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This week's episode of SmackDown was emotional as WWE and its superstars paid tribute to Bray Wyatt. The two-time Universal Champion sadly passed away on Thursday at the young age of 36.
Wyatt's former allies Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman were on SmackDown, while the show was main evented by two of his former rivals. LA Knight defeated Finn Balor cleanly in a solid match. Though, that was hardly the most significant part of his night.
Knight was tasked with cutting a promo in tribute to Bray Wyatt while also furthering his storyline with The Miz. The Megastar did both in one of the most genuine and heartfelt in-character speeches on WWE television all year. He delivered that promo to perfection.
From thanking Wyatt for helping shape him to telling The Miz to "run," LA Knight couldn't have done a better job. As if WWE didn't already know how good he is, the 40-year-old star's handling of the situation must have convinced management that he is more than worthy of being the top babyface on RAW or SmackDown.
This should undoubtedly lead to a main event push for Knight, possibly on the red brand. He would be a great choice to hold the World Heavyweight Championship, albeit it may take a few months due to how crowded the title picture is.
However, his tribute to Bray Wyatt on SmackDown proved that it must happen at some point. LA Knight has earned WWE's trust. It will be interesting to see what The Megastar does after facing The Miz at Payback, where he is expected to win convincingly.
WWE's tribute to Bray Wyatt at the end of SmackDown
LA Knight's win over Finn Balor wasn't the final image of the show. We instead saw one final tribute for the late WWE star. A silhouette of Bray Wyatt appeared on the titantron while his signature lantern was placed in the ring. It slowly became dark as the show went off the air.
It remains to be seen how the company plans to honor Wyatt on the coming Monday's episode of RAW. We might be in for another emotional night.
A ten-bell salute and the same video package from SmackDown can be expected, as well as tributes from superstars who were unable to appear on last night's show, like Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn, among others. Bray Wyatt will be missed.
We at Sportskeeda would like to send our sincere condolences to Windham Rotunda's family and friends.
