Tuttowrestling Forum

If you’re looking for two Superstars hungry for the limelight in WWE right now, look no further than The Miz and Cody Rhodes.

Both will get the chance to shine on the pay-per-view stage this Sunday when they square off in the Extreme Rules Pre-Show, streaming live at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!, Google+, Pinterest, Samsung SMART TVs and Xbox 360.

Miz and Rhodes each boast impressive championship resumes. Rhodes is a former Intercontinental, World Tag Team and WWE Tag Team Champion, while The Awesome One is a former WWE Champion, in addition to having the WWE Tag Team, World Tag Team, U.S., Unified Tag Team and Intercontinental Titles on his extensive resume.

But all of that is in the past. Now, both attention-craving Superstars will look to impress the WWE Universe and get back into the title picture.

The Miz is no stranger to capturing titles during pay-per-view Pre-Shows, defeating Wade Barrett to capture the Intercontinental Title during the WrestleMania 29 interactive event. But just one night later, he lost the illustrious title to Barrett on Raw. As for Rhodes, he’s found himself in an on-again, off-again partnership with Damien Sandow to form Team Rhodes Scholars. Although a formidable and synergistic duo, they never really found themselves competing for the WWE Tag Team Titles.

A victory at Extreme Rules could propel the winner right to the forefront of championship contenders. So it can be truly said that circumstances are “Extreme.”

WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No will face the biggest challenge of their eight-month title reign when they defend against The Shield’s Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins in a Tag Team Tornado Match at Extreme Rules. Unlike traditional tag team contests, the stipulation for this Sunday’s championship duel does away with the formality of tagging; instead, all four Superstars will fight concurrently until a pinfall or submission decision is rendered.

A holdover from the nascent years of tag team competition, the Tornado Match seemingly plays to the strengths of Reigns and Rollins who, alongside Dean Ambrose, have excelled in matches in which their frenetic ring style isn’t stymied by tags. That’s to say nothing of the inherent danger of Tag Team Tornado Matches. The risk of being blindsided is grave, and double-team attacks are inevitable. When all four Superstars are battling in the ring simultaneously for the entire duration of a match, the overall chance of injury is heightened immeasurably.

Yet considering the stakes, perhaps the combatants wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mysterious though they remain to much of the WWE roster, the “Hounds of Justice” have become familiar foes of Kane and Daniel Bryan. The ever-popular titleholders were among the first Superstars to try to take down The Shield, having teamed with Ryback in a grueling Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match against the trio last December. Ultimately, The Shield prevailed in that contest, just as they did in a recent six-man tag against Kane, Bryan and WWE’s one and only Phenom, The Undertaker.

Even though Team Hell No has so far failed in its efforts to defeat The Shield, could Extreme Rules represent the perfect opportunity for Kane and Bryan to put into action whatever insight they’ve gleaned about the black-garbed insurgents?

The reigning champions will have ample motivation when they enter the ring Sunday. Besides their losses to The Shield in sanctioned competition, Bryan and Kane have fallen victim to the “Hounds of Justice’s” ambushes in the past. One such attack culminated with The Shield standing over Kane’s prone body and hoisting the tag team championship gold high overhead, as if to lay claim to the titles.

Was that scene only a sign of things to come this Sunday? Or will that memory, fresh in the minds of Kane and Bryan, be what propels Team Hell No past The Shield?

The only certainty is that Extreme Rules’ WWE Tag Team Championship Match will be fast and furious. With four of WWE’s most intense and dangerously creative Superstars left to their own devices in a Tag Team Tornado Match, “breathers” will be hard to come by. Catch the breakneck action this Sunday when Extreme Rules airs on pay-per-view beginning at 8 ET/5 PT.

At Extreme Rules, fierce adversaries Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger will draw a line in the sand and defend it viciously with everything in their power. In a personal struggle that goes way past squared circle ranking, the ideologically opposed warriors will look to knock each other off the mountain in a brutal “I Quit” Match to become the No. 1 contender to Dolph Ziggler’s World Heavyweight Championship.

