The Extreme Rules of wrestling

Howdy, all, and welcome to another edition of Star2.com … with … the Dwaynester! It’s good to be back (again) on a regular schedule.

If you were born after 2005, or yesterday, Grunt ‘n’ Groan is a column dedicated to the world of sports entertainment that originally ran in this section from 2000 to 2005.

Just like his kid brother Apocalypse, this writer has returned after a long hiatus following a cave-in at his pyramid (blasted rebels!) and is understandably cranky, so don’t take anything personally. 

Extreme Rules

The next WWE pay-per-view is on May 23 on WWE Network (Astro Ch 820, check listings for broadcast schedule). What extreme action can we expect from the card? What extremities will be crushed and mangled? What evisceration … whoa there, let’s keep this PG-rated.

As we saw on Raw on May 17, the PPV will see the first-ever Asylum Match between Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose! Well, the “Asylum” is just a remodelled steel cage with some weapon slots built into it.

But, heck, you have to hand it to Y2J for stepping into an “asylum” with Loony Bin Jim … uh, we mean Dean. Home ground advantage and all that, ya know.

In the main event, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line and, in keeping with the title of this special, it will be contested under Extreme Rules between title-holder Roman Reigns and challenger AJ Styles.

These guys have cranked up the intensity ever since Payback, with Reigns destroying Styles over a “misunderstanding” (hey, you did hit the guy’s cousins with a steel chair, AJ) and then having a tense face-off, on subsequent editions of Raw.

Their rivalry will boil over on May 23 as anything goes and anything can be used as a weapon.

Dean Ambrose, the face of Extreme. After shredding Chris Jericho’s beloved jacket, what next?

Dean Ambrose, the face of Extreme. After shredding Chris Jericho’s beloved jacket, what next?

Will the Phenomenal One load up some lead slabs in those gloves of his? Will The Guy deliver a Superman Punch with brass knuckles? And will we see some surprises concerning Gallows and Anderson’s backing for Styles?

Their respective wrestling heritage aside, defending Women’s Champion Charlotte and challenger Natalya have been bringing it – a lot – to their recent matches. Their clash on May 23 may take things to another level – it’s a Submission Match! With her father/coach Ric Flair banned from ringside, can Charlotte prevail? She really needs a win without Daddy’s help to be a credible champion in the long term, and losing to Paige on the May 9 Raw wasn’t exactly a confidence-builder.

The Intercontinental Championship will also be on the line with reigning champ The Miz engaging in a Fatal Fourway match against Kevin Owens, Cesaro and that guy whose entrance music sounds like a fried chicken chain commercial jingle, Sami Zayn (a.k.a. beefier Max Martini). Get those Cesaro Section signs ready, the Dwaynester’s got a feeling about this…

The New Day will defend their tag team belts against The Vaudevillains, who became No. 1 contenders after that mishap at Payback where Enzo Amore sustained a concussion during the tournament finals. New-school twerkers vs vs old-school burlesque? Interesting.

US Champion Kallisto has fought off big guys before (including the Big Guy, Ryback) but this time, he will face the Bulgarian Brute, Rusev (who really needs to just kick back and chill with some Bulgarian brews). There will be … pain.

Score some WM32 goodies!

Courtesy of the nice folks at Astro and WWE, we’ve got some WrestleMania 32 swag to give away! Ten pairs of WM32 logo T-shirts and caps to be precise, one set to each winner.

Send an e-mail to entertainment@thestar.com.my with the subject “WrestleMania Rocks” and complete this sentence in not more than 10 words: “WrestleMania 32 rocks because …” Just so we’re clear, that’s 10 words to fill in the blank; don’t count the words already given. Duh.

Some ground rules:

1) Include your name, postal address and contact number

2) One entry per contestant only

3) Deadline is June 2

4) Remember, we have search engines on our side. No copying!

Hey, it’s Sonjay Dutt, the Original Playa from the Himalaya. Catch him in action at Wrestling City KL this weekend. Photo: Wrestling City Asia

Hey, it’s Sonjay Dutt, the Original Playa from the Himalaya. Catch him in action at Wrestling City KL this weekend. Photo: Wrestling City Asia

Wrestling City KL

Live event alert! Wrestling City Asia will be invading Kuala Lumpur on May 21 from 5pm at Stadium Titiwangsa. This promotion founded by Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) claims to offer displays of “gravity-defying aerial panache” and “waves of charisma”.

A line-up comprising home-grown and international talents will collide in matches that promise to leave fans screaming for more. One name you might recognise straight off is Sonjay Dutt, of Total Nonstop Action fame. The Original Playa from the Himalaya will clash with Eita Kobayashi, the King of Chop.

The card includes “Neon Ninja” Facade, Anton Deryabin, “The Statement” Andruew Tang, Masa Takanashi, Cima, Pavel “Joker” Kurkin, Ivan “Lokomotiv” Markov, and tag teams Omen (Ronnie Crimson and Serge White) and Bad Company (Golem and P-Nutz).

The SPW South East Asian Championship and inaugural SEA Tag Team Championship will be among the titles contested. The Joker-Loko match promises extreme carnage and “crimes against anatomy”, while Sonjay-Eita is billed as an International Dream Match. You know you’ve gotta be there!

Tickets at RM40, RM80 and RM200 are available from myticket.asia or myticket.my. To view previous matches, check out https://www.youtube.com/user/wrestlesingapore/.

Lucha Underground

Confession! The Dwaynester only just remembered to set his PVR for this Mark Burnett-Robert Rodriguez series (9.05pm every Monday on Kix HD, Astro Ch 729). (We did a Q&A with one of its top stars, Johnny Mundo – better known to WWE fans as John Morrison/Johnny Nitro – a couple of weeks ago.)

The card for May 23’s episode, Boyle Heights Street Fight: Mil Muertes (with Catrina) vs Drago; Son of Havoc (with Ivelisse) vs Mascarita Sagrada; Chavo Guerrero Jr vs Sexy Star; and, in the titular street fight, Big Ryck vs Prince Puma. Chavo vs SS? OK, looks like Chavito has no qualms hitting a lady! Oh, and expect a Johnny Mundo promo.

That’s it for this month. Leave your comments here, but keep it clean, folks!

 

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