Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Kane Cannot Be Focus of Extreme Rules Main Event

1. Don't Let Kane's Story Overshadow the Champion's

At the end of Extreme Rules, Seth Rollins should have shown himself to be even more callous and serpentine than we know him to be. He should have just barely slipped away from defeat in a hellacious match.

Notice that Kane's name doesn't appear anywhere there.

Rollins' steel cage match against Randy Orton is a way to further the champ's momentum, to continue to showcase his cunning and to make him an even bigger star. Kane's addition to the bout could be an intriguing subplot, but there's a danger of involving him too much.

Leading up to Extreme Rules, WWE has given Kane almost as much spotlight as Orton and Rollins. His dislike for the WWE titleholder and his tension with The Authority have been major elements of this storyline. It almost feels like this is a Triple Threat with the director of operations also challenging for the strap.

Kane is now set to serve as the main event's gatekeeper, tasked to guard the cage door. 

WWE has to shy away from overbooking this bout. Use Kane's presence to add to the story; don't let it be the focal point. 

What's the end game of Kane playing a major role in the contest's finish? A Kane vs. Rollins feud? A rivalry between Kane and Orton?

The amount of fans rooting for either of those scenarios is minuscule. With all the emerging talent WWE has on its roster, the last thing it should be doing is taking up a spot on the marquee with Kane. As valuable as he is as a workhorse, he's not popular enough anymore to justify that move.

When WWE sketches out how it would like Orton vs. Rollins to go, it needs to keep Kane in a backup singer role instead of making him the frontman.

2. Prepping the Big Guy

Ryback is quietly building toward something big. He's not scheduled for action at Extreme Rules, but it's becoming more obvious that WWE has significant plans for him after that pay-per-view.

The company has had him stack up wins as of late.

Thanks to a look at Ryback's profile on Cagematch (link contains SmackDown spoilers), we see that his record speaks to him being in the midst of a push. Since February, he is 15-4 with one of those losses being in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. In one-on-one action, he has won seven straight.

Credit: WWE.com

No one has lasted long with him either.

The Big Guy beat Adam Rose in a minute-and-a-half on Monday's Raw. Luke Harper didn't last three minutes in his last two tries. Over the past few weeks, Ryback has bested The Miz in 1:40 and Curtis Axel in just 46 seconds.

Look for him to get a more prominent role in the months to come. WWE clearly wants him to look good. All these victories are surely a prelude to a big rivalry. 

Is he who Bray Wyatt has been talking about in his cryptic promos lately, then? F4WOnline (via Wrestling Inc's Marc Middleton) reports he is.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Tough Enough

The reality show that brought us The Miz is back. WWE is producing a new season of Tough Enough, and as Triple H announced on Monday's Raw, auditions are now open.

For those looking to try out, be sure to watch a clip of what to expect. During the original run of the series, Triple H laid into a number of contestants. He talked about passion, respect and showed how to add snap to one's taking of bumps.

Regardless of who ends up hosting the show, the folks trying to prove their toughness on screen are going to be subject to lectures like this. Expect a bruised ego to go along with a bruised tailbone. 

4. Last Man Standing at Its Best

Big Show and Roman Reigns collide at Extreme Rules in a match with a history of excellence. Those powerhouses will have a chance to add their names to the list of the best Last Man Standing matches of all time.

Doing so will be no easy task.

Hall of Famers, top-tier performers and beloved Superstars have set the bar high for this kind of match. Reigns and Big Show would be smart to study the following examples for inspiration: 

• The Rock vs. Mankind—St. Valentine's Day Massacre 
• Chris Jericho vs. Triple H—Fully Loaded 2000
• Chris Benoit vs. Edge—Backlash 2005
• Ric Flair vs. Triple H—Survivor Series 2005 
• John Cena vs. Umaga—Royal Rumble 2007

Reigns and Big Show won't be able to use choking and blood as Cena and Umaga did. Their rivalry isn't nearly as intense as The Rock and Mankind's was in 1999. 

These bouts, though, show tremendous storytellers at work. They are contests fans should watch to see the Last Man Standing gimmick at its finest and get ready for Big Show and Reigns to try their hand at it. 

