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Daniel Bryan was attacked by The Fiend in the United Kingdom last week and this has now lead to Bryan challenging The Fiend to a match at Survivor Series for the Universal Championship. Originally Bray Wyatt planned to fight Bryan in the Fun House, but the former World Champion was able to outsmart him and instead told him that if he wanted a fight it would be in the ring and for the Championship, something which the Universal Champion accepted.
Bryan obviously didn't want to pick a fight with The Fiend given the carnage that he has left in his wake over the past few months, but the mind games continued from Bray Wyatt and even though initially, Bryan said no to the match, the tables were turned and it was him that laid down the challenge to Bray Wyatt, who accepted quite emphatically.
After the win over Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel, it was thought that The Fiend would be given a much easier challenger at Survivor Series, but that wasn't the case. Now that the match is official what are the reasons for it taking place?
#4. Lack of time to build a story
Reports from The Wrestling Observer this week have suggested that Daniel Bryan should have been part of the mid-card triple threat match at Survivor Series whilst The Miz then took on Bray Wyatt/The Fiend for the Universal Championship, but instead these plans were changed.
The delay in Saudi Arabia which essentially cost WWE a week of build-up could have been the key factor in this since Wyatt failed to appear on Miz TV meaning that he couldn't kickstart his feud with A-Lister. Rebooking that segment would have made the show too predictable so WWE decided to think outside the box and since Bryan was unable to win the Intercontinental Championship in the three weeks between Crown Jewel and Survivor Series, he needed a match too.
#3. Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan have unfinished business
Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan have stepped into a feud on WWE TV before, a feud that ended somewhat prematurely and many fans didn't agree with the way that it turned out. Wyatt tried to force Bryan to turn his back on the WWE Universe and join The Wyatt Family, something that he did for just one week before he decided to once again turn face.
Wyatt's mind games have improved since then and the premature ending to their feud could mean that it could be picked back up again a few years later and allow Bryan to be one of the first followers of The Fiend in his new form.
There is a reason why Wyatt is able to play mind games and why he chose to take the fight to Daniel Bryan and now that Bryan has accepted, there could be much more to this storyline to the point where it could now continue well into the new year. A win for Wyatt at Survivor Series would mean that he's been able to overcome the threat of another one of WWE's biggest stars.
#2. Daniel Bryan can withstand a loss
It's become quite evident over the past few months that WWE is wanting to push The Fiend as much as they possibly can, which means that it's highly unlikely that Daniel Bryan will be coming out on top at Survivor Series to win his first Universal Championship.
Seth Rollins took the loss and has been forced to find himself over the past few weeks, but Bryan is already in a place where he has no direction. This means that he could easily take the loss to The Fiend at Survivor Series before he decides what his next step will be.
Bryan is coming off the back of a feud with his former Tag Team partner and a strange alliance with Roman Reigns, so moving into the main event picture for the first time in a number of months could be a good move for Daniel Bryan. As well as the fact that a win over the Universal Champion would only further establish him as the new face of, not only Friday SmackDown, but WWE as a whole.
#1. Lack of contenders on SmackDown
Whilst there's never really a shortage of challengers for the Universal Championship, there doesn't seem to be many stars who are willing to step up to the challenge of The Fiend right now. The Miz was his initial opponent, but outside of The Miz the only real men who could challenge The Fiend are Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and Baron Corbin.
That being said, two of those men already have a match for Survivor Series and it seems that WWE are building Strowman into a feud against his former friend and hoping to pull the trigger on it at the right moment. Strowman just came off the back of a loss to Tyson Fury and he couldn't handle another loss that soon, whilst Roman Reigns going up against The Fiend would open him up to more abuse from the audience when the company has worked hard to put him in a better position with the WWE Universe.
The Brand Split has definitely cut down on the number of challengers that Wyatt could have moving forward, which could be why Bryan was the perfect man for the job.
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