Originally slated as a Triple Threat World Title Ladder Match against the reigning Ziggler, circumstances quickly changed when The Showoff was taken out of commission with a concussion — the direct result of the latest melee between three competitors on SmackDown.

With SmackDown General Manager Booker T unavailable to decide the next move, Senior Advisor Theodore Long stepped up, determining that Ziggler would not be stripped of his second World Championship. Instead, his two established challengers would clash for the right the face him one-on-one. And the only way to come out of top will be to deliver such an unbelievable beatdown to his opponent that he is left no choice but to utter the words “I Quit!”

Needless to say, the “I Quit” stipulation opens the door to an almost certain barbaric showdown at this Sunday’s extreme pay-per-view. Imagine the all-out carnage the two former World Champions — who already have an established hatred for one other — will unleash to get their formidable foe to surrender a golden opportunity at SmackDown’s top prize?

And they won’t just be gearing up for each other either. Zeb Colter has quickly proven to be an absolutely treacherous influence in the “Real American’s” corner. And while Ricardo Rodriguez is much more appreciated by the WWE Universe, there is no denying that he could prove to be a factor as well, especially since the contest cannot end in a disqualification. Moreover, there is no telling whether AJ Lee or Big E Langston might choose to interject to protect Ziggler’s future interests, even if the flashy titleholder is not directly involved in the action.

Few WrestleMania debuts have resonated as much as Fandango’s, as the flashy Superstar danced his way to a shocking victory over six-time World Champion Chris Jericho on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Fandango’s in-ring debut sent shockwaves through the WWE Universe, resulting in what was arguably the greatest upset in Show of Shows history.

Relive WrestleMania's greatest upset

The very next night on Raw, Y2J looked to take out his WrestleMania frustrations on the surging rookie, attacking Fandango in the middle of his match against Kofi Kingston. The interference led to a Fandango win via disqualification, but the flashy dancer found himself locked in the Walls of Jericho and learned a lesson about the ups and downs that every WWE Superstar is susceptible to.

Rivalry reignited on Raw

Still, in the weeks following his victory at The Showcase of the Immortals, Fandango continued to rack up the wins, remaining both dominant and arrogant. In the wake of his win, Fandango quickly became one of the hottest commodities in all of WWE — thanks in no small part to his catchy entrance theme, which swept the WWE Universe and steadily gained worldwide acclaim. All the attention did nothing to alter Fandango’s haughty attitude, however, as he remained steadfast in his general disdain for the denizens of the WWE Universe and their inability to pronounce his name properly.

On the April 22 Raw, The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla had enough of the upstart, and took the rivalry to another level, tossing his dancing foe off the ramp, then adding insult to injury by tangoing with the beautiful Summer Rae, momentarily stealing away Fandango’s dance partner.

Watch Jericho cut in | Who is Summer Rae?

Then, on the May 6 Raw, the former “Dancing With the Stars” contestant set up an impromptu dance competition of his own just as Fandango readied to do battle against R-Truth. Y2J was joined by fellow dance experts Tons of Funk to act as judges, rating R-Truth’s performance a perfect “10,” but giving Fandango low scores for his trademark entrance and his in-ring maneuvers. Naturally, this enraged the fleet-footed Fandango, distracting him so much that he dropped his match to R-Truth, losing via count-out.

The next week on Raw, Jericho and Fandango once again faced off, but this time in a Dance-Off! Jericho came ready for victory, choosing Edyta Sliwinska, a professional ballroom dancer and a featured performer on “Dancing With the Stars,” as his partner. But when Summer Rae feigned an injury, Y2J and Sliwinska attended to their opponent, allowing Fandango to attack Jericho.

Will Y2J avenge his Show of Shows loss and finally make Fandango shut up? Or will Fandango’s meteoric rise through the ranks continue as he looks to take down the legendary lion once again? Find out at Extreme Rules, Sunday, May 19, at 8 ET/5 PT!

