Finally, Bray Wyatt has a title to call his own.
With Randy Orton’s RKO of Rhyno, the team of the Wyatt Family patriarch and The Viper are now SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions. The move to bring the unpredictable team together – along with Luke Harper lurking outside the ring – may be the best thing the blue team has done besides putting the WWE World Title on AJ Styles. When JBL said the combination of Orton and Wyatt was on par with Undertaker and Kane and himself and Stan Hansen in Japan, he may not have been too far off.
But the victory for Wyatt has more significance than fans might think. When Windham Rotunda was repacked from the Husky Harris character to the Eater of Worlds, I thought for sure this would lead to title wins and a legacy as one of the company’s greatest champions of all time. Until Sunday night, Wyatt had never won gold in his four years in WWE. Wyatt’s role with WWE has always been to work with WWE’s top talent, proving he can be just as cryptic as Undertaker and either win while making his opponents look like a million bucks or to win and continue the feud until the next pay-per-view.
Now, Wyatt and Orton are the hunted instead of being the hunters.
What I am curious to see is how the company books the former champions, Rhyno and Slater, and how other tag teams move into title contention. Will The Usos continue as a heel tag team, and therefore lose any chance at a title run? Will Slater and Rhyno continue as a tag team or will Slater move on to singles competition or find another tag team partner (James Ellsworth)? What happens to American Alpha, who I assume will now become the No. 1 contenders for the tag team titles? Better yet, will the company finally come to its senses and bring in Kurt Angle not only to serve as a mentor to American Alpha, but to level the playing field with the three members of the Wyatt Family?
Now that he has a title in his hand, how long will it be before WWE realizes the potential in Wyatt gunning for single’s titles? Lack of depth on the current roster and a lack of main event superstars might dictate it. While superstars like Undertaker and Kane are on the back end of their careers, someone else must move to the front of the pack and take the baton. Wyatt’s character is like none other in that it has depth. His backstory is reminiscent of Raven or Kevin Sullivan or in some instances, The Purple Haze. John Cena, ‘Taker, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns were at their best when they stepped into the unorthodox style and made rare appearances. In years past, it did not matter what the win-loss record was. Now it matters more than ever.
Fans have been teased over the past four years. When will it happen? Who will become the fall guy? Wyatt should have been part of the main event picture long ago, especially since the brand split in July. WWE saw it fit to continue to keep him away from AJ Styles, Ambrose and Cena. Now, fans will see how good he is as a tag team champion with an eye toward becoming the leader of the blue team in the not too distant future.
David Levin
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