WWE Armchair Booking: How to Maximize Luke Harper-Erick Rowan Reunion

The team of Harper and Rowan has the potential to be a great boost to the tag team scene and a way to revive each man's sputtering singles career. WWE has to treat them like predators, not doormats, though. Focus on making them look dangerous and giving them quality opponents is key to getting the most out of their reunion.

The company clearly didn't know what to do with these bruisers as singles competitors. 

Harper served as the guy whom babyface midcarders trounced en route to bigger things. He didn't have much in the way of a story to work with. Rowan had even less. He wasn't onscreen often, his momentum stuck in neutral.

Making them a tag team again is the easy fix. It's where they both thrived the most, and with the division in need of depth, the timing is right for their partnership to reform.

WWE, though, has to make them look more formidable than they did on their own.

Rowan went 4-5 as a solo act in 2015; Harper's record this year in singles bouts is just 6-14. Each man's record in pay-per-view matches is an even stronger indication of how low they both sat on the ladder. After leaving The Wyatt Family, Harper went 0-4 at pay-per-views, while Rowan ended with a 1-2 record.

That lone victory was as part of Team Cena at Survivor Series. He was pinned midway through the bout. 

The first step to renewing interest in what Rowan and Harper do next is to make up for all those losses, to recall the brothers-in-arms' better days.

Destruction Renewed

Remind fans of how dominant these two men can be. Give them a series of one-sided wins against low-ranking teams.

Rowan and Harper should steamroll over Curtis Axel and DamienSandow and Los Matadores. They face stiffer competition in the form of The Lucha Dragons, but leave no doubt about their power during that collision.

Allow Kalisto and Sin Cara to score some near-falls, but make their eventual defeat sting. To have Rowan and Harper be intimidating, they need to leave one of those masked men hurt. Not only do Harper and Rowan defeat The Lucha Dragons, but they pound on Kalisto after the bell, leaving him in need of a stretcher.

Leading up to Elimination Chamber, they randomly attack other wrestlers. They are just out to wreck havoc, they explain.

The damage they do is impressive enough to land them a spot in the Elimination Chamber match for the tag titles.

Rubble in the Chamber

Crowning Rowan and Harper champs already wouldn't have the power that providing that moment after proper buildup would. This match is not the time to have them win but instead to show how fearsome they are.

Give Rowan and Harper many of the big spots in the Elimination Chamber match. Harper clotheslines Big E through one of the pods. Rowan slams Tyson Kidd on the steel grating around the ring, leaving him clutching his ribs for the rest of the night.

They dominate much of the match but lose in fluky fashion. A roll-up eliminates Harper. Rowan, meanwhile, gets triple-teamed by Cesaro, Kidd and Big E. 

Incensed, the big man refuses to leave the structure. He lays out each man who had a hand in his defeat.

 

Credit: WWE.com

Erick Rowan puts Cesaro in a Torture Rack.

The next night, Rowan and Harper cut Cesaro and Kidd's match short. The enraged brawlers pound the former champs into the mat. Feeling cheated inspires this attack.

This angle paints Rowan and Harper as unpredictable, difficult to defeat and like fang-bearing predators. In addition, they get to now work with a talented duo. A feud is born.

Worthy Rivals

While The Lucha Dragons go on to face The New Day for the tag titles, Cesaro and Kidd take on Harper and Rowan to earn their place back at the top of the division.

It's a chance to get a number of great matches onto the next few months' worth of cards. Their styles create an intriguing juxtaposition. Cesaro and Kidd are among the best workers on the roster; Harper and Rowan are among the best brawlers. It promises to be a fun series.

The people behind The Tag Rope Twitter account certainly approve:

And as the folks at The History of WWE point out, Harper and Rowan would make for good roadblocks in the way of those with title aspirations:

Have Harper and Rowan get a dominant win at Money in the Bank. Cesaro and Kidd leave hurting, with doubts about their future chances against this team swirling. They then wrestle to a no-contest at Battleground.

Leading up to SummerSlam, WWE can then push its babyfaces back to the No. 1 contender spot by having them outlast the monsters inside a steel cage.

Cesaro and Kidd can finally overcome the big men in a cage match on Raw, a bout that catapults them to a title match at SummerSlam. Harper and Rowan can then take out their frustrations on other teams, making their case for contention by amassing an impressive record.

This route allows some variety in the tag team title picture, gives Cesaro and Kidd a way to prove themselves and hands Harper and Rowan purpose. There will be more heroes to destroy and more thrilling action to come.

Next up, The Lucha Dragons. And when Jey Uso's shoulder heals, WWEhas an option to renew what was once a red-hot feud between TheUsos and The Wyatt Family. Those options are all far superior to Rowan and Harper just running in place on their own.