WWE's Best and Worst Booking Decisions for the Week of Aug. 2

With SummerSlam less than three weeks away, WWE put its best foot forward as it hit the West Coast for two shows in California.

Fans were also treated to a very touching tribute to the late Rowdy Roddy Piper. If you have yet to see the tribute, or if you'd like to see it again, you can do so here.

WWE also reminded viewers of the nasty broken nose John Cena suffered in his match the previous week against Seth Rollins. On Monday, Rollins took a page out of Cena's book and offered an open challenge for his WWE World Heavyweight title. Neville accepted it, and he and Rollins put on a good match.

As we look at the rest of Raw and SmackDown from the past week, we'll determine what was WWE's best decision and what could have been better.

Best Booking Decision: Tag Team Match Announced for SummerSlam

Credit: WWE.com

SmackDown opened with Roman Reigns in the ring with a microphone. For many fans, that is usually not seen as a good combination.

Reigns issued a challenge for a match at SummerSlam. Looking to get revenge against Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper—the pair that reunited at Battleground—Reigns proposed having Dean Ambrose as his partner and facing them in a tag team match.

Not that long ago, these four men were on opposite sides of a stable feud between The Shield and The Wyatt Family. The six-man tag team match the two groups had at Elimination Chamber in 2014 was one of the best matches of that entire year.

Viewers had the prospect of that match to chew on for the duration of the show. Following Reigns' victory over Rusev, Wyatt and Harper accepted the challenge.

What Does This Mean Going Forward?

This match will help build the rivalry between Reigns and Wyatt. Introducing Ambrose not only gives Reigns a legitimate partner to battle Harper, but it also gives the match the components for what could be an exciting encounter. 

If fans are lucky, these four men will be able to deliver half of the match that The Shield had with The Wyatt Family in February 2014. 

This match is also filled with possibilities. Would WWE go as far as to add a new member to The Wyatt Family and cost Reigns and Ambrose the match again? There will likely be many people predicting just that.

This match will put all four men squarely on the card for SummerSlam, and fans should expect a competitive match. While it can be argued that guys like Reigns and Wyatt deserve a higher spot on the card, this is a good spot that makes sense.

Worst Booking Decision: Another Loss for Rusev

Credit: WWE.com

As mentioned earlier, Rusev went down in defeat to Reigns to close out SmackDown.

Rusev interrupted Reigns to begin the show right after fans learned they would face off in the main event. Reigns was able to get the win after a spear, but it took some interference from Lana to help get the job done.

Rusev is just lost without Lana. Once unbeatable, it now seems more likely that Rusev will lose than win. Though he picked up a big victory over Mark Henry on Raw, he suffered his second loss in three weeks on SmackDown.

The storyline between Rusev and Dolph Ziggler is being built up very well, even during Ziggler's absence from television.

What Does This Mean Going Forward?

Rusev used to come across as an unstoppable monster. WWE has reduced him to a sniveling, whiny mess who can't seem to overcome the loss of his manager, despite replacing her with someone else.

While it's understandable that one would want Lana back in their corner, Rusev needs to become dominant again. A match with Ziggler in some form seems logical for SummerSlam, so between now and then, Rusev shouldn't lose another match.

Was it Lana who helped Rusev run roughshod over the entire WWE roster for all of 2014 and part of 2015? Or can Rusev be the same guy regardless of who is in his corner? Rusev needs to regain his winning form. We've seen him whining and crying on television enough recently. WWE needs to push him in a different direction before he's regarded as just another guy on the roster.