5 Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Dec 15)

3. The Irresistible Force Meets The Immovable Object

Smart, bold booking reared its head during Raw when Ryback took up the challenge laid down by U.S. Champion Rusev. The Bulgarian Brute has been on a tear since debuting in WWE, mowing down everyone in his path. He seemed to be stalling a little recently due to Survivor Series, but he still is one of the more protected heels in the company. At this point though, Rusev needs a serious challenge. Enter Ryback, who since returning from an injury has largely been booked similarly to how he debuted back in 2012, bulldozing opponents as a fan favorite. Even with some questionable booking here and there, the fans still exploded and loudly chanted, €œFeed me more!€ when the Big Guy answered the call to stand up to Rusev. This really is smart booking. It€™s not often that the company has two dominant forces cross paths. Usually, the company tries to keep them separate to keep them both strong. By pitting them against each other though, WWE is potentially sacrificing one monster to build up another even more. Rusev defeating Ryback would be seen as a pretty big victory, which is more than can be said about his repeated wins against poor Jack Swagger. Ryback will take a hit in losing such a feud, but he probably has a shorter shelf life given his past mishandlings. It€™ll be interesting to see how this unfolds.