Key storylines heading into Extreme Rules 2022

The WWE will return to pay-per-view tonight with Extreme Rules coming live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The show will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will be streamed on Peacock.

A lot has happened in the buildup to this event and we should get a pretty solid show overall. If you haven’t paid attention the Raw or Smackdown over the past month, we’ll get you caught up with how these Extreme Rules matches came to be below.

Extreme Rules 2022 storylines

Raw Women’s Championship - Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley (Ladder match)

This feud has been brewing since SummerSlam, when Bayley returned with Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky to form Damage Control. Almost immediately afterwards, Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka formed a coalition to combat the new faction, setting up a six-women tag team match at Clash at the Castle. Damage Control won said match, with Bayley notably pinning Belair.

In the weeks after Clash, a title match was set up for Belair and Bayler at Extreme Rules and they eventually settled on it being a ladder match. Expect friends of both sides to get involved in this one, including a recently debuted Candice LeRae.

Smackdown Women’s Championship - Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey (Extreme Rules match)

This feud has been going since mid-summer, when Morgan cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase the take the title from Rousey. The two met at SummerSlam later that month for a rematch, a bout where Morgan managed to win by the skin of her teeth. This caused Rousey to go into a rage and attack WWE officials, resulting in an on-screen officials. After weeks of sparring with WWE official Adam Pearce, Rousey’s suspension was eventually lifted, giving her the green light to hunt Morgan for the title again.

Rousey earned this title match at Extreme Rules by defeating several other superstars in a No. 1 contender’s match on Smackdown. In recent weeks, Morgan has wanted to prove that she is not intimidated by the former UFC megastar and upped the stakes by making this an Extreme Rules match. The two have shown off in recent weeks their hardcore credentials with weapons and got into a pull apart brawl on a recent episode of Smackdown.

Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle (Fight Pit match with Daniel Cormier as the special guest referee)

Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle have been feuding since July and this match will be the blowoff to this personal beef. They were originally supposed to meet at SummerSlam, but an injury to Riddle forced the match to be moved back to Clash at the Castle. One month and several pull apart brawls later and Rollins put down Riddle with two stomps to win the bout at Clash.

But the beef wasn’t over there as the two continued to traded jabs and attacks on Raw in the weeks afterwards. It was finally determined that they would face each other at Extreme Rules in a Fight Pit, a cage style match that Riddle wrestled in a few times in NXT. It was then announced last week that UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier would be the special guest referee, adding more intrigue to this bout.

Edge vs. Finn Balor (I Quit match)

Edge formed the Judgement Day with Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley in the spring but a major swerve happened in the summer when the group turned on Edge and installed Finn Balor as the new leader. After several weeks off tv, the Rated-R Superstar returned at SummerSlam to help the Mysterios combat the group.

Another major turn in this war happened at Clash at the Castle when Dominik Mysterio turned on Rey Mysterio and Edge to join the Judgement Day. The following night on Raw, the group injured Edge and sent him off tv for another few weeks. The WWE Hall of Famer would eventually return and challenge Balor to an I Quit match for Extreme Rules.

Other matches

• Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross (Strap match): Kross has targeted McIntyre since returning to Smackdown in August and has issued several sneak attacks. The former WWE Champion challenged him to a Strap match here so Kross won’t be able to escape.
• Imperium vs. Brawling Brutes (Donnybrook match): Gunther and Sheamus have been feuding over the Intercontinental Championship for the past month and these two had a match of the year candidate at Clash at the Castle. Their respective teammates have also been beating each other up, leading to this six-man tag team scuffle.