WWE SmackDown Predictions: Mustafa Ali’s Big Win
By Brett Grega
Credit: WWE.com
3. Daniel Bryan Defeats Jeff Hardy With the Help of Rowan
The angle that arguably received the most buzz coming out of SmackDown last week was Daniel Bryan’s new hemp title belt.
In a glorious callback to Madusa’s belt tossing moment, Daniel Bryan dumped his own WWE Championship into the trash. In its place, he revealed the new hemp WWE title to replace it.
The promo that accompanied this reveal, combined with the visual of the actual belt itself, easily made this the most memorable moment on SmackDown in weeks. If people weren’t sold on the power of Daniel Bryan’s new gimmick, they should be now.
While that segment did do a lot in terms of helping establish Daniel Bryan’s character, it came with a glaring flaw. Bryan really didn’t do much to cement his new partnership with Rowan.
Sure, he talked for a bit about why Rowan joined up with him, but Rowan really ended up as nothing more than the carrier of Bryan’s new amazing belt.
It felt a bit like a missed opportunity, especially considering there was a whole pull-apart brawl that didn’t feature Rowan doing anything noteworthy to assert his position as the champ’s new muscle.
I expect that to change this week.
Daniel Bryan is set to take on Jeff Hardy, a great match-up that under normal circumstances would deserve a clean ending. However, this week I would be advocating for a slightly less upstanding conclusion.
Bryan should fall behind in this match, leading to him in some way being forced to distract or assault the referee. This allows Rowan to enter the ring to deliver a brutal beating on Jeff Hardy, ensuring that Bryan picks up the win.
This is the kind of storyline reinforcement that was the only real missing element from the WWE Champion’s promo last week, making this match seem like the perfect opportunity to rectify that.