WWE Armchair Booking: How to Maximize Luke Harper During WrestleMania Season

On his way to WrestleMania, Luke Harper needs to leave behind a trail of broken bodies.

WWE hasn't portrayed him as the monster that he is capable of being. When you have a big man with eye-catching agility who draws comparisons to Bruiser Brody, you have to make better use of him.

Harper needs to look like a human tornado leaving a ruin in his wake. Having him destroy his foes and do his fighting on battlefields surrounded by steel is key to allowing him to realize his full potential.

That's not happening right now. John Cena is one of the many folks watching who believe Harper isn't utilized enough:

The bearded bulldozer has it a lot better than many of his peers, though. He is set to challenge for the Intercontinental Championship in a match that has a chance to steal the show.

En route to that clash, WWE can maximize Harper's momentum by focusing more on his destructiveness than having him take part in the ongoing game of stealing Bad News Barrett's title.

Proving His Power

Harper's best attribute is his brawling ability. When the action gets rough-and-tumble, when a match goes from scientific to slobber-knocking, that's when he shines brightest.

Let him do plenty of that before WrestleMania with the goal of making him look dangerous. The more daunting of a foe he comes off as, the more suspense the IC title match will have. Fans will be wondering how Dean Ambrose and company can keep this beast down.

Start with having Goldust express his desire to join the chase for the IC strap.

Stephanie McMahon says that he will earn his ticket to that bout if he can beat Harper. Goldust charges confidently into that match.

Credit: WWE.com

He manages to out-quick the big man at first, evading him and ducking his haymakers. Eventually, though, Harper takes control and administers a beating that leaves the audience uncomfortable. Harper flings him into the guardrail, tears at his face and leaves him out cold with a discus clothesline.

Stardust soon arrives to scavenge. He attacks his brother, who can barely stand at this point.

In Harper's next bit of action, he faces a man he will take on in the Ladder match at WrestleMania—R-Truth. This is billed as a way for all the participants to gain momentum. Elsewhere, Ambrose takes on Dolph Ziggler for the same purpose.

Harper throttles R-Truth.

Truth refuses to lie down, kicking out of several power moves. But in the end, Harper overwhelms him. After the bell, Harper smashes his opponent into the ring steps. He pounds on his shoulder with a steel chair.

As WrestleMania nears, R-Truth is forced to wear a sling and enter the fray injured. Harper, meanwhile, looks like one of the favorites to take home the gold.

Destroyer of Men (and Ladders)

Harper can be a victor without winning at WrestleMania. It's often the man who creates the biggest moments who is remembered more than the actual winner.

Shawn Michaels may have lost his Ladder match at WrestleMania X, but when fans think of that title fight, they think of him with his arms spread out, flying off the ladder onto Razor Ramon.

If WWE wants to have Daniel Bryan walk out as champ, see if Ambrose can restore the title's prestige or else have Barrett recover from all his recent losses, it can still propel Harper forward here.

Credit: WWE.com

Just give him the biggest highlights—one as the victim and one as the aggressor.

Somewhere in the middle of the match, give Harper a spot where he wrecks everyone. He flings Ziggler off the ladder first. And then to assure that he is alone when he goes climbing after the championship, he power-bombs Ambrose onto a propped-up ladder, bashes Barrett with the ladder until he stops moving and dives out of the ring to send R-Truth crashing into a set of ladders.

It looks then as if Harper is going to have a free path to the title hanging above the ring, but Ziggler makes the save at the last second.

As the match goes on, it becomes clear that it will take more than one man to take Harper out. Ziggler and Ambrose join forces to stun Harper with punches and place him atop a ladder wedged between the ring and the announce desk.

Credit: WWE.com

Ambrose and Ziggler both deliver diving elbow drops to the big man at the same time.

That's enough to keep him out of the winner's circle for the night. It also leaves him seething.

Brother Versus Brother

Whoever wins the IC title at WrestleMania stands in the ring on Raw the next night, thanking the fans for their support. Be it Bryan, Ziggler or Ambrose who makes that speech, it's Harper who cuts it short.

Harper assaults the champ, clubbing him with forearms and whipping him with the championship belt.

It's not until Erick Rowan rushes out that the beating stops. Rowan plays the role of protector, one that makes even more sense if his former teammate, Ziggler, is the one suffering.

This is the bridge to where Harper goes next.

WWE has not yet tapped into how powerful a Rowan-Harper feud could be. It has only briefly let them collide. A full-fledged rivalry showcases Rowan and gives Harper a way to push forward.

Make this a violent, intense series. Bring up the fact that they often fought behind the scenes as members of The Wyatt Family. Have Harper claim that Rowan has gone soft, that he has forgotten everything that Bray Wyatt taught them.

A standard match leads to a No Disqualification match, which leads to the story ending inside a cage.

The second of those bouts comes at Extreme Rules. The third comes at Payback.

Let the cage be Harper's ally, a place where he feels mighty comfortable. He grinds Rowan's face against the wall and slams his former brother in arms against the steel.

Harper wins decisively. He walks out of the cage post-victory as WWE's medical staff rushes by him to attend to Rowan.

The hunter then goes back on the prowl, hungry to pursue the championship he was cheated out of at WrestleMania.