire card. I remember the day when every match would be fought under some type of extreme rule as the pay-per view designation suggests but now WWE don’t want to throw caution to the wind too much in case it deals and injury to one of its best chances of success in the year ahead. You can see where they’re coming from, but as proved at WrestleMania XXX it’s good to take a chance once in a while and this should have been one of those times WWE did so.

Once again, looking down the card, WWE have left off the likes of Alberto Del Rio, The Usos and Dolph Ziggler who may still be included on the night but without hype of their appearance they will be mere add on which isn’t good enough. The main event match isn’t a main event match at all rather WWE’s feeble attempt to prove us wrong whilst further down the card there are chances for the likes of Paige, Alexander Rusev, Bray Wyatt and should Triple H not get carried away with his little ego trip, The Shield to all shine and build a platform for their success in 2014.

Extreme Rules 2014 could be a huge night for WWE’s younger stars and indeed the future of the company altogether. It’s a chance to revert back to the way things used to be done when there were stars to be made and we don’t get many of those anymore. It would take an extreme sacrifice for an extreme chance to work out. But then again, what do WWE have to lose?

Onwards and upwards...