5. Zack Ryder Could Use an NXT Pick-Me-Up

With no direction and no momentum, Zack Ryder should put in a request to head down to NXT for a while.

Credit: WWE.com

He struggles to get match time. He hasn't been anywhere near the spotlight since early 2012 when he was caught in the teeth of a rivalry between Kane and John Cena.

NXT recharged Tyson Kidd's career and allowed him a space to boost his character. Kidd now holds the tag team titles with Cesaro and has far more interesting of a persona than he did before.

Alex Riley has made an impact at NXT as well. Rather than sit on the bench on the main roster, he's been able to display a seething rage and a promo skills many fans didn't know he had.

Ryder should try to follow Kidd and Riley's lead. WWE has clearly given up on him. NXT would offer him a shot at getting the company's attention again as he goes up against guys like Tyler Breeze and Finn Balor.

Rejuvenation awaits. 

6. Not Seth Rollins, Not Yet

For those confused as to why WWE had Reigns extend his feud with Big Show after WrestleMania, The Fan's Podcast has a comic for you:

The same fate likely befell the writer who suggested that Daniel Bryan win the Royal Rumble or to save the rubber match between The Miz and Damien Mizdow for Extreme Rules.

7. A Rejuvenated Warrior

Everyone who foresaw that a heel turn would be just what Sheamus needed turned out to be correct.

The Celtic Warrior is looking tremendous as an unfeeling bruiser looking to stomp out WWE's underdogs. His motivations make sense. His nastiness is compelling. 

In the ring, he's simply punishing his opponents. He looks like a lion batting around a dead gazelle at times.

Sheamus' heel prowess even bleeds into his Twitter account:

His run as a fang-bearing villain has done well to wash away the memories of him doing those stupid 1-800-FELLA ads and making fart jokes. To say turning heel has been as good for Sheamus' career is as much of an understatement as Ken Shamrock telling Dan LeBatard on Highly Questionable that Big Show is "a big dude." 

8. Divas Championship Reigns

Whether she ends up facing Paige or not, count on Nikki Bella's time as champion to be over soon. Divas Championship history says Nikki is about done with the belt.

She has held it for over 150 days. That's far longer than most reigns and around the time Layla, Eve and Kaitlyn ended their runs as champ.

Nikki is closing in on the second-longest Divas title reign since 2012.

• Nikki Bella (six days)
• Layla (140 days)
• Eve Torres (120 days)
• Kaitlyn (153 days)
• AJ Lee (295 days)
• Paige (84 days)
• AJ Lee (48 days)
• Paige (35 days)
• AJ Lee (63 days)

And strangely enough, Nikki's first reign ended at Extreme Rules. Now that Naomi has gotten the nod to take Paige's spot, put your money on the former Funkadactyl. 

9. Alternative Finisher

Seth Rollins used a DDT-like finisher on Monday's Raw, leading folks to be believe recent rumblings that the Curb Stomp is banned. PWInsider's Mike Johnson reports that this isn't the case.

He writes, "The decision was made to give Rollins the new DDT variation with the idea that it was a finisher that could be used on anyone, anywhere, similar to say, an RKO."

It may have quick-strike capability, but it's a boring move. It doesn't stand out and looks so much like other signature moves other guys use.

Rollins would be better off looking for another weapon. Gail Kim's Eat Defeat can be hit quickly and looks a lot more exciting than that DDT variant.

The Shining Wizard is a fast, fun move. Rollins, though, would be best served borrowing from Naomichi Marufuji and taking out opponents with the Ko-oh.

It's a flying knee that is reminiscent of Sheamus' Brogue Kick. Rollins could hit it "out of nowhere," a la the RKO, and it's not as overused as the DDT.

10. The Build Is Over?

Even with a full four weeks to work with, WWE hasn't created much hype for Extreme Rules. There's a definite WrestleMania hangover going on right now with the company's creative energy waning.

Monday's Raw didn't feel like a go-home show. And it doesn't feel like Extreme Rules is ready to arrive Sunday.

As LaToya Ferguson writes for the A.V Club, "The pay-per-view and all of its communist Russia graphics appear to have snuck up on people."