From the WWE Rumor Mill: Neville vs Austin Aries set for Extreme Rules?
What’s the story?
According to reports from the Wrestling Observer, the WWE have decided to prolong the feud between Neville and Austin Aries and have reportedly scheduled a match between the two at the RAW exclusive PPV ‘Extreme Rules’. If the match is scheduled, then this will be the third encounter between the two at a PPV.
In case you didn’t know...
In their last match at WWE Payback 2017, Austin Aries defeated WWE Cruiserweight champion Neville via disqualification. So, despite beating the ‘King of the Cruiserweights', he did not win the title from him.
The heart of the matter
The Neville-Austin Aries feud has been going on for some time now, with Aries challenging for the title of ‘Cruiserweight Champion’ twice. Neville defeated Austin Aries at WrestleMania 33 and ‘The Greatest Man That Ever Lived’ triumphed over the ‘King of the Cruiserweights’ at Payback, but via DQ.
The Wrestling Observer reported that Neville was originally supposed to defeat Aries at Payback, but the finish was changed at the last minute. While there is no news as to why the finish has been changed, it is believed that the WWE chose to finish the match in that manner in order to prolong the rivalry between the two. This was because it would be better for their long-term program if Neville hadn’t defeated Aries twice in a row.
Since the WWE has decided to extend the rivalry, the two could face each other at Extreme Rules in a title match, perhaps with a stipulation added. Extreme Rules is scheduled to take place on June 4th in Baltimore.
What’s next?
It is quite obvious that the WWE is benefiting greatly from the rivalry between the two. Both men are getting such a huge push from the promotion that the WWE Universe has no idea who will become the Cruiserweight champion.
Despite the lack of information regarding who will be the potential champion, the fans have been heavily invested in the rivalry, as the two have provided entertaining matches.
Author’s Take
This rivalry is very entertaining not because of how heated it is, but rather because of how physically challenging and breathtaking these matches are. To be honest, the promos and the confrontations these two have had on the mic have not been all that great.
Despite all this, the WWE must realise that if they prolong the rivalry it might become stale and boring and they are most probably looking to end it with a supposed match at ‘Extreme Rules’.