WWE Extreme Rules 2015: Smart Builds for PPV's Top Feuds
The success of WrestleMania has the WWE Universe genuinely excited to see how the company follows it up at Extreme Rules, but thus far, the build to the April pay-per-view has been lackluster.
With several singles feuds the WWE Universe has seen before and a lack of drawing power on the card, there is some concern from fans that WWE will not capitalize on its momentum and Extreme Rules will not be a good show.
Here are the smart builds to the top matches that could make April's PPV enjoyable.
Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton
After watching Seth Rollins square off against Randy Orton at WrestleMania, everyone knows the in-ring battle will live up to the main event billing. The problem is that few fans can conceivably think Rollins will drop the WWE World Heavyweight Championship already.
Orton will lose this match, and the WWE Universe knows it.
The ideal booking for the main event scene is having Roman Reigns destroy Big Show on Monday's episode of Raw and earn his way back into the title scene. With Reigns adding an element of the unknown to the battle, the likely winner and outcome become less clear.
Rollins and Orton could help keep Reigns' momentum rolling and teach him a thing or two about in-ring work. Add the threat of Reigns taking the victory, and Rollins eventually pinning Orton would be an acceptable outcome.
Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett
There are few people in the wrestling business who ever got reactions as intense and enthusiastic as Daniel Bryan, and the WWEĀ intercontinental champion will now defend the title against Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules.
If the company is determined to make this a standard singles matchupāit should be a Fatal 4-Way featuring Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler as wellāthen Bryan and Barrett need to get serious starting Monday night.
No more jokes. No more playing hot potato with the championship. Bryan is one of the top performers in the world, and Barrett has been given a marquee stage to shine on. The two men need to be given the room to cut genuine promos and tell a convincing story.
Allowing these two men to play off each other instead of force-feeding them lines would result in a top-notch program that would elevate both stars. I knowāit's a novel concept.
Roman Reigns vs. Big Show
The hope is the WWE will see the error of its ways and abandon ship on yet another set of matches between Big Show and Reigns. All signs point to the company running with this match into Extreme Rules, and it's a terrible idea.
Reigns should be in a more impactful feud, something that can help him grow as a performer in and out of the ring.
After Reigns took the pin in the main event of WrestleMania, the hope was that the WWE had something up its sleeve to help continue building Reigns as a top star, but this is not the best use of the young star's momentum.
Regardless of whether you like Reigns, allowing him to go from fighting BrockĀ Lesnar to standing toe-to-toe with Big Show is a major step down. This is a bad decision that can only be saved by ending it early and sending Reigns into a different feud.
If not the main event, Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt would at least be entertaining.
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