WWE Extreme Rules Preview & Discussion Thread: AJ Defends Against Rusev, Reigns Battles Lashley, Strowman & Owens In A Cage, More

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WWE Extreme Rules will take place from the PPG Paints Area in Pittsburgh, PA.

Here is WWE.com’s official final card for WWE Extreme Rules:

WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Rusev

Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley

Braun Strowman vs Kevin Owens (Steel Cage Match)

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Team Hell No

Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins (30-Minute WWE Iron Man Match)

United States Champion Jeff Hardy vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax (Extreme Rules Match)

SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella vs. Asuka (with James Ellsworth suspended above the ring in a Shark Cage)

Raw Tag Team Champions “Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. The B-Team

Finn Bálor vs. “Constable” Baron Corbin

The New Day vs. SAnitY (Tables Match) (Extreme Rules Kickoff)

Sin Cara vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (Kickoff Match)

You can find WWE.com’s full preview HERE. We have included some excerpts below.

On AJ Styles defending his WWE Championship against Rusev:

Rusev Day will be truly phenomenal if The Bulgarian Brute can take the WWE Championship from AJ Styles at WWE Extreme Rules.

Rusev earned the opportunity in chaotic fashion when he outlasted Big E, The Miz, Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan in SmackDown LIVE’s first-ever Gauntlet Match.

Fresh off Rusev’s excellent performance in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, which included a Triple Accolade, the tough-as-nails Bulgarian Brute is primed for victory and will be looking to transform WWE’s most extreme day of the year into Rusev Day!

To do so, he will have to overcome one of the greatest Superstars the squared circle has to offer. And coming off a huge victory over Shinsuke Nakamura in a savage Last Man Standing Match, Styles will be looking to use his incredible arsenal to repel his brutal challenger.

On Roman Reigns battling Bobby Lashley:

At WWE’s most Extreme night of the year, might will make right. For the first time ever, Roman Reigns will go one-on-one against Bobby Lashley in a showdown between two absolute forces of nature.

Two of the most intense Superstars on Monday Night Raw, Reigns and Lashley were originally set to be part of a multi-man match at the July 15 pay-per-view to decide who will become the next Superstar to challenge Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.

However, when the high-stakes encounter was suddenly called off due to apparent problems with Lesnar’s contract negotiations, a subsequent interaction between Reigns and Lashley turned from professional to personal in a hurry. During their heated exchange, they proposed settling things in the ring, a notion Raw General Manager Kurt Angle was more than happy to “take under advisement.” Then, after various attempts to team together only served to further fuel their issues, Angle decided they would indeed settle things in the ring of the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

Will Reigns once again prove himself to be The Guy? Or will Lashley claim his biggest victory since making his earth-shattering return to WWE?