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WWE Wrestler of the Week is back as we make the transition from April to May and are just a few weeks away from the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. This week’s winner is a previous recipient of the award and is making a great case for his match on May 19th. He will be involved in the triple threat ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship. This week’s winner is the “Real American” Jack Swagger.

Swagger began his successful week with a victory over former World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio on the April 26th edition of Smackdown. This was a no disqualification match that saw a ladder get involved, but this was prior to the announced stipulation for Extreme Rules. This was a very important win for Swagger as he now holds recent victories over both of his Extreme Rules opponents. Swagger defeated Ziggler on the April 15th edition of Raw and now was victorious over Del Rio.

Swagger’s win on the April 29th edition of Raw came at the expense of Zack Ryder. The Woo Woo Woo kid entered with his new long haired look and reminded Swagger and his manager Zeb Colter how Ricardo Rodriguez won the manager match earlier in the night. Regardless, the outcome was never in doubt as Ryder hasn’t won a match in ages.

Most WWE fans, including myself, are surprised to see Swagger gaining so much momentum heading into Extreme Rules 2013. After Swagger’s DUI arrest, it was expected for him to be fired or punished in some way. However, Swagger’s WrestleMania match still went on, even though Swagger was on the losing end. Then, after Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Del Rio, many probably expected Swagger to leave the title picture again.

I believe the Extreme Rules match will be the end for Swagger’s time in the title picture. One big reason why he hasn’t been punished yet is because of the success of his character alongside manager Zeb Colter. Swagger is also the least likely to win the title at Extreme Rules so WWE had to give him momentum this week. Del Rio is the former champion and will most likely continue a one on one feud with Ziggler following the pay-per-view. Ziggler needs to win this match though. He held the Money in the Bank briefcase for nine months. WWE would be making a huge mistake if he only held the title for a month or two.

It remains to be seen what WWE chooses to do with Swagger following the pay-per-view this month. His time challenging for the World Heavyweight title may be over, but he could take the United States title from Kofi Kingston. It would work well with his “Real American” gimmick. It doesn’t appear as though Swagger will be suspended or fired at this point. WWE would also be wise to keep Colter around to help Swagger’s relevancy.

Do you agree with this week’s WWE Wrestler of the Week winner? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Be sure to check out Camel Clutch Blog each and every Friday for a new WWE Wrestler of the Week!

Seth M. Guttenplan is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and host of OH YOU DIDN’T KNOW!? PWPRadio’s weekly radio show covering all wrestling news and rumors. To read more from Seth follow him on twitter (@sethgutt) and check out guttwrenchpowerblog.com. You can also like GWP on Facebook here.

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