With 2018 Extreme Rules coming up this Sunday night, the go-home show of Monday Night Raw has given us an indication of what talent is booked for the pay-per-view and who are not currently scheduled. As always, there is a chance any kind of alterations can be made to the lineup, as the card is always subject to change, but at the moment, the men and women in this breakdown are not being promoted as taking part in this event.
In some cases, this may be justified, but in others, it might seem ridiculous. That is up to you to decide as we take a look at which superstars from the red brand are sitting this show out.
From the Raw Men’s Singles Division
—Big Show: Big Show has been dealing with injuries for quite some time, with no time table released for when he’ll return.
—Bobby Roode: By now, Bobby Roode certainly has to be wishing he not only stayed on SmackDown, but stayed a heel, too, as both changes haven’t been too beneficial for his career. Currently, he’s sitting out with nothing to do. Fantastic. He might have been one of the members of the Six Pack Challenge, had that stayed the plan, but once that went away, Roode’s chances of appearing on this event were drastically diminished.
—Brock Lesnar: Eat. Sleep. Wait a few months and then do a couple of German suplexes and F5s while brushing off your opponent’s finisher, then beat him in 5-10 minutes. Repeat. Brock Lesnar wrestled at WrestleMania and the Greatest Royal Rumble. He may not even appear at SummerSlam. Of course he’s not at Extreme Rules.
—Chad Gable: Until there’s a reunion of American Alpha, it’s unlikely there will be anything solid for Chad Gable, which is a shame, considering his in-ring talent.
—Curt Hawkins: The losing streak continues, and that means there’s no reason to come close to booking Hawkins to take part in this card, or any others in the near future.
—Dean Ambrose: The Lunatic Fringe has been out with an injury since December 2017.
—Drew McIntyre: Technically, Drew McIntyre is not booked for the card, but he’ll be making an appearance alongside Dolph Ziggler in the Intercontinental Championship match.
—Elias: I remain adamant that if the Six Pack Challenge had stayed put, Elias could have been one of the men involved. Since that was scrapped and he has nothing else going on, he’s just not a priority here, but there’s always a chance he makes an appearance for a musical performance.
—Goldust: Goldust remains a background supplemental talent used sporadically to put people over, rather than someone who is given something substantial to sink his teeth in.
—Jason Jordan: Jason Jordan is still out from his neck injury and the surgery he had as treatment from earlier this year.
—Jinder Mahal: Since the feud with Roman Reigns was just a temporary thing to eat up some time at Money in the Bank and prevent Reigns from losing the ladder match, there doesn’t seem to have been a follow-up in place for Mahal, who has done nothing since then.
—Mike Kanellis: Calling Mike Kanellis. Are you there? Kanellis has spent more time not doing anything on WWE television than actually being part of the programming.
—Mojo Rawley / No Way Jose: At most, these two would face each other. Even if this were a Raw-only pay-per-view, though, it’s unlikely they’d be prioritized enough to find their way on the pre-show.
—Sami Zayn: Sami Zayn will be out well into 2019, due to two torn rotator cuffs.
—Zack Ryder: Long Island Iced Z has been relegated to Main Event programming only, it seems, as he hasn’t been on Monday Night Raw in quite some time.
From the Raw Women’s Division
— Alicia Fox: Fox is still out with her injury from earlier this year.
— Bayley / Sasha Banks: I’m definitely anticipating a backstage segment with Team Hell No, Dr. Shelby, and both Bayley and Sasha Banks, but there isn’t any kind of official announcement of the sort. Technically speaking, these two aren’t scheduled for the card.
— Dana Brooke: On an average week, Dana Brooke is lucky to accompany Titus Worldwide to the ring on Main Event. She’s never a priority, ever, for any reason, and hasn’t been for such a long time that she’s even often left out of the mix for segments which involve nearly every other woman in WWE. It’s a wonder she hasn’t been released yet, at this point.
— Ember Moon: Currently, Ember Moon doesn’t have a true feud going on. I wouldn’t be surprised if that lack of a direction continued for a while, and she skipped SummerSlam, too. I doubt she’s in the doghouse or anything. Creative just has nothing.
— The Riott Squad: With Ruby Riott injured and overshadowing Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, who don’t have any semblance of a recurring feud anyway, there was no chance for this stable to be booked on this card.
— Mickie James / Ronda Rousey: Technically speaking, neither Mickie James, nor Ronda Rousey, are scheduled for the card. However, we all know James will be ringside to interfere on behalf of Alexa Bliss, while Rousey has already said she’ll be in the crowd and we can assume she’ll get involved, too.
— Natalya: A month ago, I thought Nattie could be the champion on this event. Instead, she just stopped doing anything while Alexa took over the spot I had in mind for her. I’m not complaining. Nattie will probably be used quite a bit on the road to SummerSlam.
From the Raw Tag Team Division
— Breezango: With Fandango’s injury keeping him out for the next six months, it’s unlikely we’re going to see Tyler Breeze do anything of value, either. At most, he’ll probably make an appearance here and there to lose to someone on Main Event.
— Heath Slater and Rhyno: When was the last time Heath Slater and Rhyno were relevant, even on a brand where the tag team division is largely consisting of jokes? Exactly.
— The Ascension: Konnor and Viktor finally ended a TWO-YEAR losing streak the other day…by beating Slater and Rhyno, who are the only tag team lower on the totem pole than The Ascension. Of course they’re not competing at Extreme Rules. What would they do? Lose? They do that all the time anyway.
— The Authors of Pain: While it seems like a guarantee that The Authors of Pain will win the Raw Tag Team Championship somewhere down the line, they’ve spent most of their time on the main roster sitting on the sidelines and stalling. WWE probably has no idea what to do with them until they get that push.
— The Revival: Despite all the praise The Revival continue to get from so many people, somebody clearly doesn’t like them enough to do anything with them. I don’t get it, do you? But hey, at least they didn’t lose three weeks in a row to Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley, right?
— Titus Worldwide: Apollo Crews and Titus O’Neil really should be getting some wins to boost their credibility and make them legitimate contenders once The Authors of Pain become champions, but that hasn’t been in the cards lately, and they’ve been pushed aside in favor of The B-Team, who are getting stronger reactions from the crowd.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
