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This past week on RAW, it was officially confirmed that Seth Rollins will be going up against The Fiend, Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship inside Hell in a Cell at the eponymous event. Following Rollins' successful title defense against Braun Strowman at Clash of Champions, Wyatt would attack the Universal Champion, laying him out with a Sister Abagail and following it up with a Mandible Claw to close the show.
The careers of Wyatt and Rollins have paralleled one another in many ways. Rollins and Wyatt got their start in NXT and debuted on the main roster as part of different factions and went on to become major stars within the company. Both of them have gone through major character changes during this time.
Bray Wyatt has been the MVP of WWE programming for the past few months. The in-ring debut of The Fiend was one of the biggest highlights of SummerSlam 2019. WWE is in a very precarious position where it has its top babyface champion going up against the hottest act in the company. The interaction between Wyatt and Rollins to this point has been absolutely off the charts. It will be interesting to see how this match plays out.
Here are three things which makes the Bray Wyatt-Seth Rollins feud intriguing:
#3 Rollins' dismal win-loss record against Bray Wyatt
From legendary names like Sting and Triple to modern-day greats like John Cena and Randy Orton, Seth Rollins has defeated them all. The Beastslayer holds the distinction of being the very first Superstar to defeat Roman Reigns clean inside a WWE ring and is the only currently active Superstar to have defeated Brock Lesnar twice. But, there is one man who has always had the Beastslayer's number and that man is Bray Wyatt.
Rollins and Wyatt last feuded in 2017 which culminated in a match between the duo at the Great Balls of Fire PPV where Wyatt would defeat Rollins. Rollins would once again lose to Wyatt in a rematch the following night on RAW. The only time Rollins ever recorded a victory over the Eater of Worlds (much like WWE we are only counting televised matches, not live events) was during the May 15, 2017 episode of RAW where he defeated Wyatt via disqualification following interference from Samoa Joe.
Rollins has been one of the most protected Superstars in the company in 2019. Given the momentum that The Fiend has been carrying since he debuted, it would be interesting how this match plays out inside the ominous structure called Hell in a Cell. Rollins never defeating Wyatt clean in a singles match will surely play a major part in this feud.
#2 The history between the two
Despite having a short singles feud in 2017, the history between Wyatt and Rollins dates back to 2014 when they were a part of two of the most dominant factions in WWE, The Wyatt Family, and The Shield. The Architect and the Eater of Worlds have waged war against one another on numerous occasions as part of their respective stables.
The two factions collided for the first time at Elimination Chamber where the Wyatt Family came out on the top. The Hounds of Justice were unsuccessful in their rematch against Bray Wyatt and his cult family on the March 3, 2014 episode of RAW.
Following his re-emergence as the host of Firefly Fun House earlier this year, Wyatt sent out an array of tweets apologizing to people whom he had wronged in the past. One of the first people that Wyatt apologized to was The Shield. Wyatt asked Reigns and Rollins that if they ever wanted a third member of The Shield (Ambrose had left WWE at that point), he would join the group in a heartbeat.
Since re-emerging in WWE in April, Wyatt has made numerous references to his past and has jovially alluded to his failed gimmicks. We saw Wyatt reminding Rollins of his past mistakes this week on RAW. As we get closer to their match at HIAC, we can except the Eater of Worlds to dig down deep into Beastslayer's past and bring to light some unpleasant memories.
#1 The Fiend's penchant of inflicting pain
Even though he is challenging for the Universal Championship, Bray Wyatt has never for once mentioned the championship by name ever since it came to light that he was going to be its next challenger. Everything Wyatt has said and done since his return has meant something which is why it's odd that he hasn't mentioned the big red belt. Wyatt going after the title seemed very unnatural to us from the start (which it still is) and perhaps more than winning the title, The Fiend intends to inflict nothing but pain on the Beastslayer.
Getting into his opponents' head has always been the ammo of Bray Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds has said and done despicable things just to get a mental advantage over his opponents during the build-up to a high profile match. Who is to say that The Fiend won't be attacking those close to Rollins to wreck him mentally before their match at Hell in a Cell?
The Fiend going after Roman Reigns (who is already in a feud with Wyatt's former allies, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) isn't something out of the realm of possibility. We are excited to see what The Fiend does next and given what we've seen so far, always expect the unexpected when it comes to Bray Wyatt.
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