Why Bray Wyatt could, and should, be traded back to Raw in the 2019 WWE Draft

Bray Wyatt’s future on Friday Night SmackDown may be short-lived if a blockbuster trade takes place in the remainder of the 2019 WWE Draft.

Most of the moves made on Night 1 of the 2019 WWE Draft were fairly logical and expected, though “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt getting selected by SmackDown in the first round definitely seemed to surprise some fans.

Wyatt has called Raw his home for the past two and a half years. Although the blue brand was where he became SmackDown Tag Team champion and captured the WWE Championship, Raw is unquestionably the better fit for him at the moment.

His career went into a tailspin upon being drafted to Raw in 2017, and following failed feuds with Finn Balor and “Woken” Matt Hardy, it felt as though he couldn’t be salvaged.

After a year away from the flagship show, however, he reinvented himself as the friendly face on the Firefly Fun House and quickly became one of the most popular acts on their entire roster.

The months of momentum for The Fiend should have culminated in him beating Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship at last Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

Unfortunately, WWE decided to go with a non-finish to that anticipated encounter, and instead spare fans of what would have been a magical moment.

Interestingly enough, there was no followup to the universally-despised ending to the event on the next night’s Raw, likely because the company realized they messed up big time. They also must have been aware that Rollins would have been booed out of the building if he showed up in any capacity.

WWE was wise to wait until SmackDown to advance the angle with Wyatt interfering in Rollins’ high-stakes match against Roman Reigns and attempting to drag him through the ring mat.

Although all signs pointed to a rematch between the two in that moment, Wyatt getting sent to SmackDown in the Draft soon after indicates otherwise.

It’s entirely possible WWE drops the program all together and moves on from it on Raw this week, but needless to say, that wouldn’t be doing the feud or the performers justice.

It must be blown off in some form or fashion, and not in a throwaway match on Monday night.

Crown Jewel is out of the cards as a result of Rollins already being set to take part in Team Hogan vs. Team Flair on that show (unless plans change). The only other option would be to drag the rivalry out until Survivor Series, assuming WWE doesn’t go with the tired Raw vs. SmackDown theme for the pay-per-view this year.

In order to achieve that, Wyatt would first need to be drafted back to Raw. Not in the way that John Cena was drafted twice in the same night in 2011 (which was completely ridiculous) but rather via a blockbuster trade, something that was teased by NFL insider Jay Glazer during SmackDown.

WWE has rarely executed trades since bringing back the Brand Split three years ago, but now would be as good of a time as any to start.

As previously noted, almost all of the draft picks from Raw and SmackDown on Friday night made sense, but Wyatt going to the blue brand was the wrong call.

He’s been the best thing on Raw since the Firefly Fun House debuted six months ago, not to mention that The Fiend feels out of place on a show that is trying to become more legitimate and be taken seriously such as SmackDown.

Most importantly, Wyatt has unfinished business on Raw with Rollins. If he were to stay on SmackDown, fans can say goodbye to the idea of him holding world title gold again any time soon (at least as long as Brock Lesnar is the reigning WWE champion).

If there’s going to be a trade of some sort, it has to involve Bray Wyatt, especially if he’s as sought-after as recent rumors claim he is.

It’s difficult to say who Wyatt would be traded for without knowing what’s left to come in the WWE Draft, but of those who need to swap brands the most, Bobby Lashley would be the best bet.

Getting away from Raw would give him an excuse to escape that awful angle with Lana and Rusev in addition to getting on the same show as Lesnar, who he has long wanted to wage war with.

There are a lot of questions surrounding Wyatt’s immediate future at the moment, but let’s not jump to conclusions until after we see what WWE has planned for the remainder of this Draft this Monday night.

If and when he winds back up on Raw where he belongs, it’s only academic that he fulfill his destiny and defeats Rollins to claim his very first Universal Championship.