Just a few weeks after WWE Payback 2016 we’re already back for Extreme Rules, which airs May 22, 2016 on the WWE Network. That may seem to be too soon for another big event, but WWE isn’t afraid to stack these events up in quick succession, given they’ve got a built in audience of over one million subscribers who will pay for it every single month regardless. The good news though is that it means we have a whole new set of matches to ponder, speculate about, and get the latest odds for going into Sunday’s annual pay per view where by WWE’s own admission “anything goes.” For that very reason it’s as important now as ever to note that odds do not reflect the physical strengths of the athletes or their dominance (or lack thereof) in prior matches. You’re actually looking at odds that reflect the creative direction of WWE and the booking mindset of Vincent Kennedy McMahon. The greater a favorite is to win the higher the odds WWE will “stick to the script” and the closer the line is to dead even the greater the chance WWE is undecided about the outcome at the time this article goes to press. One line that’s not likely to change between now and Extreme Rules is for Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles. Every time the fans loudly express their displeasure with Reigns as the champion, WWE doubles down and pushes him even HARDER, which makes him a heavy favorite to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Title at -1,050 with Styles the underdog at +550. It’s likely we will see similar odds for any title match with Reigns as the champion for months and months to come. McMahon sees Reigns as “The Guy” and isn’t changing his mind no matter what anybody else has to say. For similar reasons the odds for the women’s title match are pretty long as well, with Charlotte -840 and the challenger Natalya at +480. Thankfully the news is that these two have never had a bad match together so even if the outcome is predictable it’s still going to be fun to watch. You can also expect the current tag team champions The New Day to retain over throwback tag team The Vaudevillains, although at -380 to +260 this line is closer than a lot of people might have expected. I don’t think McMahon will swerve it but there’s at least an outside chance. There are two matches on Extreme Rules that can go any way on Sunday night. Rusev is currently the favorite to beat Kalisto for the U.S. Title at -270 to +190, and given they did an injury angle with Kalisto to keep him off the last SmackDown taping, WWE is planting the idea that he’s vulnerable right now. As for the fatal four-way for the IC title, “the field” is the favorite against any one of the four getting the pin, though Cesaro comes the closest to being a favorite to win at +100. As always please remember these previews are for entertainment purposes and to wager only what you can afford. Enjoy Extreme Rules!
