WWE Extreme Rules 2015: Biggest X-Factors to Watch at PPV

On the heels of a critically acclaimed WrestleMania XXXI, WWE will present its annual April pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, live from Chicago's Allstate Arena.

The main event has already been announced and will pit "The Viper" Randy Orton against new world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins. Elsewhere on the show, the United States Championship will be at stake as John Cena battles the mighty Rusev for the third consecutive event, while new intercontinental champion Daniel Bryan defends against Bad News Barrett.

As is the case with any major WWE production, there are several X-factors that will determine its success or failure, not to mention its overall effectiveness as the company enters the spring and summer.

Who, or what, are those factors?

Let's take a look.

Credit: WWE.com

Seth Rollins

The April 26 pay-per-view will feature the first title defense from WWE champion Seth Rollins, who figures to play a major role on television leading into the event. His opponent on that night will be Randy Orton, with whom he had a very good match at WrestleMania.

In front of a rabid audience in Chicago, in his first real opportunity to establish himself as a champion, "very good" simply will not do.

Rollins will have to go above and beyond to prove that he is not only a deserving champion, but a heel capable of carrying the company while WWE Creative continues to build and mold Roman Reigns into someone it believes can be the face of the industry for years to come.

There is no doubting Rollins' abilities between the ropes, but more than ever, it will be imperative that he turns in the finest performance of his singles career or be faced with doubts and questions surrounding his status as champion.

And with Kane and Big Show floating around the upper midcard, the entire quality of the headline bouts could rest on Rollins' shoulders.

Credit: WWE.com

Roman Reigns

The aforementioned Reigns is someone the company wants to make its top star. He has the look, the quiet charisma and the explosive move set necessary to achieve success as the most valuable babyface on the roster.

For him to do that, though, he will have to be booked in hot storylines with some of the top talent in the company—guys fans perceive to be elite.

Big Show is not one of those guys.

Yet, as witnessed on the April 6 episode of Raw, it appears that Reigns will have a date with The World's Largest Athlete come Extreme Rules, creating a scenario where the second-generation Samoan star will have to somehow generate a quality contest out of a Superstar many consider slow, boring and well past his prime.

If Reigns can muster a performance that accomplishes that, criticism of him and his push up the card will cease to exist. At least momentarily. If he cannot, the quality of the show will understandably take a hit, especially since that contest would likely be positioned as one of the marquee bouts on the card.

For someone who is supposed to lead the company into the future, WWE Creative could not possibly saddle him with a worse opponent on his journey to the top of the industry.

WWE Creative

WrestleMania XXXI was unexpectedly great. Unexpectedly, that is, because the creative during the build to the show had been so very lackluster. Yet, by the end of March 29, as fans witnessed Seth Rollins raise the WWE World Heavyweight Championship high overhead, they not only felt as if they had gotten their money's worth, but that they had just watched one of the greatest WrestleManias of all time.

There was tremendous buzz surrounding the event. Even mainstream sports sites and television programs covered the show. But, as is usually the case, WWE Creative disappointed the following night on Raw, and again in the following weeks, putting together shows that lacked energy or excitement and fell right back into the same bad habits that had plagued the company leading into The Showcase of the Immortals.

The effectiveness of Extreme Rules will hinge on WWE Creative's ability to realize that it is important to book solid and interesting matches and stories all year round, not just for a two-month span.

Extreme Rules could very well be the catalyst for a strong summer of WWE storytelling, but if the writing staff is content to just throw matches together and trot them out onto pay-per-views that it deems less important—thanks to some warped ideology that WrestleMania is the only show of the year that can be treated as special—it will wind up as nothing more than a lackluster show full of solid wrestling but no real reason to keep watching programming every week.

Then, like every year, fans will tune out and return just in time for January and the Royal Rumble.