For those of you wondering, it’s WWE Monday Night Raw’s turn to wow us.
Evidently, someone was paying attention and created a segment on SmackDown Live that will be talked about for years to come.
We all know how great Bray Wyatt is when it comes to giving us an over-the-top promo, but I never figured Randy Orton would steal the spotlight.
My first thought in watching the 12-time world champion leave the current WWE World Champion speechless was “Where the hell has this been?”
The idea to make Orton the hunter and Wyatt, who is known for stocking his prey, the hunted is pure genius. As I was telling one of my friends after the show, I had goosebumps from watching what may have been the best angle of 2017. I’m not going out on a limb when I say this. In the 38 years of watching professional wrestling, only a few angles have affected me. This is one of them.
The only problem with this angle, as we saw the night unfold, is how is this company going to deal with AJ Styles, Luke Harper, and Shane McMahon in determining how it will book WrestleMania 33. Wyatt and Orton took care of themselves be creating one of the best main events to come along in some time.
If you look at it from the opportunist point of view, this is a good problem to have. And once again with a night like Tuesday, SmackDown Live proved it is doing it better than it’s big brother on Monday night.
[DavidL]
My next thought after watching the promo and letting everything sink in was where do these performers go from here? There is a month until Orlando, and many dominoes still have to fall in order for this event to be a success. There is no doubt a match like this will steal the show. But time is an enemy in some cases. The build must match the event.
Watching Orton and Wyatt I saw the art of Kevin Sullivan and the sinister nature of Raven wrapped into a well fit uniform. I’m sure there are others I could mention that would fit in this analogy, but honestly, it’s 11:30 at night and I can’t think that well.
When I see Wyatt, I think of Sullivan and his mysterious and cryptic promos from his days in Florida. At the time, they were a few performers who created such a visual concept as the evil man of the underworld. You can make an argument that Undertaker and Raven have walked some of those same paths, but Wyatt has taken the art of the past and created his own cryptic character which has the best backstory of any performer on WWE’s roster.
There are four weeks to properly build this match. There will be more promos, there will be plenty of confrontations in the ring, and there will be suspense. This should all lead to the main event we may not soon forget. WWE has finally created something that stands up to the Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression and days gone by. It’s refreshing and cathartic for those of us who have been waiting all this time.
Now comes the hard part. By creating such a dramatic beginning, both men cannot drop the ball. There must be more intensity in each passing week which only benefits the match, the event, and the fan’s interest. There is no doubt WWE did a great thing on Tuesday night. Let’s just hope there are greater things too, with more than 30 days until Orlando.