Survivor Series 2019: 5 Reasons why The Fiend retained the WWE Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan

By Riju Dasgupta
Modified Nov 25, 2019 08:26 IST
The Fiend retained the WWE Universal Championship at Survivor Series
The Fiend retained the WWE Universal Championship at Survivor Series

WWE Survivor Series 2019 has been quite the show thus far, with a lot more good than bad through the duration of the show until this point. Pete Dunne and Adam Cole had one of the best matches of the year, where Cole retained his Championship.

So, one wondered if Daniel Bryan would be the man to dethrone The Fiend to become the new WWE Universal Champion. Of course, this was not to be because, after a competitive match, The Fiend came out on top.

I was pretty confident that it would be The Fiend who would emerge victorious in this particular contest. And I will illustrate why with 5 reasons in this very article.

I invite you all to leave a comment in the section below and also click here to rate all the matches from Survivor Series.

#5 The Fiend is the hottest thing in the wrestling business

Never in the history of WWE was it a place where the best in-ring workers were pushed to the top, at least until Superstars like Daniel Bryan changed the game completely. While that is a great thing in a way, it has also resulted in the killing of strong 'characters,' something that draws a huge fanbase to the product in days of the past. The Fiend is the last of the old school 'characters' in a sense, and maybe the strongest one that the company has, at this point in time.

Because of the crossover appeal of The Fiend, this is a Superstar that connects with audiences who may not necessarily be hardcore wrestling fans, and WWE's approach is probably to push the man right now. His merchandise sales are off the roof as well, and the fact of the matter is that, at this moment, while WWE has a lot of great workers, The Fiend is one-of-a-kind. WWE will want to make such a character the face of its flagship blue brand!

#4 The Fiend couldn't lose his first title feud

It wasn't long ago that The Fiend became the WWE Universal Champion and for him to lose his first title program would have been a mistake! The Fiend needs to be booked in the same manner that Brock Lesnar is, a monster of another nature. And maybe, Daniel Bryan was chosen for this particular title program because he can make each one of his opponents look super strong. He certainly succeeded in this regard, at WWE Survivor Series.

The Fiend needs to rack up win after win so that he can compete against someone who's been booked as strongly at a big stage like WrestleMania. Maybe someone like Roman Reigns who picked up a fantastic victory at WWE Survivor Series after giving the rub to Keith Lee. Maybe even Brock Lesnar if the odds align in such a manner by WrestleMania.

#3 Daniel Bryan does not have the same momentum as before

We all remember what happened at WrestleMania 30 where Daniel Bryan created history by competing twice in the same event and defeating two men in the main event. He was the most 'over' Superstar in the world at that particular point in time, I thought.

And then he was told that he would never wrestle again, but he defied the odds and returned to the ring and even went on to become the WWE Champion. He reinvented himself and became the most despised heel in the roster, becoming a preachy environmentalist.

It's just that at this time, where he was unsure of whether or not to embrace the 'Yes!' movement as recently as SmackDown this week, he's not as hot as he once used to be. The Fiend is just far hotter as a Superstar at the moment.

Maybe Bryan will regain his footing and become Universal Champion!

#2 Vince McMahon's personal involvement in The Fiend's character

Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda had published a report back when Vince McMahon himself made a cameo in the WWE Firefly Fun House. The report dealt with how big a fan Vince McMahon was of The Fiend's character.

Mr. Colohue had spoken about how Vince McMahon is a fan of weird stuff like the Firefly Fun House. He had reported the following at the point:

"For the Firefly Funhouse, Vince McMahon has provided Bray Wyatt with writers, directors, extras, props and considerable airtime with which to shock and awe. He's even personally appeared, after a fashion, so you know how much both men want this to succeed."

It certainly checks out with regard to just how strongly The Fiend has been booked with him winning the Universal Championship in almost no time! Also, if you consider how many Curb Stomps he kicked out off, you'll know that Colohue was on the ball, as always. Mr. McMahon loves The Fiend and wants a long and illustrious reign for the weird supernatural being!

#1 To not have the crowd boo WWE's creative decision

We all know that WWE is not the only player in the business anymore with AEW's arrival. There is a lot more goodwill for the AEW product at the moment at least from the live audience perspective, because a lot of people believe that WWE's creative decisions in the past have been quite suspect.

A clear example of the same has been what transpired at Hell in a Cell. There was a match between Seth Rollins and The Fiend, which did not end with The Fiend becoming WWE Universal Champion, and the crowd rebelled.

WWE did not want the same to happen at Survivor Series as well. As much as the audience loves Daniel Bryan, I'm pretty certain they would have booed if he had dethroned The Fiend after such a short and limited run.

There would have also been a social media backlash!

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