Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Rusev Feud Will Give Roman Reigns Major Momentum

1. The Right Place for Roman Reigns

A rivalry that never reached its climax restarted with a savage beating.

Roman Reigns needed only to beat Kevin Owens on Monday's Raw to assure himself a shot at the WWE Universal Championship. A win would turn the bout between Owens and Seth Rollins at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view on Sept. 25 into a Triple Threat match.

Instead, Rusev pounced on Reigns. He cost The Big Dog the match and then throttled him with right hands.

That's exactly what Reigns needed.

Hovering around the main event doesn't suit Reigns right now. Fans are still not sold on him, booing him despite his babyface status and taunting him with chants of "You can't wrestle." And he's not yet a good enough talker to tell marquee stories.

A lower spot on the card, a WWE United States Championship chase and a rivalry with a hoss like Rusev is by far the better road for the moment.

The best version of Reigns has been the most aggressive. He's most thrived as a beast on the prowl, with his fists balled tight and little to say.

That's who he will be against Rusev. His battle with the U.S. champ will be a meeting of two wrecking balls. It should be one built on violence, animosity and pure adrenaline. 

Fans saw a glimpse of that on Monday night.

Rusev turned up his sadism as he punished Reigns in the ring, signifying a return to the narrative that abruptly ended at SummerSlam. At that event, the two rivals couldn't even start the match. They smashed on each other en route to a no-contest.

Exchanging that kind of violence will elevate Reigns. The Big Dog can win fans over by going full throttle and leaving a trail of broken tables and bent chairs behind him.

He and Rusev promise to have some memorable slobberknockers in the months ahead. 

And fans resistant to his rise will have less to hold against him. Internet Wrestling Community favorites AJ Styles and Owens are both top champions. The more universally liked Rollins and Dean Ambrose are in the world title hunt.

Reigns, meanwhile, will do his work in a less bright spotlight.

He will get a chance to earn his way back up the ladder. The feud with Rusev will offer him chances to win over a fanbase long reluctant to root for him. 

He'll be bruised and swollen by the end of it, but colliding with Rusev will be medicine for Reigns' career.

2. John Cena Championship Numbers

Cena stormed back onto SmackDown on Tuesday night and announced that he wants the WWE World Championship in his hands again.

History says he will get his wish. WWE continually goes back to him as champ.

Cena is now set to face Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles at the No Mercy pay-per-view for the WWE world title on Oct. 9. A win at that event will tie Cena with Ric Flair for the most world title reigns of all time at 16. If he doesn't nab the strap that night, he will do so eventually.

Looking back at WWE World Championship history, per WWE.com, it's clear Cena's hands don't go long without holding gold.

Year	Won WWE Title?	No. of Times Won
2006	Yes	2
2007	Yes	1
2008	No	N/A
2009	Yes	2
2010	Yes	2
2011	Yes	3
2012	No	N/A
2013	Yes	1
2014	Yes	1
2015	No	N/A

If the pattern holds up, Cena is due for another WWE title reign. There have only been three years in the last decade when he didn't win the title—and never two in a row.

Styles fans should savor The Phenomenal One's reign as long as they can.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: AJ Styles

Nearly two decades into his career, Styles won the WWE World Championship.

On Sunday's Backlash pay-per-view, The Phenomenal One knocked off Dean Ambrose to claim WWE's top prize. That title is the latest item added to a long list of accomplishments. 

Styles has been waving around wrestling gold for a long time. In 2000, while working for NWA Wildside, a young Styles beamed as he held the promotion's world title over his shoulder:

(Video contains brief NSFW language.)

Styles' fashion sense has improved, and his baby fat is gone, but his choice of accessories isn't. He's carried around titles everywhere, from Japan to TNA, from the Christian Wrestling Federation to now SmackDown.

4. What a Final Four

Four intriguing wrestlers comprise the group of semifinalists ready to collide in the last stages of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament. 

On Wednesday night, Kota Ibushi will clash with TJ Perkins, and Gran Metalik will take on Zack Sabre Jr. High-flying offense will meet mat-based technical displays. Little-known competitors will take on indy darlings.

WWE has done a number of things well with the Cruiserweight Classic, and deciding on these final four competitors is one of them.

A clash of styles makes the Metalik vs. Sabre match a thriller in the making. Putting Perkins in the finals over more established names played up the unpredictable nature of the tourney. And the dream Ibushi vs. Sabre bout is still a possibility.

