Extreme Rules 2020 will look nothing like Extreme Rules 2019

Extreme Rules is the next pay-per-view (PPV) on the WWE schedule and this is the space we would normally talk about what matches are planned for the show. Right now, though, nothing is official for the event, although there are plenty of obvious directions based on recent TV.

What struck me, however, was looking back at the card from Extreme Rules 2019. That event took place on July 14, and it’s bonkers just how much things have changed since then.

Obviously a lot will change in a year no matter the situation, but it seems especially noteworthy considering everything that has happened in the meantime.

Some notables:

• Undertaker was gearing up for a tag team match alongside Roman Reigns against Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon. Undertaker is now the subject of a documentary on when he’ll end his career, Reigns has been off television for months due to the coronavirus pandemic with no signs of returning anytime soon, and McMahon has been gone since late last year. McIntyre, meanwhile, is WWE champion.
• Speaking of the WWE champion, that was, and it seems like a lifetime ago, Kofi Kingston, who is back to being a tag team champion. He wrestled Samoa Joe, who is now a color commentator.
• The Revival were Raw tag team champions, and successfully defended the titles against The Usos. Jimmy was arrested for DUI shortly after, leading to an extended break from television, and then got injured shortly after returning, leading to yet another extended break that he is still on. The Revival, for their part, aren’t even with the company anymore. They now work for AEW.
• AJ Styles won the U.S. championship from Ricochet with help from Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. That team has since been released by WWE, while Ricochet saw a push quickly halted and he hasn’t been used in any meaningful way for a while now.
• Shinsuke Nakamura won the Intercontinental championship for the first time on the pre-show by beating Finn Balor, who has since moved back to NXT.
• Seth Rollins was Universal champion and working alongside his real life girlfriend and Raw women’s champion at the time, Becky Lynch. That relationship was briefly the focal point of storylines before they went away from that on television. Brock Lesnar cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to win the title after Rollins & Lynch won their mixed tag match. Rollins is now an entirely new character, The Messiah, and Lynch is pregnant with her (and his) first child. It’s at least possible she never wrestles again.

What a long year it’s been since, huh?