WWE Extreme Rules 2016: The full rundown and why you should care

On Sunday night, WWE will present the eighth installment of the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, live from New Jersey. As you might infer from the name, this PPV event traffics heavily in stipulation matches and many of the standard professional wrestling rules will go right out the window.

The event begins at 8 p.m. ET on PPV and on the WWE Network, with a Kickoff Show and bonus match beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

With only three weeks of buildup since the last pay-per-view (Payback), Extreme Rules has become a completely stacked card. Here’s everything that’s scheduled to go down and why it’s likely to be a fun, exciting event.

What am I looking at here? Dolph Ziggler is an established star and former world champion, but he’s sort of entering that period of his career where he’s mostly used to make up-and-coming stars look like a million bucks.

Baron Corbin is one of those up-and-coming stars. He was resident King Jerkface in NXT for a couple years, but he debuted on the main roster at WrestleMania and won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on his first night. Since then, he’s gotten some new pants and has been exclusively feuding with Ziggler.

Why you should care: Dolph Ziggler is at his best when he’s bumping around like a maniac and Corbin is at his best when he can just wallop on people, so this no DQ match should be a perfect means to hopefully, definitively end this feud. Expect kendo sticks and trash cans and Baron Corbin throwing Ziggler as high and as hard as he possibly can.

What am I looking at here? Anderson and Gallows are part of the Club, along with AJ Styles. If you have trouble telling them apart, Gallows is the tall one. That’s it. That’s the simple trick to keeping them sorted. It’s not that hard, people.

Since Gallows and Anderson came to WWE last month, they’ve been beating up the Usos and the Usos’ cousin (Roman Reigns) as often as they can, ostensibly on Styles’ behalf. Now all this bad blood is coming to a head at Extreme Rules.

Why you should care: Boy, it’s sure been a long time since there’s been a Tornado tag match in WWE. If you’re not familiar with the stipulation, it just means all four men are legal the whole time. No tags and anything goes. It should be a wild brawl and a great showcase for what Gallows and Anderson are capable of. This will be their first PPV match with the company.

What am I looking at here? Kalisto is a tiny man who is prone to getting absolutely demolished by much larger opponents. Until now, he’s been able to hold onto his United States title by utilizing his speed and resilience.

Rusev is one of those aforementioned “much larger opponents.” He has split from the League of Nations and is once again paired with the Ravishing Russian, Lana. He is eager to reclaim the United States Championship, which he lost at last year’s WrestleMania.

Why you should care: This is going to be another one of those fun “monster vs. tiny guy” matches, but Rusev is a world-class wrestler and character, so it should be a lot more compelling than Kalisto’s feud with Ryback (not that Ryback is bad, just that Rusev is a better fit).

If you need extra motivation, just remember that John Cena is coming back in two weeks and boy, it might be a lot of fun to rekindle that Rusev/Cena rivalry and return to the United States Open Challenge that made Cena a hero for a new generation.

What am I looking at here? The New Day are three men who hold the tag team titles, play a trombone, occasionally travel back in time, wear light-up ding-dongs on their head and incessantly hype their butt-themed cereal. They might be the best act in the entire company.

The Vaudevillains may look like sinister silent movie-era creeps, but they’re not actually time-displaced baddies. They just emulate the aesthetics and ideals of “a better time.” Make that as problematic as you want to! They won a tournament to become the No. 1 contenders to the tag titles and now here we are.

Why you should care: This is just a good matchup of larger-than-life, outlandish teams. This will also be the first major showcase for the Vaudevillains on the main WWE roster and they’ll be trying to impress and steal the show, particularly after their first PPV match at Payback was cut short due to an injury to Enzo Amore.

Also, we might see the tag titles change hands, which will be noteworthy since the New Day have had a stranglehold on them for so long.

What am I looking at here? Dean Ambrose is known as “The Lunatic Fringe,” which doesn’t make sense, but whatever. He replaced Chris Jericho’s canceled “Highlight Reel” talk show with his own “Ambrose Asylum,” where the only piece of set dressing was a potted plant named Mitch. Jericho, jerk extraordinaire, couldn’t handle this blow to his ego, so he got his talk show back and destroyed Mitch. In retaliation, Ambrose destroyed Jericho’s $15,000 light-up jacket.

Yes, this is a plant-based feud.

Why you should care: Ambrose was allowed to pick the stipulation for this match, so WWE really leaned into the “lunatic fringe” thing and came up with the Asylum Match. It’s a normal steel cage match, but implements of destruction are hanging above the cage. You can climb the cage, get the stuff down and hit your opponent with the stuff.

It’s going to be dumb, but a fun kind of dumb and that’s really the important end result of a feud that is borne out of a plant being killed. I’m still holding out hope that this story will end with Ambrose hitting Jericho in the dick with a cactus.

What am I looking at here? The Miz -- with the help of his lovely wife Maryse -- swindled his way into the Intercontinental Championship the day after WrestleMania. Since that time, his feud with Cesaro has been pulled into the orbit of the eternal blood feud of lifelong best friends and better enemies Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Now all four will be duking it out for the belt, with the championship going to the first person who can secure a pinfall or submission.

Why you should care: These are four of the best performers in the company, if not the world, right now. And we get to see them beat one another senseless to try and capture a championship. This is one of the two easy picks to be match of the night and I have absolutely no idea who is going to win, which always makes wrestling more exciting.

What am I looking at here? Charlotte, real-life daughter of Ric Flair, has held onto the Divas and now Women’s Championship mostly thanks to the scheming of her no-good dad. And at Payback, thanks to a Flair-obsessed referee, Charlotte retained the title in a callback to the infamous Montreal Screwjob. Now Natalya -- daughter of Jim Neidhart, niece of Bret Hart -- gets a rematch after getting screwed out of the title last time.

Why you should care: The intrigue is high in this one, as Ric Flair is banned from ringside, Charles Robinson is not expected to be the referee and the match can only be won via submission. Further, not only is Flair banned from ringside, but if he even so much as approaches the ring during the match, Charlotte will forfeit her title.

So how will Charlotte be able to defeat a submission specialist if she can’t cheat? That’s what we’re all eager to find out. I have a hunch she has some non-Ric Flair tricks up her sleeve.

What am I looking at here? AJ Styles is a world-traveled megastar who is in finally in WWE after being one of the best wrestlers anywhere for the last decade. Roman Reigns is a handsome, eternally damp Dothraki prince who can do no wrong and excels at Overcoming The Odds. It’s only natural they should hate each other.

Why you should care: These two had an instant classic in the main event of Payback and now they’re back at it again in a match where there are no rules. Styles has been put through a table by Reigns in recent weeks, while Reigns has been walloped by chairs by both Styles and Styles’ cohorts in the Club.

The Club will definitely have Styles’ back in this match, while the Usos will be backing up Reigns. Expect plenty of shenanigans, chaos and brutality. Also expect one of the best matches all night. It’s going to be quite a spectacle and it’s going to rule.

I certainly can’t wait. Neither should you.