With WrestleMania XXIX firmly in the rear-view mirror, the WWE is now focused on building up a multitude of different stars for the upcoming summer season. Scoring a big victory at Extreme Rules is a great way to start.
While the card is only halfway complete, it is fairly obvious which matches will be added if they haven't been announced already. Some bouts such as Mark Henry vs. Sheamus or a potential Randy Orton vs. Big Show match could go either way without consequence, but other tilts will feature one Superstar who clearly needs to win in a bad way.
Perhaps winning isn't everything in professional wrestling, but there comes a point when Superstars have to win and look strong in order to get over properly with the fans. The WWE has the potential for a highly entertaining summer provided the creative team books Extreme Rules logically.
That isn't always the case, but with CM Punk out for the time being and part-time guys such as Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and The Rock not as prevalent, smart booking will be of the utmost importance moving forward.
The WWE backed itself into a corner last year when John Cena got injured as it pressed Ryback into the main-event scene against CM Punk and had no choice but to make him lose. Rather than allowing him to rebound,rtls, the losses have continued to pile up for Ryback over the past several months.
The WWE had a golden opportunity to give Ryback a huge victory on the WrestleMania stage over Mark Henry, but Henry inexplicably won the match. That ultimately led to Ryback's heel turn, but losing to Henry wasn't really necessary to make that happen. Whatever the case, it's very difficult to take Ryback seriously knowing how putrid his record is.
Since WrestleMania, Ryback has been made to look strong, but it's time for the WWE to put its money where its mouth is. If the writers are going to continue to herald Ryback as the most unstoppable force in wrestling, then he needs to win at Extreme Rules.
Ryback will be facing Cena for the WWE Championship in a Last Man Standing match, which could set the stage for a title change. The Shield has been heavily involved with Cena and Ryback as of late, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the group lay out Cena and help Ryback win the title after stifling him so many times in the past.
Even though Ryback would be getting help, he would still get a major rub simply by beating Cena. It isn't as if Cena ever loses cleanly anyway, so a win of any kind over Cena is huge.
Fans hoped that the schizophrenic booking would change when Ziggler won the World Heavyweight Championship, but that hasn't been the case, as Ziggler continues to lose despite having gold around his waist.
Over the past several weeks, Ziggler has won matches here and there over the likes of Kofi Kingston and other midcarders, but he has lost to both Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio, who will be his opponents at Extreme Rules. It's understandable that the WWE wants to make it seem as though the title could potentially change hands, but jobbing out Ziggler isn't the way to do it.
The WWE has a penchant for making its heel champions lose constantly. Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett is dealing with that currently, and Antonio Cesaro was mired in a losing streak for months before dropping the United States Championship to Kingston.
Perhaps the worst part about it is the fact that he has A.J. and Big E Langston constantly influencing matches, so he should never lose. He loses quite often, however, and even when he does win, it is usually due to outside interference. If the fans are to believe that Ziggler is as good as he says he is, then he needs to go on a prolonged winning streak.
Look for that to begin at Extreme Rules, where Ziggler will face Swagger and Del Rio in a ladder match. Hopefully it marks the start of a big run for Ziggler rather than serve as a one-off victory.
That isn't to say that The Shield will be sunk the second it loses, but there is honestly no point in having the triumvirate lose right now. The likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, Ryback, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Big Show, Chris Jericho and countless others have tried to stop The Shield, but each and every on them has failed.
Although The Shield hasn't yet been put in an Extreme Rules match officially, it is almost certain that at least two of them will challenge Team Hell No for the Tag Team Championships. Also, based on the events of Raw, Dean Ambrose could potentially face Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship. The Shield beat Kofi and The Usos in a six-man tag on Raw and the announcers made a big deal out of Ambrose pinning Kingston, so something has to be in the works.
There is some concern among WWE fans about where The Shield goes from here, but the next logical step involves winning titles. Perhaps the Tag Team Championships and United States Championship aren't as prestigious as they once were, but The Shield can undoubtedly legitimize those belts and make people care about them again.
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