The WWE Extreme Rules event is mere hours away now, with the annual show taking place on Sunday night in Philadelphia inside. There are plenty of exciting matches on tap in the City of Brotherly Love, a few of which have some of the usual stipulations attached that make them that much more meaningful and anticipated. Extreme Rules will begin on Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET on the WWE Network, with the kickoff show beginning at 6.
With just a few hours left until the Extreme Rules event, let's now have a look at how the card has come together. for Sunday night in Philly.
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WWE Extreme Rules matches
Winners Take All -- Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans (Extreme Rules Match): It goes without saying that the conclusion of Stomping Grounds was speaking this match into existence. The challenge was laid down on Raw by Corbin & Evans and was promptly accepted by Rollins & Lynch. What makes this match most intriguing, however, is the fact that both Rollins' universal championship and Lynch's Raw women's championship will be on the line.
WWE Championship -- Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Samoa Joe: Joe, despite being a Raw superstar, launched a brutal attack on Kingston after the champion defeated both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens on the post-Stomping Grounds Raw. The currently jumbled nature of the brand split aside, will this summer finally mark the moment where they pull the trigger on Joe as a world champion? This match was made official on Twitter just hours before the post-Stomping Grounds edition of SmackDown Live, so we'll get the answer to that question in due time.
Roman Reigns & The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre (No Holds Barred Match): Reigns needed some assistance in this feud, and that shockingly came in the form of The Undertaker. This won't be in the running for Match of the Night honors by any means, but with the no holds barred stipulation added on, it could at least be something mildly entertaining.
United States Championship -- Ricochet (c) vs. AJ Styles: Styles made waves by defeating Ricochet in a non-title match the night after the latter was crowned champion, and the former two-time WWE champion made even bigger waves with his recent heel turn and subsequent re-alignment with Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. Now, these two will battle for a third time at Extreme Rules with the United States title on the line and The Club looming in the background.
Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley (Last Man Standing Match): Strowman and Lashley were involved in one of the more memorable and shocking Raw moments in recent memory. Now, they're going to take their rivalry to the next level with the Last Man Standing stipulation in Philly. If they're allowed to do anything the likes of which they pulled off in that opening Raw segment from a few weeks ago, then this could be a hoss fight for the ages.
SmackDown Women's Championship -- Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (2-on-1 Handicap Match): One of the feature storylines on both Raw and SmackDown in recent weeks gets an interesting twist. Through Cross, Bliss was able to earn another shot at the SmackDown women's title after the former defeated the champ clean. Cross then outlasted Bayley in a beat the clock challenge on Raw where the winner would get to choose the stipulation, so Cross placed herself in the match on the side of Bliss to stack the odds against the champ. Anyone who's been wanting to place a bet on a Sasha Banks return may want to finally get that money prepared.
Raw Tag Team Championship -- The Revival (c) vs. The Usos: Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder are exactly where many wanted them to be at the top of the Raw tag team mountain. Now, of course, the icing on the cake of this Revival title run will be continuing their feud with Jimmy & Jey Uso. Hopefully this time around, they'll cut down on a bit of the campy comedy bits and allow two of the best tag teams in the world have a proper feud for the titles.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- Daniel Bryan & Rowan (c) vs. The New Day vs. Heavy Machinery: The tag champs Bryan & Rowan have been clamoring and pleading for some competition. Well, they're going to get just that at Extreme Rules in the form of two challengers. Originally announced as simply the champions defending against Big E & Xavier Woods, Otis & Tucker worked their way into the match with a SmackDown Live main event victory over Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler.
Aleister Black vs. Cesaro: For weeks, Black had been begging for someone to come knock on his door to pick a fight. But when the knock finally came, the person was nowhere to be found. With five days to go until Extreme Rules, however, the person revealed himself to be Cesaro. If you need a dark horse candidate for Match of the Night honors on Sunday, then hey, it's sitting right here.
Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler: This match was added earlier on Sunday, and given recent events on SmackDown, it makes sense to pair these two up for a one-off match. That's all it should be, though, is a one-off before Owens moves into a full-fledged feud with Shane McMahon.
Intercontinental Championship -- Finn Balor (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Kickoff Show): With Nakamura's recent dominant victory over Balor, you assumed that a match for the title was in the cards. With Extreme Rules coming so close to that match, you figured maybe a bout at SummerSlam was the play. Well, WWE decided to pull a fast one on everybody Sunday by announcing the rematch would take place on the Extreme Rules Kickoff Show. Yes, folks, the Kickoff Show.
Cruiserweight Championship -- Drew Gulak (c) vs. Tony Nese (Kickoff Show): Gulak finally reached the top of the cruiserweight mountain at Stomping Grounds -- but he didn't pin then-champion Nese to earn the victory. Nese will now get his rematch and the chance to earn his title back, though he'll be anything but the fan-favorite as Gulak defends his championship in his beloved hometown of Philadelphia.
