Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles Rematch at WWE Extreme Rules Better Served for Raw

Roman Reigns and AJ Styles waged war in a high-octane WWE championship match that had all the energy of a Game 7 in the NBA playoffs.

From false finishes to restarts to interference, there was no amount of gimmickry or plot twists that could have derailed this match.

Following an entertaining main event, WWE opted to bring its momentum to a halt by announcing that the Reigns-Styles rematch would take place in three weeks at WWE Extreme Rules.

With ratings at a historical low, per PWTorch, WWE needed to ensure that the buzz from Payback bled into Raw. A championship rematch the following night would have accomplished that.

With the new era being a constant theme all night, Vince McMahon announced a new regime in which both Shane and Stephanie McMahon would run Raw. But instead of creating a fresh, new feel for Raw, the duo used its pay-per-view spotlight to book the WWE championship rematch that has been par for the course for decades.

WWE needs to re-energize its viewership, and making viewers wait for a WWE championship match will do little to improve ratings.

WWE needed to follow through on its promise of a new era by presenting a new television product. Offering up WWE's most polarizing feud with its biggest prize on the line in the main event of the embattled flagship show would create a must-see product. Raw hasn't had a sense of urgency for viewers since WrestleMania.

Instead, there's little incentive to tune into Raw aside from a mixture of what WWE has already been doing for weeks.

Shane and Stephanie certainly took control at Payback, but what about Raw? Not only was a WWE championship match delayed until Extreme Rules, but there was no major announcement from the new regime that gave fans a good reason to tune in on Monday night.

With no title changes or major returns to speak of, WWE is basically peddling the same show that has been churning out alarmingly low ratings. 

WWE championship matches on television are rare, and they've proven to be a draw as recently as last year. Ratings rose a whopping 27 percent last December, when Raw featured the return of Vince McMahon and a WWE championship match in the main event.

WWE managed to maintain its viewership for the full three hours that time, which has not been the case lately, as viewership has dipped below three million for consecutive weeks, per PWTorch.

And with competition on cable not letting up, LeBron James and the star-studded NBA playoffs will join other highly rated Monday night shows to challenge—and likely defeat—Raw for key demographics.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.