Erick Rowan's Return Must Lead to the Wyatt Family Dominating WWE

Erick Rowan slunk out of the darkness on Monday's WWE Raw and stood next to his brothers as The Wyatt Family encircled Roman Reigns, the band of monsters now more fearsome that it ever has been.

Now that the swamp-dwelling clan is officially a quartet, now that Rowan's bicep is healed and he's ready to hammer his fists across any available flesh again, WWE's best move is to portray them as a dominant, wicked force. They outnumber WWE's other groups. The massive ogres tower over the roster.

The Wyatt Family can and should tear through the company.

They didn't exactly do that on Rowan's first night back, though. Rowan joined Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt to stalk Reigns. The two men set to battle inside the Hell in a Cell on Sunday sat in the ring together; the beasts closed in.

The Juggernaut, though, grabbed hold of a steel chair and went to work knocking the heels back with his weapon.

WWE did as poor a job as one can imagine of reintroducing Rowan. Saying there was no fanfare surrounding his return is a gross understatement. He just stood out there unnoticed until Michael Cole eventually half-heartedly pointed out his presence. 

As PWMania writer Jason Solomon noted, WWE handled the moment poorly:

Even so, WWE has a massive opportunity in front of it. There is time to make up for the underwhelming welcoming party for Rowan and use this group for the purpose it is built for: destruction.

Selling The Wyatt Family as creators of havoc and fang-bearing titans is easy. Rowan's return only highlights just how big these guys are. This foursome now boasts two 300-pounders.

And that's especially valuable in an era where size is at a premium.

The logical move with a four-man team with this much girth battling a roster full of trios and tag teams is to have that advantage in size and numbers equal dominance. Let the heroes suffer the injustice of being overwhelmed by this horde of man-beasts. Let Wyatt and his crew swarm WWE's fan favorites, much as The Shield did in their early days, when they often leaned on a three-on-one advantage.

Rowan returning also allows WWE to protect Strowman more.

Credit: WWE.com

As the green rookie, he doesn't need to be in singles matches and carry a large workload in the ring right now. He can serve as enforcer more often while Luke Harper and Rowan lead the way. Have him prowl around the ring while the underrated throwback bruiser in Rowan gets more work.

There's a compelling story to tell here, one where a backwoods empire reigns. 

The Four Horsemen were different animals, but WWE would be wise to remember how mesmerizing it was to see them snatch up all the championships, wreck every babyface who stood in their way and cackle in celebration afterward. That group sometimes felt like a small army, ruthlessly expanding their territory.

And when Dusty Rhodes eventually fought back, recruiting The Road Warriors and others to make a stand against those thugs, a top-notch rivalry unfolded.

That's what WWE could create with whatever good guys it wants to round up to take down The Wyatt Family. That's what the company should strive for with Rowan, Wyatt, Strowman and Harper.

It's not often WWE has a collection of monsters to play with like this. Not letting them rip through its spandex-clad heroes would be like not letting Godzilla leave Japan in ruin.