Extreme Rules was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. It was the third Extreme Rules event.

The event received 209,000 pay-per-view buys, up from last year's event of 182,000.

Extreme Rules featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds, plots, and storylines which were played out on WWE's primary television programs. Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Edge was originally scheduled to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match. However, Edge announced that he is forced to retire on the April 11th episode of Raw due to being diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis stemming from his neck injury. Edge vacated the World Heavyweight Championship on the April 15th episode of Smackdown and the match was scrapped. It was later announced the winner of a 20-man battle royal would face Alberto in the ladder match; Edge's best friend in both the storyline and real life, Christian, won the right to face Del Rio for the title. In the interim, Del Rio was drafted to Raw in the 2011 WWE Draft.

John Felix Anthony Cena (/ˈsiːnə/; born April 23, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its Raw brand.

In WWE, Cena has won 19 championships in total, including 12 world titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 10 times and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels and Batista), and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga and The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010). He also has the fourth highest number of combined days as WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino.

Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).

Michelle Leigh McCool (born January 25, 1980), is a American professional wrestler who is best known for her time in WWE.

McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the 2004 WWE Diva Search. In her initial on-screen role, she acted primarily as a personal trainer and occasional wrestler. She also acted as the manager to the team of K. C. James and Idol Stevens, collectively known as the Teacher's Pets, in 2006 after changing her on-screen character to that of a teacher. At The Great American Bash in 2008, she became the inaugural WWE Divas Champion, holding the title for approximately five months. She then won the WWE Women's Championship at The Bash in 2009, becoming the first female wrestler to have held both titles. At Night of Champions in 2010, she unified both titles becoming the first WWE Unified Divas Champion. She has held both titles on two occasions which makes her a four-time champion overall.

McCool first came to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a competitor in the 2004 WWE Diva Search, losing to Christy Hemme. Although she was eliminated, WWE signed her to a three year deal in November. Despite not winning the contest, she later debuted on SmackDown! as a fan favorite with a "personal trainer" gimmick. She wrestled in her first SmackDown! match, teaming with The Big Show to defeat Dawn Marie and René Duprée on March 3, 2005. A few months later, McCool became a part of the feud between MNM and Heidenreich when she defended Heidenreich against MNM's manager Melina's verbal attacks. In a match on June 30, Melina defeated McCool by pinning her with the illegal aid of the ring ropes as leverage. After the match, MNM performed their finisher, the Snapshot, on McCool.