When Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble , the idea was that he would move on and win the SmackDown Live world title and kick off a new face reign as the champion of the brand. However, things might be changing for Randy as his match with champion and former friend, Bray Wyatt, is just one week away. According to a match listing for a post- WrestleMania 33 SmackDown Live house show, a triple-threat match is listed between Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and AJ Styles.
Randy Orton is not listed at all on the card. Now, it is not unusual for the champion not to appear on house shows and a veteran like Orton gets more time off than others. However, the rumors that AJ Styles will be moving back into the world title scene makes this match seem a little spoilery.
There are two modes of thought for this match. The first is that the WWE will look to find the next contender for Randy Orton if he wins the title. Both Bray Wyatt and AJ Styles have rematches guaranteed (if Wyatt loses) and Luke Harper has something to say after how he lost to AJ Styles.
However, the other mode of thinking is that Bray Wyatt is able to hold on to his WWE world title against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33 and will move into a three-way feud with AJ Styles, who is guaranteed a rematch, and Luke Harper, who is still gunning for his former manager.
In a recent interview with The Mirror , Bray Wyatt said that he feels that his match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33 will be the part of the biggest event of the year. He called the entire angle and feud “beautiful.”
“It’s beautiful. And going into the biggest event of the year, me and Randy have so much history together now. and like you said, there is the twists and the turns, and how bad I really just want to hit him! Ha ha. It gives the fans a platform, to really invest in something, and that’s a tribute to a lot of people. But it’s going to be something special man, that I promise you.”
The world title was a long time coming for Bray Wyatt. When he entered the WWE as the leader of the Wyatt Family, he seemed like one of the best organically created characters in the WWE since men like The Undertaker . Bray also seemed like the most charismatic villain since Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
However, while the members of The Shield broke up and all three men ended up as world champions in the WWE, Bray Wyatt never won a single title through his entire WWE career. That changed when Bray brought in Randy Orton to be part of the Wyatt Family and they won the SmackDown Live tag team titles.
However, Randy Orton was just there to infiltrate and destroy the Wyatt Family from within. Braun Strowman was already gone, drafted to Monday Night Raw . Erick Rowan was out injured. Now, Orton chased off Luke Harper and then betrayed Bray Wyatt.
The Wyatt Family was destroyed. However, before that happened, Bray Wyatt won the WWE world title at Elimination Chamber , his first ever singles title and he did it with Randy Orton by his side. Then, Orton struck and the two will fight for the title at WrestleMania 33 .
The question now is whether Bray Wyatt as the WWE world champion will last past WrestleMania 33 . If Randy Orton wins, then SmackDown Live gets a face world champion that AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, and The Miz can chase.
If Bray Wyatt wins, there is a chance that the WWE finally turns Bray into a face as well, or he could remain a heel and continue to work with Luke Harper and an AJ Styles who doesn’t care which side of the dense he is on.
[Featured Image by WWE]