Most wrestling fans expected Bray Wyatt to defend the Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan at WWE TLC 2019, but Vince McMahon has decided to swerve us by booking something other than this rematch between two familiar foes.
Daniel Bryan once joined – and betrayed – the Wyatt Family in his career, so he and Bray Wyatt have plenty of history together beyond their Universal Title match at Survivor Series. So many fans expected them to close out 2019 by finishing off their rivalry at WWE TLC 2019, especially since Wyatt dragged Bryan below the ring and “tore off his hair” to signify a character change. That seemed to seal a rematch at TLC.
Rumors even indicated that Wyatt vs. Bryan would be the main event of next week’s Pay Per View, but WWE have a way of nullifying rumors in an instant.
On the Dec. 6 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, The Fiend targeted The Miz instead of Bryan, who was nowhere to be found.
And WWE have announced that the Universal Title match at TLC will pit Wyatt against Miz. But The Fiend won’t be involved.
Yes, you read that right. Wyatt will wrestle as himself for the first time since the debut of Firely Fun House. He will wrestle in his classic Blue Clues-inspired red sweater, defending SmackDown’s world title, which is now a custom “Fiend” title”, against the A-Lister.
IT'S OFFICIAL: @mikethemiz will go one-on-one with #UniversalChampion @WWEBrayWyatt at #WWETLC! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/tqIct1yvte
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) December 7, 2019
So Vince McMahon gave WWE fans two swerves on Friday night. Firstly, he is having Wyatt face Miz instead of Bryan. And secondly, he won’t be wrestling as The Fiend.
And notice Wyatt is holding the blue Universal Title after he transformed the title from “red” to “blue” on Firefly Fun House as himself.
This match announcement for TLC is huge, because it also sets the precedent that Wyatt won’t always wrestle as The Fiend. Like with Finn Balor’s “Demon” character, this can help keep The Fiend special, perhaps further increasing the value and longevity of a character that is now reportedly WWE’s top merchandise seller.
Somehow, though, I’m not ruling out Daniel Bryan from showing up. Last week’s segment where he was dragged under the ring has to mean something, and maybe he’s joining forces with Wyatt again. After all, Wyatt is known for brainwashing others. Plus, Miz and Bryan have so much history together that an alliance either way cannot be ruled out. On top of that, I’m still not 100-percent convinced we don’t see The Fiend show up in some fashion.
So yeah, I’m intrigued, and I consider these two swerves a huge win for fans. I love it when WWE keeps us on our toes.