WWE SmackDown: Is Alexa Bliss aligning with the Fiend?

Alexa Bliss has been at the center of one of WWE SmackDown’s title feuds, adding a lot to the rivalry between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt.

Shockwaves were sent across the WWE Universe on the July 31 episode of WWE SmackDown when the show closed with Nikki Cross shoving her tag team partner Alexa Bliss (again) after losing another SmackDown Women’s Title match to Bayley. And then The Fiend entered the ring to attack Bliss, hitting her with the Mandible Claw.

Wrestling fans immediately started to ask if either Bliss or Cross could be the Sister Abigail character WWE once teased but then left in the past. They were also wondering if Bliss and Cross were on the road to ending a tag team that had become one of the most popular in the company.

The Aug. 7 episode of WWE SmackDown left fans with just as many questions. Bray Wyatt opened the show with the Firefly Funhouse, stating that he had indeed kidnapped Bliss. Later in the show, though, we had The Fiend make an entrance and nearly use the Mandible Claw on Bliss in the ring again, except Bliss stopped it just by touching his hand.

Braun Strowman appeared on the titantron and was acting essentially heelish, even going as far as to say that Alexa means nothing to him. Time will tell if that’s the truth or if he’s hiding how much the Fiend’s actions against Bliss are hurting him.

Was Alexa Bliss changed by the Fiend on last week’s WWE SmackDown?

WWE fans recall how Bliss’ hologram was used by Wyatt as mindgames in the Wyatt Swamp Fight at the Horror Show at Extreme Rules, with Strowman eventually drowning in the swamp. Strowman is back on SmackDown, but he certainly seems to have changed after the Wyatt Swamp Fight. Ask Seth Rollins. And The Miz. Or how about Daniel Bryan? Characters have a way of being changed forever after an encounter with the Fiend.

Bliss could be one of those characters, too. Before she found a real friendship with Nikki Cross, Alexa was one of WWE’s most cutthroat villains. She manipulated other wrestlers and would insult everyone who crossed her paths. Few wrestlers were as hated as Little Miss Bliss.

Maybe she’s on the Fiend’s side now, in an attempt to become a top star on WWE SmackDown again. Or maybe she’s pretending to align with the Fiend in order to help rid the Blue Brand of this scourge (shoutout to Mauro Ranallo for his commentary on Tommaso Ciampa). It’s possible Strowman and Bliss are on the same page and Braun is playing a con on Wyatt.

But Wyatt seems destined to win the Universal Title at SummerSlam. Based on the last two weeks, it’s entirely possible WWE is attempting to take a risk and go in an interesting direction, with Alexa Bliss as an important piece of the puzzle in his corner. Maybe she’s not Sister Abigail, but she could still be the one pulling the strings.