What’s the story?
At WWE Payback 2017, Randy Orton will defend his newly won WWE Championship against former champion Bray Wyatt in what is being billed as a ‘House of Horrors’ match. Cageside Seats is speculating that the match may well have been scheduled for a later pay-per-view. The news site is claiming that the match was originally going to happen at SmackDown Live’s next pay-per-view, Backlash but the match was brought forward due to Wyatt’s last minute move to RAW.
In case you didn’t know
After burning down Bray Wyatt’s kingdom in the build up to WrestleMania 33, Randy Orton went one further at the Show of Shows and defeated The Eater of Worlds for the WWE Championship. The match was arguably the most disappointing of the entire WrestleMania weekend, and if the feud was to continue the introduction of a gimmick match was inevitable.
Bray Wyatt was drafted to RAW as part of the WWE Superstar Shake-Up this past Monday, but fans hoping that this meant an end to the Orton/Wyatt feud were left disappointed when WWE confirmed the House of Horrors match will take place at Payback.
The heart of the matter
Whilst Wyatt was always going to get his rematch, what this does suggest is that The New Face of Fear’s move to RAW could well have been a last minute decision made by the company. Much of the build towards the Superstar Shake-Up centred around the future of AJ Styles, with WWE heavily hinting that a move to RAW was on the cards for The Phenomenal One.
Fans were shocked to see the man who pinned Styles at Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship turn up on RAW however, when Wyatt interrupted Finn Bálor’s celebration to put the Demon King on notice. In order to advance storylines the Wyatt rematch for the championship has been brought forward, meaning SmackDown Live can avoid a six week stasis period with regards to its top championship.
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt in a House of Horrors match is now on the cards for the RAW-exclusive Payback pay-per-view, as opposed to headlining the next SmackDown Live special event in May.
What’s next?
All that is left is for WWE to outline exactly what a House of Horrors match is. WWE hasn’t been shy about introducing new gimmick matches over the past few years, but last year’s Ambrose Asylum match was widely panned by fans and critics alike. The gimmick-heavy nature of the Wyatt/Orton feud has also come in for criticism recently, with much derision thrown at the use of graphics during their WrestleMania 33 match. The House of Horrors match may well be the next evolution of those.
Author’s take
As a big Bray Wyatt fan, it is endlessly frustrating to see how The Eater of Worlds is booked by WWE. The promotion seem to be happy for him to be an expendable upper heel, when the product is crying out for a major top level heel. Wyatt also has great potential as a babyface, although WWE seems reluctant to try that out. This author has little optimism for the House of Horrors match, assuming that it will be a cage match with silly graphics and many weapons.
