Why Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson Turning on AJ Styles Will Ruin WWE Extreme Rules

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are supposed to be the Acolytes Protection Agency of this generation. They're big, they're tough and they have an edge like no other tag team in WWE.

Their fans would love to see them competing for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Better yet, their fans would love to see them dominate the tag team division.

But instead, they're playing point for AJ Styles, who never asked for their help. The Club will likely meet its demise at Sunday's Extreme Rules, however, and the final betrayal will ruin the night.

How many fans can say they saw this coming?

Gallows and Anderson have not yet scratched the surface of what they can do in WWE. The possibilities are endless for them, and at some point, they need to get started. But to bring them in separately from Styles would not have made much sense, as fans expected the three to be connected.

So WWE did what was expected, and the storyline has unfolded since then.

But it's becoming painfully repetitive. Every week, questions surrounding Styles' association with his Bullet Club friends are being asked, and every week, it looks as though Styles may be turning heel. It hasn't happened yet, of course, as WWE Creative wants to maintain as much mystery as possible.

The endgame will likely be revealed at Extreme Rules.

But Gallows and Anderson's involvement is the real mystery here. Fans know that something smells foul about this storyline, yet no one knows what's happening along the way. Styles wasn't interested in getting help at first, and now he's embraced it. This wasn't a family feud between The Bloodline and The Club, but now it's an all-out war.

However, the two top soldiers in this war are supposed to be babyfaces.

The setup here is becoming obvious with each passing week. Anderson and Gallows are going to prevent Styles from winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday.

This cannot be what many fans want; seeing Roman Reigns lose the belt is the most desirable ending.

Seeing Styles achieve greatness is at the top of the list for fans who have always dreamed of seeing him succeed in Vince McMahon's company. Styles has paid his dues, he's put in the work and he deserves the reward for his efforts.

But Reigns is not going down this soon. WWE has spent over a year elevating him, building him as a main event star. There is no reason to turn back now, despite the negative reactions that Reigns continues to get. 

So in order to protect him and Styles, Reigns will likely not get a clean pin over his opponent at Extreme Rules. 

Styles may have him beat, and he may have the best chance he's ever had to win the belt, but it will all be taken away from him at the last moment. This time, it probably will not be due to his refusing help to take a shortcut. This time, it will be due to Anderson and Gallows taking matters into their own hands.

Styles could be decimated by the men he calls his brothers. But Payback is a major reason why this ending will be a bad idea. 

Reigns and Styles had a good match at Payback. Styles proved that he belongs in WWE, as so many fans already knew for years. His pacing, timing and work in that match went a long way toward convincing any undecided fans that he indeed deserves their respect.

Styles was phenomenal that night.

But Reigns more than held up his end of the deal. He is not the most technically proficient wrestler in WWE, but he is much better than he was. He's also much better than some give him credit for, which was evident at Payback.

So why ruin the return match? Why give fans a non-finish when they deserve so much more? More importantly, why follow through with a predictable ending when fans already sense it's going to happen in the first place?

If this is just a way to establish Anderson and Gallows as a tag team, it's understandable. But was this the best way to do it? How does this get the two men any closer to tag team domination, like many believe they will achieve?

Some still believe that Finn Balor will eventually be the man behind Anderson and Gallows. If that's true, he could perhaps make his presence known at Extreme Rules. But Balor is needed in NXT right now, and Anderson and Gallows need to be on their own.

So there probably won't be a major faction birth at Extreme Rules, just a run-of-the-mill backstabbing. Whether it should happen is up for debate, a debate that will likely continue long after Extreme Rules comes to an end.

Tom Clark can regularly be found on Bleacher Report. His podcast, Tom Clark's Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here