This Sunday at Extreme Rules, “The Wildcat” will look to repel the challenge of one of the calculating “Hounds of Justice,” as fearless, high-flying United States Champion Kofi Kingston defends his illustrious title against The Shield’s most erratic and, fittingly, “extreme” member, Dean Ambrose.

After going head-to-head with The Brothers of Destruction in back-to-back weeks on SmackDown — and using The Shield’s numbers advantage to decimate both the legendary Undertaker and Kane with a pair of vicious post-match assaults — the volatile Ambrose’s first opportunity at priceless WWE title gold comes against a three-time U.S. Champion who is dangerous and unpredictable in his own right.

Watch Ambrose go one-on-one with The Undertaker | Kane | Daniel Bryan

Although he is often recognized for his gravity-defying acrobatics and limitless athleticism, Kingston has established himself as a versatile, all-around in-ring competitor. Boasting one of the most energetic and creative offensive repertoires in WWE, he proved his April 15 U.S. Title triumph over the Superstar who held the red, white and blue championship for 239-days, Antonio Cesaro, was no fluke, impressively besting The Swiss Superman in a rematch on the May 1 episode of WWE Main Event.

Kingston has been less successful in the ring against Ambrose, however, losing alongside The Usos to The Shield in a Six-Man Tag Team Match on the May 6 edition of Raw. After Ambrose secured the pinfall against Kingston in the competitive and highly entertaining match, he covetously eyed the downed champion’s title, suggesting there might be further conflicts between the two Superstars.

Four days later on the May 10 episode of SmackDown, with WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan and Ambrose locked in a thrilling, back-and-forth contest, the other two Shield members, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, tried to interfere in the match. But they didn’t count on the U.S. Champion storming the ring and joining Bryan and his fellow WWE Tag Team Champion Kane to even the odds. Helping chase The Shield from ringside, “The Wildcat” made it clear that the bad blood between him and Ambrose was merely growing.

Photos: Kofi comes to Bryan’s aid | Ambrose’s busted eye after SmackDown

Now, Kofi Kingston and Dean Ambrose are on a direct collision course and will battle one-on-one with the United States Championship on the line. What will happen when two of WWE’s most spontaneous and exciting Superstars square off? Could the numbers game and pack of dogs mentality of the treacherous Shield bring Ambrose the title? Find out at WWE’s most extreme pay-per-view of the year, Extreme Rules, on Sunday, May 19, at 8 ET/5 PT!

The much-anticipated brawl between Sheamus and Mark Henry scheduled for Extreme Rules on May 19 just became more perilous: WWE.com has confirmed the two superheavyweights will collide in a Strap Match at WWE’s annual hardcore holiday.

The addition of a leather strap to the ceremonies only adds fuel to the fire of what is already one of WWE’s most intense rivalries. The trouble began just after WrestleMania, when Henry unleashed a vicious pair of backstage assaults on Sheamus during both Raw and SmackDown. Sheamus would strike back with an onslaught of his own, before mimicking Henry — using his fallen adversary’s own catchphrase against him as he proclaimed with a smile, “That’s what I do.”

It turned out that the provoking hijinks of The Celtic Warrior were just beginning, as he went on to embarrass Henry in both a Tug-of-War on Raw and Arm Wrestling Contest on SmackDown.

In response, the outraged Henry challenged The Celtic Warrior to go head-to-head at Extreme Rules, a call the Irish Superstar who loves to fight gladly accepted. On that very same night, however, the irate Henry would take things to a whole new level during Sheamus’ match against Wade Barrett — whipping his foe mercilessly with a belt.

See photos of the beating on Raw | Watch Henry whip Sheamus

At Extreme Rules, Sheamus will have the opportunity to return the favor when he and Henry become tethered by the wrist. Per Strap Match rules, the first Superstar who manages to tag all four corners of the ring in succession will be declared the victor on May 19.

