WWE Extreme Rules Predictions: Roman Reigns VS AJ Styles

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.

This time round there are no count outs, no disqualification, and no restarting the match. It's AJ Styles VS Roman Reigns one on one for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and this time they are going extreme. Following their epic battle earlier on in the month at the Payback pay per view the two superstars were booked in a rematch following what took place on the night. As the first decision made in an era that sees both Stephanie and Shane McMahon calling the shots AJ Styles was given one of the most important second chances of his career but can he take advantage of it and walk out of Extreme Rules this Sunday with the most prestigious prize in the WWE? Or will the Roman Empire stand tall once again?

He may only have been on the WWE scene for less than five months but back at the start of May AJ Styles was gifted the opportunity superstars literally spends years waiting for when he challenged for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Following his victory in a fatal four way number one contenders match on RAW several weeks back Styles found himself in the top spot with a guaranteed title match against the most controversial superstar in the WWE today, Roman Reigns. Despite the fact that I strongly believed that Styles was more than capable of brining out the best in Reigns I had my doubts as to how the WWE would be able to create a strong and gripping story that allowed a growing feud between the two to grow strong enough to be captivated. The debut of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows really did change things up. Their attacks on both the Usos and Roman Reigns set added even more fuel to the fire. There was a change in the feel of what was going on and we had that depth added to the story needed to make this a world championship feud. Over the weeks I genuinely started to gain more and more interest and come the Payback pay per view this was one of the matches I was most excited about. What I did love so much about this match was how many amazing possible outcomes that we could have seen on the night. Everyone had a different prediction as to how the match would end and everything from a Finn Balor debut to Roman Reigns turning full on heel and joining forces with Anderson and Gallows were hot topics across the Internet Wrestling Community. The match itself was much much better than I could have predicted. As noted before Styles really was able to bring out the best in Roman Reigns and while Reigns retaining remained the popular choice throughout the match there were so many close calls and strong spots that you genuinely were left on the edge of your seat. There was no doubt what so ever that this was Reigns' best match to date and he sure did earn a lot of respect amongst the WWE Universe. My issue with this wasn't that we didn't get an epic twist like the debut of Finn Balor because what they did do actually worked and tied in with the whole night. We got to see the start of the one upping rivalry between Stephanie and Shane McMahon. And the suspense and the tension remained throughout the match. My problem was the closing moments. Styles and Reigns took each other to hell and back during their match up but it took one spear from Reigns to close the night and allow him to pick up the winning pin fall. It's a common thing done by the WWE but in a major championship match like this one spear for the win isn't enough and if Reigns really wants to earn more respect amongst the fans his going to have to push it that little bit further.

Their match at Payback got so out of hand that it was restarted twice! The first after Reigns was counted out; Shane made it clear that a major championship match like this was not going to end via count out. The second came after Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows interrupted the match causing it to end in disqualification. Stephanie soon came out to make the announcement that the match would be restarted once again and this time it was a no DQ. After two restarts and an all out brawl Reigns of course was able to retain the championship after a spear but backstage Stephanie and Shane McMahon were able to agree on a rematch at WWE Extreme Rules between the two for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and this time it would be Extreme Rules.

Over the weeks and throughout this feud we have seen crowds across the world share mixed opinions on Roman Reigns as per usual and back  at the Payback pay per view the crowd actually appeared to be pretty split with half favouring Reigns and half favouring Styles. By the end of the night there of course were still plenty not happy to see the Roman Empire stand tall once again but there is no denying that he did have a brilliant performance and sure did earn a great amount of respect for the WWE Universe. When Extreme Rules comes around this weekend Reigns as usual is going to be under a lot of pressure. Everyone knows what AJ Styles can do in the ring and just how far he can go Reigns however still needs to prove plenty and plenty more to show. He is still the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and he needs to keep these strong matches coming. Of course there is no doubt that Styles will once again push Reigns to his limits and will certainly get another strong match out of him. They both bring something completely different to the table with Styles having that wide move set and great speed and technicality and Roman brining the power and speed. We have seen throughout the past couple of years that Reigns can deliver a fantastic match but this weekend if he wants to retain that championship and make anyone feel as though he deserved to do than he is going to have to take things up a whole new level and bring a lot more character and story to the match. Talking of story, over the past couple of weeks during the build up to this extreme Rules match we have seen a much darker side to Reigns.  During a six man tag team match Reigns closed the show delivering a huge beat down to Styles sending a message too the phenomenal one himself, Anderson and Gallows and anyone doubting him. Personally, I did have mixed opinions on this. I felt as though it was done really well, Reigns genuinely looked like a bad ass and the beat down was very
convincing. My issue like I have said before is that it feels like there is no clear direction with Reigns. But for now I have to admit that I'm actually digging his work and I'm trying my best to remain positive and to be honest I believe that he is in for a great weekend ahead.

Just like their previous match earlier on in the month I am actually really excited for this match. We have seen what they can do together now and how far they can go in their matches. I'm confident that they can top their previous match and I'm sure the WWE are going to give them plenty of time just like they did at Payback. Again, there are plenty of ways this match could end just like at WWE Payback. The same scenarios we spoke about last month are still able to fit into the conversation a second time round. Questions such as will Anderson and Gallows turn on Styles? Will Finn Balor debut? (Witch is still my favourite outcome) and recently there have been even more talks of the WWE slowly building a Shield reunion and of course the return of the much loved, former world champion, Seth Rollins. All of these remain strong talking points and I will link bellow my Payback prediction post so you can have a look at some of those little theories I spoke about before in more detail. Of course I am predicting Reigns to retain the championship. I don't doubt for a single second that the WWE will keep that championship on him for a little longer but a little twist in this match is almost guaranteed.

As always you can have your say and let me know what your predictions are for this match and every other on the Extreme Rules card by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.