That's a contest poised to outdo even the best offerings this tournament has produced.

5. Reminder: Big Show is Big!

Not even the ring ropes are safe from Big Show.

The World's Largest Athlete showed off his giant status by accident over the weekend when WWE traveled to the Philippines. Gearing up for a splash in the corner, the ropes gave away under him.

Ring reporter Ryan Songalia posted a video of the moment:

Luckily, neither Big Show nor Cena, who was lying under him, got hurt. Cena posed with the torn rope after the bout. Even he was in awe of what went down.

6. TNA Becoming the Masters of the Bizarre

For those who like their wrestling weird, TNA has been a go-to destination of late.

Just months after Matt and Jeff Hardy collided in the absurd, cinematic Final Deletion match, TNA returned to the offbeat. Delete or Decay, a battle between the Hardy family and the Decay faction, aired on last week's Impact Wrestling.

Purists will cringe at the bout's many strange moments: Brother Nero drop-kicking a boat, Senor Benjamin tasering Joseph Park, underwater fighting.

But the creativity of these Hardy-centric contests has made for must-see TV. That's not an adjective TNA has been able to consistently boast. Delete or Decay is a reminder of the power of innovation.

7. Chris Jericho, Stepping Stone

Leave out the word "bury" when talking about Jericho's recent WWE runs. While some fans feel that the former world champ has stomped on emerging stars and cut off their momentum, the numbers say otherwise.

WWE has firmly positioned Jericho as a veteran who aids the rise of younger wrestlers.

Per CageMatch.net, Jericho is 5-16 in PPV bouts since 2012, not including the Royal Rumble. And he hasn't had a PPV winning percentage over .500 since 2009. So far in 2016, he's sitting at a .286 winning percentage at those events.

That's not exactly a superhuman record.

He has dropped matches to Ryback, Bray Wyatt and Fandango of all people. Y2J also twice fell to Ambrose earlier this year. Note, too, that shortly after both Ambrose and Styles feuded with Jericho, they went on to win the WWE World Championship. 

If you're a wrestler on the rise, you may want to sit down with Vince McMahon and ask for a rivalry with Jericho. 

8. An Alberto Del Rio Retrospective

It's time again to say goodbye to Del Rio. Less than two years after his return to the company, The Pride of Mexico is headed elsewhere.

Last week, WWE announced on its official website that the company and Del Rio had "mutually agreed upon the terms of his release."

Since he may not ever compete for McMahon again, his archives may be the only place to see him take on WWE competition. If you're already missing Del Rio or just want to reflect on his resume, here's a collection of some of his best work with the company:

• Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian: Extreme Rules 2011 (Ladder)
• Alberto Del Rio vs. The Miz vs. CM Punk: TLC: Tables Ladders & Chairs 2011 (TLC)
• Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler: Payback 2013 
• Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian: SummerSlam 2013
• Alberto Del Rio vs. Roman Reigns: Survivor Series 2015

The underappreciated grappler may lack the necessary "it" factor to grow into a true megastar, but he sure is an artist in the ring. 

9. A Lunatic Unleashed

Ambrose's loss at Backlash may have been just what he needed.

During his world title reign, he seemed to lose momentum as a character. The Lunatic Fringe wasn't nearly as captivating as he has been in the past. 

Days after dropping the world title, though, he looked renewed. On the chase again, Ambrose is already more interesting. 

On Tuesday's SmackDown, he, Styles and Cena bickered in the ring. We saw a more intense and more focused version of Ambrose during the confrontation.

When he told Styles, "From this moment forward, I promise to make your life miserable," Ambrose sounded like the version of himself who hunted down Seth Rollins in one of WWE's best rivalries in years.

The spark is back. Ambrose is ready to be at his best once more.

10. On CM Punk's Payday

Criticism has come flying at Punk after news broke about what he earned for his fight against Mickey Gall at UFC 203. Punk, a man with zero MMA fights on his record, pulled in a reported $500,000, per MMAFighting.com.

It does one no good to grow bitter about Punk's situation. Rather than bemoan Punk's payday, as so many have, UFC lightweight Will Brooks suggested another line of thinking:

That needs to go on a motivational poster.

Ryan Dilbert is the WWE Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@ryandilbert) to talk all things wrestling.