Despite his tendency to bring a great deal of fun to WWE, Sheamus has shown time and time again that, once the bell rings, he is all business. Still, can the three-time World Champion overcome the unadulterated rage, not to mention the ungodly power, of The World’s Strongest Man in the Strap Match format? Or will the Extreme Rules pay-per-view provide the perfect launching point for Henry to send The Celtic Warrior into his own wing of The Hall of Pain.

At Extreme Rules, Randy Orton will have his chance to demonstrate to Big Show exactly why you don’t betray WWE’s Apex Predator. The two elite Superstars — who boast a combined 13 World Title reigns between them — will collide in an Extreme Rules Match on pay-per-view on May 19.

Orton has been hot on the trail of The World’s Largest Athlete since WrestleMania, when Big Show turned his back on The Viper and their partner, Sheamus, following a narrow loss to The Shield. The angry giant blamed the failure on Orton, who suffered the pinfall, and proceeded to knock out both of his teammates after the bell.

Although Big Show lobbied to join the three-Superstar unit in the first place, it was Orton who went to bat for the big man, convincing a reluctant Celtic Warrior to accept Big Show as a partner. Now with a sense of obligation to Sheamus as well as a personal vendetta at stake, Orton aims to teach the 7-footer a lesson.

The Viper insists he is devoting an unparalleled level of attention to his pursuit of The World’s Largest Athlete, but the cagey Big Show has tried his damndest to throw Orton off-track, taking advantage of any and all distractions presented to him. During a supersized SmackDown main event of Orton & Sheamus vs. Big Show & Mark Henry, Big Show chokeslammed and pinned Orton after The Viper endured a massive impact with The World’s Strongest Man. Subsequently, he stunned Orton with a KO Punch as Orton walked back to the locker room after a win over Damien Sandow.

WWE’s Apex Predator has proven against the largest of warriors, Big Show included, that the RKO is as effective an equalizer as there’s ever been in WWE. He surprised Big Show with the maneuver during a 2-on-1 Handicap Match in which Orton and Sheamus teamed together, but will he be able to do the same when the playing field is even?

And how will the Extreme Rules stipulation affect the outcome of this epic confrontation? Neither Orton nor Big Show is especially well-known for showing restraint; what will happen when the handcuffs are off, the rules are thrown out the window and anything goes? Personal issues aside, The Viper and The World’s Largest Athlete are two of WWE’s proudest competitors, and surely both men see victory at Extreme Rules as essential to bolstering claims for future World Title opportunities.

John Cena persevered through a nearly 18-month title drought before reclaiming the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, but if Ryback has his way, Cena’s 11th WWE Title reign will come to a quick and unceremonious end at Extreme Rules.

Watch Ryback's incidents of uncontrollable rage | How to watch WWE's most extreme show

The bald-headed shredder — arguably WWE’s most dominate competitor of the last year — will receive first crack at the new WWE Champion at the May 19 pay-per-view, and the golden opportunity will go down on Ryback’s terms, in a Last Man Standing Match. The stipulations could prove unfavorable for The Champ, who suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon while competing in Europe in April.

Watch Ryback choose a Last Man Standing Match.

As exciting as this first-time singles contest would be under ordinary conditions, the title bout is made all the more intriguing by its personal overtones and Ryback’s claim that he is looking to break out of The Champ’s sizable shadow, not to mention the dangerous addition of Last Man Standing rules. In such matches, there are no disqualifications, count-outs, pinfalls or submissions. The only way to win the match is by incapacitating your opponent to the point he is unable to answer the referee’s count of 10.

It was only last October that Cena labeled his Extreme Rules opponent as the “change” that the WWE Universe craved. At the time, the Shell-Shocking Superstar was on the verge of unseating then–WWE Champion CM Punk, but bizarre circumstances — ranging from a crooked ref to outside interference from the likes of The Shield — repeatedly prevented him from doing so. Since his last title opportunity in January, Ryback has slowly drifted out of WWE Championship contention, while Cena’s career has taken the opposite path.

