WWE Deflated Hype for Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins with Clean Finish on Raw

Thanks to a definitive victory on WWE Raw, Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins at Night of Champions is going to feel like a sequel.

Sure, sequels sometimes surpass the original, and the battle between Reigns and Rollins could be fantastic Sunday, but WWE's odd booking choice will have fans less pumped to see it. Reigns' clean win over Rollins on Monday's Raw will make the pay-per-view bout feel less special.

There is a lack of narrative impetus this time around. Their story lacks electricity thanks to the extended sneak peek. 

Reigns vs. Rollins at Night of Champions was supposed to be the story of a man seeking revenge, both for himself and his fallen brother.

Steel chair shots from Rollins ended The Shield this summer. Rollins then left his comrades to join Triple H and Randy Orton, two men they had just spent the last two months fighting until their legs were wobbly.

Rollins proceeded to give Reigns reasons aplenty to want to Superman punch him in the mouth. He crushed Ambrose's head onto cinder blocks and tried to do the same to Reigns.

A major part of the appeal of seeing Reigns and Rollins go one-on-one at Night of Champions was that Rollins would finally have to pay for his sins. Reigns pounding on the snake promised to be a cathartic experience.

WWE then pitted them against each other early.

Normally in a situation like this, the match would be cut short by brawling or interference. Perhaps Rollins would slip away from the action, adding anticipation from the audience about seeing them go at it in earnest. Maybe they would take their fight into the crowd as the referee counted them both out.

None of those tropes came into play. Instead, Reigns speared Rollins, no extenuating circumstances, no asterisks, no doubt.

The decision is baffling. 

As Jason Powell asked on ProWrestling.net, "What incentive is there for Reigns fans to see a rematch?" Reigns already earned a good measure of revenge with the win. He already got his hands on his enemy as he had been so hungry to do as of late.

A clean finish could have worked if it had added something to the story. That wasn't the case at all. 

There was no new animosity tacked on. There was no twist to the plot. Reigns vs. Rollins didn't have a surplus of momentum beforehand, but it is certainly not irresistible at this point.

Former WWE writer Alex Greenfield agrees. He tweeted that he enjoyed the match, but that the result negatively affects the pay-per-view clash:

You can give away a match like that before a pay-per-view, but only if there is some indication that part two will be different and better somehow. There was nothing about Reigns taking down Rollins that points to new reasons to tune in. Suddenly, Reigns vs. Rollins feels like a SmackDown match, not something that compels fans to subscribe to the WWE Network.

The successful build for John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar highlights just how ineffective the one for Rollins vs. Reigns was.

On Monday's Raw, Cena openly pined for a chance to tangle with Lesnar. He was on a mission to redeem himself and prove himself worthy after an embarrassing loss at SummerSlam.

The No. 1 contender got some shots in during a brief melee, but he didn't accomplish all those things. The brawl the two men had offered a taste of what was to come at Night of Champions. 

For Rollins and Reigns, WWE handed out the whole dish.

Fans are encouraged to tune in to Cena vs. Lesnar. The story there is that Cena is still in pursuit of atoning his loss, striking back at a man who dominated him and not to mention, win back the WWE title. This sort of forward movement in the storytelling is lacking in the Rollins vs. Reigns match.

The stakes haven't been raised. The novelty of them colliding in singles action is lessened.

With Reigns' win, WWE went the wrong direction in its attempt to amp up excitement about the upcoming match.