Extreme Rules (2020)

Extreme Rules was a profession wrestling pay-per-view produced by WWE. It took place on July 19, 2020 and was the twelfth event under the Extreme Rules chronology. Per the theme of the event, matches on the card are contested under hardcore rules and features various extreme rules matches. Twelve matches were contested on the card, with the main event seeing Braun Strowman taking on Bray Wyatt in a Wyatt Swamp Match.

Production
Extreme Rules is an annual gimmick pay-per-view produced by WWE since 2009. The concept of the show is that the event features various matches that are contested under hardcore rules and generally features one Extreme Rules match. The defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion, which WWE acquired in 2003, originally used the "extreme rules" term to describe the regulations for all of its matches; WWE adopted the term and has since used it in place of "hardcore match" or "hardcore rules". The 2020 event was the twelfth event in the Extreme Rules chronology and featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown and NXT brands.

Storylines
The show will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on all three brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows.

The main event saw Braun Strowman taking on Bray Wyatt in a cinematic match at the Wyatt Swamp. Originally a part of Wyatt's cult, Strowman eventually broke apart and began to form his own path, turning face and eventually earning the opportunity to face John Cena for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. Wyatt, on the other hand, continued to go down a dark path, morphing into the dark and demonic entity known as 'The Fiend'. After WrestleMania, Wyatt would approach Strowman, who he viewed as his creation, and would ask him for a title match at Money in the Bank (2020). Strowman would defeat Wyatt's friendly 'Firefly Funhouse' persona. Wyatt would later return on SmackDown as his Brother Bray persona, the personality that present when he formed the Wyatt Family. He then challenged Strowman to a non-title match at the Wyatt Family Compound, the original base of the cult located in the swamps. Strowman accepted, and began to show signs of his former villainous cultist ways.

Trivia

 * Bayley vs Sasha Banks ended in no contest after Banks fell from the top rope and injured her knee, with the referee ruling that she could no longer continue to compete. After the bell rang, Bayley brutally attacked her best friend, turning their friendly competition into a heated rivalry.
 * After Asuka defeated her best friend Kairi Sane, both competitors where attacked by Shayna Baszler. Baszler then continued to brutalize Sane while Asuka was forced to watch. The injuries Sane received would force her to retire.