Following his shocking ambush of Cena on the April 8 Raw, the new No. 1 contender has stopped just short of outright blaming The Champ for his own stalled momentum, although he has questioned the Cenation leader’s loyalty. Noting that he came to Cena’s rescue during several sneak attacks by The Shield, Ryback says Cena failed to return to the favor when it mattered most — first during during Ryback's title match against Punk and then again during the final moments of a losing effort against the black-garbed trio at Elimination Chamber.

See photos of The Shield vs. Cena, Ryback & Sheamus

Ryback has since portrayed Cena as a self-preservationist who has little regard for those around him. Even though members of the Cenation would likely take exception to that portrayal, given it was Cena who advocated for Ryback’s first title match at WWE Hell in a Cell, one must wonder whether The Champ will suffer the consequences of his perceived missteps when the bell rings on May 19.

With their friendship perhaps irreparably frayed, Cena and Ryback are headed for a collision course at Extreme Rules, and questions about the big fight abound. Will the omnipresent Shield get involved, or was their April 15 assault on Cena part of an agenda that’s wholly unrelated to the WWE Title scene? Will Ryback maintain focus on winning the match and the championship gold, or will he enter St. Louis’ Scottrade Center with a primary objective of punishing Cena? Most importantly, is The Champ’s 11th WWE Title reign destined to end prematurely, or will the Cenation leader stop Ryback in his tracks?

Triple H narrowly avoided early retirement at the hands of Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, but if The Game thought his trouble with Lesnar would end at The Grandest Stage of Them All, he had another thing coming.

Having split two notoriously high-impact battles at SummerSlam and WrestleMania, The King of Kings and "The Beast Incarnate" will settle the score once and for all at Extreme Rules, and the rubber match will be held in the most inhospitable of environments: the steel cage. The addition of steel to this already perilous rivalry was the brainchild of Lesnar’s camp, as outlined in a challenge to Triple H on April 15.

In goading The King of Kings to accept The Anomaly’s challenge to a third fight, Lesnar associate Paul Heyman appealed to Triple H’s sense of pride, noting that The Game’s WrestleMania win merely brought him even with Lesnar. Heyman then focused on the WWE COO’s courage, acknowledging that steel cage matches offer neither protection nor mercy for the Superstars who compete within — even if they’ve already been incapacitated.

How to watch WWE Extreme Rules | See what happened when no holds were barred

Despite the dire implications, Triple H readily agreed to the terms of the match in a confrontation with Heyman on the April 22 edition of Raw. He additionally fired a salvo Lesnar’s way by Pedigreeing his envoy, Heyman, moments after accepting the challenge.

Although The Game’s in-ring career will not formally be on the line as it was during his No Holds Barred brawl with Lesnar at WrestleMania, there is little reason to believe Triple H will approach the fight as though it’s anything less than career-threatening. As Heyman himself explained, inside the unforgiving steel cage, “a career can end in a nanosecond.”

Among the most base and wicked structures in WWE, the tried-and-true classic steel cage is perhaps the only venue with the gravitas necessary to host such a deeply personal tiebreaker. Even though it may lack the fanfare of more modernized match formats, any longtime ring observer knows that the dangerous steel cage offers plenty of opportunity for combatants to brutalize one another.

How will the result of their most recent bout — the absurdly physical No Holds Barred Match— affect both Superstars’ preparation for May 19? Will the fact Triple H won that encounter give him a psychological edge, or will it only make The Anomaly more focused and driven heading into Extreme Rules? Furthermore, Lesnar hasn’t competed in a Steel Cage Match in years, but his famous sabbatical from the squared circle gave way to a different kind of caged combat in the form of mixed martial arts. Will Lesnar’s Octagon experience represent a strength or weakness inside the realm of WWE?

If their last two bouts were any indication, Triple H vs. Lesnar III will be a hellish encounter for its participants and an unadulterated spectacle for the WWE Universe. With the bonus ingredient of a steel cage, only time will tell just how much more extreme this riveting rivalry can grow.