'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
I was going to begin my 'Best and Worst of WWE SmackDown' article first, but I have to share my thoughts about what happened at the end of WWE SmackDown in a separate article, with Alexa Bliss getting attacked by The Fiend. I genuinely think that this is the most noteworthy thing to have happened on WWE SmackDown since Braun Strowman became the new Universal Champion.
At the end of the whole night, people surmised that either Alexa Bliss or Nikki Cross would turn heel on WWE SmackDown. Instead, the big twist was that the lights would go out, The Fiend would appear and instead of inviting Alexa Bliss into The Wyatt Family or The Firefly Fun House, he would apply the Mandible Claw on her.
Why did this brutal attack happen? I may have the answer in one or more of the following 5 points that follow.
#5 The virality of WWE SmackDown star Alexa Bliss portraying Sister Abigail at the Wyatt Swamp Fight
People had mixed feelings about the Swamp fight between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman at Extreme Rules because of the nature of the contest. It wasn't a wrestling match of the traditional sort, even though the two WWE SmackDown Superstars tried to tell a very creative and unconventional story. And yet, something that was universally praised by one and all was the cameo by Alexa Bliss, where she played Sister Abigail, a welcome departure for her character.
Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda advised us to keep our eyes peeled on Alexa Bliss on WWE SmackDown and if you didn't listen to him and chose to miss the show, please go back and watch it now. The virality of the segment in the Swamp Fight probably convinced those in the WWE brass that casting Alexa Bliss as Sister Abigail is certainly the right call.
#4 Alexa Bliss getting attacked may draw Braun Strowman out of the swamp and make him reappear on WWE SmackDown for a showdown with The Fiend
Braun Strowman hasn't been on WWE SmackDown in a while and is presumed to have drowned in the swamp after the horror show at Extreme Rules, after a psychological contest with The Fiend. It was also at Extreme Rules, that we had a glimpse of Alexa Bliss playing Sister Abigail for the first time, as has been discussed, and a revival of the romance between WWE SmackDown stars Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman, as we first saw in the Mixed Match Challenge.
If you look at the fact that Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt (not as The Fiend, but Wyatt regardless) have been feuding for months on end now, Bruce Prichard and Vince McMahon needed a creative way to keep the feud interesting and involving Alexa Bliss into the mix is certainly a fantastic way to achieve the same. WWE SmackDown just became a lot more interesting than it's ever been.
#3 Alexa Bliss is one of the more underrated actors in the WWE SmackDown roster
I think that it is safe to say that even if Alexa Bliss did not have such a great career on WWE SmackDown, she could have made quite a dent in the acting world. She has one of the more expressive faces in the roster, she is certainly one of the more 'personality-driven' characters in the entire WWE SmackDown roster and it doesn't need to be said but Alexa Bliss has also been pushed as hard as she has because of the said reasons as well.
If someone from the WWE SmackDown roster has to be cast as Sister Abigail, I cannot imagine a better candidate than Alexa Bliss, because of the traits that I have mentioned. The only person better suited for the role than Alexa Bliss is Nikki Cross and she may certainly go over to the dark side, reviving the 'twisted sister' gimmick that she had in NXT, on WWE SmackDown, which would make for some interesting television.
#2 WWE SmackDown star Alexa Bliss has needed a new character for a while now
Isn't it crazy how far Alexa Bliss has come from the time that she was merely a valet in WWE NXT for Blake and Murphy, to one of the most prominently featured stars in the entire WWE SmackDown roster?
And yet, for all of her accolades, I have personally found the whole 'Goddess' character to be very hollow, because Mandy Rose is the 'Golden Goddess' and even otherwise, the term 'Goddess' is merely a tag and does not necessarily lend itself to much, from a creative point of view.
This is the freshest thing to have happened to Alexa Bliss since she became a permanent fixture on WWE SmackDown and later RAW and is certainly a major improvement over the coffee-addict gimmick that she was playing. Even as a fan, I would love to see an edgier WWE SmackDown product and I'm glad to see that Alexa Bliss will not be portrayed in the Nickolodeon vein that the company has been showcasing her, over the last few months.
#1 Major cliffhanger for WWE SmackDown next week, with the status of Alexa Bliss, The Fiend, Braun Strowman, and even Nikki Cross
As much as one may wish to counter this argument, WWE SmackDown or even RAW for that matter is essentially a soap opera at its very core. And this is why a cliffhanger with Alexa Bliss, one of the most beloved characters on WWE SmackDown currently is guaranteed to get the audience to tune in next week to see what the fallout is like.
As a massive Walking Dead fan, this is not dissimilar to lining out a bunch of characters in a semi-circle, with the audience wondering which character got his/her head bashed in with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. Vince McMahon recently spoke about new ways that WWE wants to promote talent and this is something that fits right in, with that overall vision.
The internet is certainly talking about The Fiend and Alexa Bliss and will want to tune in next week, to see what the fallout is.
Until next week comes around, you should check this out.
