An exciting match has been booked for the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV between the Hardy Boyz and Sheamus-Cesaro.
As seen on this past week’s Raw, Matt Hardy had a singles contest against Sheamus with the condition that the winner will get the chance to choose the stipulation for the upcoming PPV.
Following the match, Matt announced that they are willing to defend their tag team titles inside a Steel Cage. The match got sanctioned by the Raw GM. Later, WWE officially announced the match between the two teams for the PPV.
Now, the ‘Steel Cage’ was a surprising stipulation since most the fans expected to see a TLC match (Tables, Ladder & Chairs) at Extreme Rules. The Hardy Boyz is extremely famous for this particular gimmick from the attitude era. They had some history with TLC matches alongside the Dudley Boyz and Edge-Christian.
Now, Dave Meltzer from Wrestling Observer has been able to point out the potential reason about why a ladder match was not announced for the PPV.
In the latest edition of NXT Takeover: Chicago, we have witnessed a ladder match for the tag team championship.
The DIY defended their NXT tag titles against the Authors of Pain. This was a TLC match where the latter team was crowned as the new champions. Apparently, WWE creative is not intending to make another tag team match with the TLC gimmick since it might make things stale for now. Arranging a match with another gimmick will make things fresh for the tag division.
Plus, we should also remember that the Hardy Boyz returned at Wrestlemania in a ladder match, as well. In fact, their surprise entrance was the sole reason that this match was given an added stipulation. So, if their next title defence would also be given in a similar match, things will certainly become repetitive.
Hence, a Steel Cage match was announced, instead. It would be something interesting since we have not seen a tag title defence inside the steel structure for quite a while. The bad blood between these two teams will make the match physical, for sure. The bout would go down at the Extreme Rules PPV which is scheduled on June 4th.