Why a Roman Reigns Win at WWE Extreme Rules 2017 Won't Happen

With Extreme Rules 2017 upon us, Roman Reigns is undoubtedly the hottest WWE Superstar headed into a highly intriguing Fatal 5-Way main event.

While the rest of the field have traded losses in singles competition, Reigns has scored clean wins over both Seth Rollins and Finn Balor to go along with a disqualification victory over Bray Wyatt. 

But in the illusion that is professional wrestling, momentum going into any pay-per-view is meaningless. In fact, it's usually an indication the WWE Superstar in question is headed for a loss, which is a scenario that would make sense for a top star like Roman Reigns.

The Big Dog has spent much of his time on television being made to look strong, and while he will likely avoid taking the deciding pinfall at Extreme Rules, WWE's reported plans for a novel Brock Lesnar-Roman Reigns WrestleMania 34 matchup, per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), would remain intact should Reigns fail to win on Sunday.

The concept of Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar has been downplayed leading up to Extreme Rules. Bray Wyatt has had no problem calling out The Beast in each of his cryptic promos. When Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, made his sole appearance during this pay-per-view cycle to help tease a potential opponent for the champion, Finn Balor was the beneficiary.

As of this writing, Betwrestling.com has Reigns as the biggest underdog. Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor make up the top three. 

With Braun Strowman set to return soon, reportedly for a blockbuster matchup against Lesnar, per Meltzer (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc), a win in the main event at Extreme Rules to become the No. 1 contender for the Universal Championship is just as much of a curse as a blessing.

During his deliberate, well-executed push, Strowman lit up WWE's YouTube account with tens of millions of views for segments featuring his impressive stunts. There's something to be said about the fact Raw ratings held together quite nicely well past WrestleMania with Strowman in the midst of a major push.

At the peak of his Godzilla-like tear over the Raw roster, WWE's flagship show saw the smallest mid-April decline in viewership since 2013, per yours truly for Forbes. For various reasons, in addition to Strowman's absence, Raw's ratings have collapsed violently with The Monster Among Men off television. 

There is a palpable blockbuster feel to a matchup between Strowman and Lesnar, and whoever Lesnar draws at Great Balls of Fire will be nothing more than a tune-up.

As a WWE Superstar who is on pace to join Hulk Hogan as one of only two men to headline four WrestleManias in a row, Roman Reigns is not tune-up material. 

In order to heat up a big time matchup between Lesnar and Strowman, in addition to reminding fans just what the dormant Lesnar is capable of, do not be surprised if Lesnar squashes his Great Balls of Fire opponent. Similar fates were suffered by Randy Orton at last year's SummerSlam and Kevin Owens during a recent live event in Madison Square Garden.

The Fatal 5-Way main event at Extreme Rules is no place for the prosperity of Roman Reigns. For him, it's merely an exhibition wherein he'll be showcased before coming up short. In this case, however, Reigns would be winning by losing.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.