Bray Wyatt Feud Is the Worst Possible Choice for Roman Reigns

When Bray Wyatt appeared inside the squared circle, standing underneath the ladder that Roman Reigns had scaled in hopes of retrieving the Money in the Bank briefcase and moving one step closer to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, it ignited a rivalry between the two that will culminate when they meet one-on-one at Battleground.

What on the surface may appear to be a quality feud between two of the brightest young stars on the roster, though, is the worst possible feud Reigns could have been saddled with.

Why? Because the program represents yet another instance of WWE booking itself into a corner.

Reigns is at a point in his career where every feud, every match and every segment he appears in must be carefully crafted. As the guy the company clearly sees as the future of the industry, he simply cannot afford a slip-up.

Yet, that is exactly what the company has set him up for with the Wyatt feud.

For Wyatt to be considered a credible threat to Reigns, he must score a win over the juggernaut. The problem with that is that Reigns is at a point where he is being portrayed as someone who cannot win the big one. That is all well and good as long as there is an endgame that finally sees him get over the proverbial hump.

What is not acceptable is a loss in what amounts to a meaningless midcard match, especially to a guy as horrendously and unevenly booked as Wyatt.

Speaking of the Reaper of Souls, he can hardly withstand another high-profile loss following the disaster that was his program with John Cena last year and his WrestleMania 31 defeat at the hands of the Undertaker.

So now Reigns is stuck working a program against a guy who has his own credibility issues, with matches that are likely to feature screwy finishes to prevent either competitor from having to endure a clean loss. Worse is the fact that Wyatt has already been beaten cleanly by Reigns.

On free television.

The June 1 episode of Raw featured Reigns barreling through the second-generation star in order to earn his spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

So not only is Reigns being put in harm's way with a feud that could single-handedly derail all of the momentum he has built for himself thus far in his career year, but he is being put there despite having decisively and definitively proven his superiority to Wyatt just two weeks ago.

There is nothing for Reigns to gain from working with Wyatt, but everything for him to lose. Why WWE Creative even took this risk knowing full well how much work went into rehabilitating him following the Royal Rumble debacle this past January is a mystery.

What is not is the need for quality heels, and Reigns plowing through Wyatt en route to a high-profile match at SummerSlam does not lend any more legitimacy to the former Shield member, but it certainly eliminates the possibility that Wyatt can still salvage the rest of his year.

It is almost as if WWE Creative sat down, looked at the current roster and tried to devise the coolest match imaginable, ramifications be damned. And now, two Superstars expected to carry the company into the future are at jeopardy of suffering the same unpleasant fate.