5 things we wanted to see from WWE this week, and what they delivered

This week's WWE programming was all about the build towards the Extreme Rules PPV, but with a fairly lacklustre few weeks for both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live they certainly had a lot of heavy lifting to do to make some of the announced matches for the pay-per-view exciting and desirable

Meanwhile NXT is continuing to build towards its next TakeOver show with Tommaso Ciampa needing a push to go from feuding with Johnny Gargano to being a legitimate contender for the NXT title.

So without further ado, let's take a look at the 5 things we wanted to see from WWE this week, and what they actually delivered.

#5 Bobby Lashley vs Roman Reigns

This match definitely needed a boost to make it interesting, did WWE deliver?

What we wanted to see: Until this week the build for this match had not only been confusing given the deliberate doubt over Brock Lesnar and the Universal Title, but had been underwhelming. The WWE really needed to up their game to make what should be a huge match featuring Reigns and Lashley interesting.

What they delivered: Monday Night Raw opened with a superb segment between Reigns and Lashley that devolved into an all-out brawl. The two big men were then given the locker room separation treatment, but even that wasn't enough to stop them getting their hands on each other.

This was the most interesting the feud between these two men has been. Not because they did a locker-room attempts to prevent brawl spot, which is a tad overdone. But because it really helped to sell the animosity between the two guys and make their upcoming singles match actually feel important in the absence of the top belt and champion.

#4 Rusev vs AJ Styles

Did Rusev vs AJ Styles get the build it needed on the go home SmackDown?

What we wanted to see: Ever since Rusev won the Gauntlet Match to become #1 Contender, he seems to have taken a backseat in terms of importance. The WWE Title match at Extreme Rules between him and AJ Styles should be a bigger deal, so I wanted to see WWE treat it as such.

What they delivered: We saw Rusev interfering in the announced singles match between Styles and Nakamura, which was so-so. What was slightly better was Rusev getting a strong win for the team of him and Nakamura against Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles by pinning the United States Champion clean.

This was by the numbers booking from WWE who don't seem at all set to pull the trigger on Rusev, and it's fairly obvious. I would have liked to have seen more spotlight on Rusev as an individual and the WWE Title match on its own. Lumping it in with the United States Title feud reduced its significance.

#3 Andrade "Cien" Almas vs Sin Cara

What we wanted to see: Andrade "Cien" Almas is a hugely talented wrestler and he hasn't been able to get anywhere near showing that off on the main roster. His match against Sin Cara looked like it was going to do that, but then it kept getting pushed off the card week after week (thanks to a real-life injury from Sin Cara). With it looking like it was going to happen this week, we wanted the WWE to allow the two men to actually put on a good match.

What they delivered: The wait was certainly worth it as the two put on a superb match in the short amount of time they were given. Not only did Almas look great, which was the point, but Sin Cara also elevated himself too.

This match has been described as a show-stealer, and that's definitely not an incorrect label to give it. Not only has it made both men look good - as already mentioned, but it has increased enthusiasm and anticipation for a prolonged feud between the two men.

#2 Moustache Mountain vs The Undisputed ERA

We wanted to see WWE get behind Moustache Mountain - did they deliver?

What we wanted to see: The Undisputed ERA are great. That being said, I wanted the WWE to get fully behind Tyler Bate and Trent Seven and allow them to have a decent run with the NXT Tag-Team Titles.

What they delivered: The Undisputed ERA reclaimed the NXT Tag-Team Titles when Tyler Bate threw in the towel for Trent Seven, who was in a Double Knee Bar from Kyle O'Reilly.

This only proved that when the WWE put the belts on Moustache Mountain during the WWE UK Tournament, they had no long-term intentions for them as a tag-team and only really did it for the hometown crowd pop. This is a shame, although they have opened up some interesting storyline developments with the finish.

#1 Tommaso Ciampa attacks Aleister Black

Ciampa needs to be more than Gargano's enemy in title feud with Aleister Black - did they deliver?

What we wanted to see: We wanted to see less of Ciampa attacking someone for the shape of their body on Twitter and more of the cold-hearted, mean-spirited, incredibly dangerous man that would build him up to be a legitimate title contender to Aleister Black regardless of the storyline with Johnny Gargano.

What they delivered: Gargano impresses to Black that he cannot let Ciampa win the NXT Title but Ciampa brutally attacks Black backstage, hitting him with a Draping DDT onto the concrete backstage arena floor.

This is exactly what we need to be seeing from Ciampa. However I think the same could be applied to Aleister Black. He's losing a little of his mystique every time he's required to talk or cut a promo. Like Ciampa, Black shouldn't be doing that, just kicking people.

That's it for this week. If there's anything you guys want to see from the WWE in the coming week let us know in the comments below! We'll be doing an Extreme Rules edition of 'things we want to see' as well so let us know if there's anything you think the WWE should absolutely do for that show too!