If you want him to be seen as a main-event caliber guy, then book him to beat the guys who already are seen on that level(a lot of those guys have already been in the ring with him and know he's legit). This isn't rocket science. Unifying the belts is a stupid idea, though. They've run with that way too much lately and it's dumb to jam up one show's main event scene by having the champion being involved in a feud with someone from the other show.