Notable Superstars Missing from the Card
Previously, this used to be a full article dedicated to listing every person on the roster who isn’t competing. To simplify things, we’re going to focus on just the most notable superstars who are worth talking about, rather than listing all the jobbers, injured talent or people who wouldn’t have been expected to be booked to begin with.
Note: Obviously, some wrestlers are MIA because of COVID-19 precautions. Some of that information isn’t even public knowledge, so we may find out later on that some superstars weren’t so much “overlooked” as they were “unavailable” to use in the first place. Keep that in mind. That also means everyone who has been confirmed for that cause, I’ve kept off this list, such as talent from overseas.
Akira Tozawa / R-Truth = Admittedly, this is a silly background filler feud for Raw, more so than something you’d put on a pay-per-view. However, can I really say there’s no room for it when Backlash included that whole ninja thing with The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders? I don’t think so. My guess is they could have filmed something that they’ll put on Extreme Rules if they want to and just not advertise it ahead of time, cause I doubt anyone’s going to tune in for a match between these two if they weren’t going to watch the event before that was announced, you know?
Aleister Black, Humberto Carrillo, Kevin Owens / Austin Theory, Murphy = Outside of Theory, who has been suspiciously MIA, I guess we’re getting some of these people ringside and interfering in the Eye for an Eye match. If I were booking it, though, it would just be Murphy and Dominick Mysterio, without Black, Carrillo and Owens. That’s at least balanced. Then again, if I were booking things, we wouldn’t have gotten damn near anything this feud has given us, as I’ve hated its direction and execution from the start. Also, Carrillo would be a heel right now, but that’s a story for another day.
Andrade & Angel Garza / The Street Profits = How is this not on the card? Is it because Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins have been away and there’s some sort of COVID check going on? I don’t know if this feud has legs to last another whole month until SummerSlam. Of course, that won’t stop WWE from dragging it out anyway, as that’s what they do. But still. I’d rather them not stretch things like this all the time. For that matter, I hope they don’t just announce it Sunday afternoon on The Bump. That’s getting annoying, too.
The IIconics / Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott = Speaking of not wanting things to take place at SummerSlam and having to wait all that long and watch five more weeks of build. Just go ahead and do this already and move on to Morgan and Riott challenging for the tag team titles. That’s the logical next step. I don’t need two months of “wait for it…wait for it…wait for it…” for something that I’m not interested in.
Big Show / Randy Orton = This match is happening on Raw instead of Extreme Rules. I’m assuming that’s to try to pop a rating for TV and not have this get lost in the shuffle. Whether that strategy works for WWE, we’ll find out soon enough.
AJ Styles / King Corbin / Matt Riddle and company = Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak, as well as Matt Riddle and to a certain extent, Otis, have been feuding with AJ Styles and King Corbin to varying levels and degrees. Bryan’s MIA. Otis and Corbin went who knows where. Now, we have had Riddle and Styles against each other, but that seemed rushed. Corbin attacked Riddle, so I’m assuming we’re picking back up where we left off there heading toward SummerSlam, not here, and they’ll try to figure out who’s next for Styles (Bryan rematch?) for SummerSlam afterward.
Otis and Mandy Rose / Sonya Deville = It’s one thing for Tucker not to be on the card. That’s expected, as he’s been on the sidelines since Otis started getting over. But Otis isn’t even doing anything right now, nor is the feud between Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville progressing.
Jeff Hardy / Sheamus = Why is the Bar Fight not happening on Extreme Rules? Is it the same situation as the Big Show and Randy Orton match? Just to get more eyes to tune in to SmackDown? Strange. I remember a time when TV was meant to build to PPVs, instead of everything just being a perpetual “hold on a minute” and then spreading everything out. In some ways, it’s better, as at least that means the TV shows get some decent stuff now and then. In other ways, its bad, as that means we get more filler for everything else.
Dana Brooke / Lacey Evans / Naomi / Tamina = Woof. That karaoke segment was atrocious on so many levels. I don’t blame WWE for not having anything for them on this card, but I do blame Creative on not having anything better in mind for these four women (and more) than that hot garbage. Don’t give me a Fatal 4-Way or a tag team match or anything to carry on this feud. I’m okay acting like that never happened.
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