WWE Extreme Rules Predictions: Kalisto VS Rusev

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good! Payback may feel like it has just ended but this weekend we have a whole new show to excited about as the two thousand and sixteen Extreme Rules pay per view takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event will see Roman Reigns and AJ Styles main event once again as they compete for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and this time anything goes. Following their huge battle at Payback both Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon agreed that Styles deserved a rematch and booked the match three months ahead. We will also see Charlotte and Natalya do battle one more time for the WWE Women's championship in a submission match. And can Kalisto and the New Day keep hold of their gold when they put their title's on the line against former NXT Superstars? All week long here on Talk Wrestling World I will be providing you with full length, in depth prediction posts for every single match on the main card. As usual I will not be writing anything predictions for any matches scheduled for the kick off show as usual but I will comment on them in my Extreme Rules Review and Reactions witch will be uploaded the following morning. On the day of the pay per view I will be uploading my support pictures and of course all night and day I will be live tweeting. Along with any recent blog post (including my latest RAW Review and Reactions post) I will also be linking my social media links bellow at the end of the post. And finally, you can have your say and let me know what your predictions are for every match on the Extreme Rules card by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

Throughout his championship reign Kalisto has been faced with many challenges. Being forced to prove himself against the big dogs in the company he has managed to successfully defend his United States Championship against both Alberto Del Rio and the big guy, Ryback. This up and coming weekend the lucha star will have yet another gigantic challenge when he battles against the Bulgarian Brute, Rusev at WWE Extreme Rules as announced to weeks ago during Monday night RAW.

Three weeks ago Rusev found himself earning a championship opportunity when he won a huge Battle Royal on Monday night RAW. He was joined in the ring by both former League Of Nations team mates Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus alongside the likes of Dolph Ziggler, Kalisto's tag team partner Sin Cara, and Baron Corbin. Rusev battled his way through the Royal making swift eliminations while playing a clever game to keep himself in the match for as long as possible and in the end it was eliminating runner up Zack Ryder that scored Rusev a much important win naming him as the new number one contender for the United States Championship. Throughout the Royal Rusev was one to keep an eye on with a history of impressive performances in Battle Royal's and with his size and dominance a casual fan would have noted him as a favourite for the win. As a hardcore fan and a huge Rusev supporter I have to say that it put a very big smile on my face seeing him receive the push he so desperately needed. After the split of the league of Nations, Rusev was in serious need of finding his place and getting back on track as that fearful, dominate, European bad ass that we all know him to be.

Since becoming number one contender Rusev has been very vocal alongside his fiancée Lana. Vowing to take back the championship witch he believes to be rightfully his Rusev mentioned in an interview with WWE.com that he has no problem crushing Kalisto and eating his heart (these are literally the words spoken by Rusev). Now, we all know how dominate Rusev is. For a very long time he was one of the most dominate superstars on the roster taking out men left right and center while mocking the United States of America and keeping the US Championship on his should at the same time. Two thousand and fourteen was a very strong and impressive debut year for the former NXT talent and after being given the time to showcase what he is capable of both in the ring and on the mic we know that he is more than able of delivering a match worthy of being noted as a possible match of the year candidate. This weekend he will be facing a new kind of challenge when instead of battling against another powerhouse he will face a man with a seriously impressive move set and speed that any superstar would find difficult to keep up with. However, with Lana by his side and hi pure strength and skill could we be looking at a new United States Champion this weekend?

I have mentioned it a million times before this year that twenty sixteen has been a very good year for Kalisto. He has gone from strength to strength shining very brightly in his singles run. I have previously said that I worried for Kalisto going solo and how the WWE would treat him and book him while competing as a singles competitor but it turns out I have had nothing to worry about all along and for once the WWE have got it very right and pushed a smaller superstar. I have however had an issue with how he has been booked over the past couple of months. Yes, he has kept the United States Championship firmly around his waste and we have seen him compete in singles matches on pay per views and here and there on RAW and Smackdown he has been very very impressive putting on fantastic performances that amaze everyone both in the arena and at home. However, when you watch these matches he has competed in you cannot help but wish you could have seen more. The WWE have done a terrible job when booking Kalisto on shows weeks before pay per view events. We have very rarely seen him compete in singles match on RAW and Smackdown and when we have seen him it has been in loosing tag team matches. As a result he hasn't had much momentum and we have not been able to see the best of Kalisto and his capabilities witch is such a shame. I honestly do believe that if we could have seen more of Kalisto we would have had a handful of fantastic matches that could have featured in the list of some of the best of the year and his championship reign could have been highlighted as one of the best we have seen in this new era.

What we have seen throughout Kalisto's championship reign is fight and passion. Despite his size he has managed to face off and defeat some true big tough guys in the WWE keeping his US Championship around his waist. Last month he took on Ryback in what was a brilliant match on the WWE Payback kick off show. He has shown to be extremely fearless defending his championship against anyone who stands in his way regardless of their size and this weekend will be no different.

This is one of the matches I am most looking forward too. We have two of my personal favourite current WWE Superstars and when you look back at their previous matches since debuting that have not been against one another you can easily pick up on both their brilliant skill and talent. In the ring the two of them are completely fearless and bring something very different from the other. Both stars of NXT and the new era these are two talents that everyone should be excited about seeing bashing heads. Looking at the card this could hands down be one of the best all out wrestling matches and I don't doubt for a second that they will be extremely impressive throughout their match with stand out spots and a brilliant all round performance. What I'm hopeing for as usual is they are given time. I say it all the time but the amount of time given to wrestlers is so important when you are booked usually as mid card talents it is so so important that they are given the time to show what they can do and put
on great matches witch these two could very easily do in the space of fifteen minuets or more. I do find it difficult to choose a side in this bout. You guys know that I am a big fan of both of these superstars and I want to see great things from both of them so choosing a personal favourite is difficult. I do however have to go with Kalisto for this win. I don't believe we will be seeing the championship change hands just yet that's not to say that I wouldn't be very very happy to see Rusev crowned as the new champ this weekend. If the WWE are planning on having Rusev as the next champion than I would predict that he would be winning that championship at the next pay per view. Kalisto is still out to prove that he can defeat any many standing in his way including Rusev and a surprise win over the former champion in the closing moments of this match will do so while also allowing a second match to take place. What is so great about this is Rusev is a brilliant story teller and fantastic at creating intensity during a match and we can be sure that he will be doing so this weekend.

So they are my predictions for the US Championship match up! As always you can let me know what your predictions are for this and every other match on the WWE Extreme Rules card by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria. Remember, I will be live tweeting throughout the show on Sunday using the hashtag #ExtremeRules.