Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles: WWE Extreme Rules Stipulation Will Justify 3rd Match

The AJ Styles-Roman Reigns feud is gradually evolving into gang warfare.

Styles recently reunited The Club, while Reigns has made it official with The Usos and The Bloodline, making this no longer the one-on-one story of underdog vs. pedigree.

With an Extreme Rules stipulation looming, it's all but guaranteed that outside interference will play a key role in this match, rendering a clean finish as unlikely as a CM Punk debut in the UFC.

Reigns and Styles have connected with fans through their ongoing feud. The two make great foils for each other, with Reigns as the guy and Styles as the indy guy, and their captivating feud is apparent in viewership outside of standard Nielsen ratings.

Per YouTube (h/t Wrestling Inc), the Bloodline-Club feud has dominated viewership, as these segments were the most viewed during recent episodes of Raw and SmackDown.

This past week on Raw, The Usos and The Club's tag team feud was placed on center stage with Reigns and Styles in supporting roles.

There is clearly still a story to tell among these six individuals that resonates with fans, and it's hard to imagine a situation where Extreme Rules is their final encounter.

The first encounter between Styles and Reigns was a memorable, highly emotional match that was restarted twice. This issue was rectified with the announcement of an Extreme Rules match, where count-outs and disqualifications will not be an issue.

Still, an inevitable string of run-ins will mandate a third match to determine just who the better man really is.

A Steel Cage match, or even Hell in a Cell, would theoretically solve this issue. Between the athleticism of Styles and Reigns, this seems to be the only type of match that would elevate their current in-ring chemistry. Just imagine the Phenomenal Forearm from the top of a cage!

But as WWE continues to shift the focus to its two budding stables, perhaps a War Games-themed Elimination Chamber would draw more interest. As a potential WWE Network special, the promotion can continue to capitalize on its hottest feud while providing a bigger spotlight to the supporting characters.

Lengthy feuds are imperative to any championship reign.

John Cena was able to build his legacy through rivalries with the likes of Randy Orton and Edge. Those feuds added legitimacy to Cena and his opponents, and they will do the same for Reigns and his New Era foes.

In order for Reigns to continue developing as the guy, he'll need to triumph in long storylines against deserving challengers. To simply run through the roster one by one would feed into the basic (read: bogus) Internet rhetoric of Reigns being a front-office favorite who is "forced down fans' throats."

But through character-building feuds that pit friendship against family, there is a story to tell that will allow fans to fully invest in the full spectrum of WWE's most controversial Superstar.

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