When the Fiend met the Dragon

Bray Wyatt has awakened the American Dragon.

Ever since his miraculous return from retirement in 2018, Daniel Bryan has largely been coasting. Win some, lose some, he earned reigns as both WWE Champion and WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion, he turned heel and showed us a New Daniel Bryan, but all throughout it, something seemed missing.

There was a spark, a fire, that always underlined his work, and while he was as good as ever, Bryan was just too dang happy to be here, and that dampened that flame.

Enter the Fiend

Indeed, all the spit and vinegar of the New Daniel Bryan proved to evaporate over the summer of 2019, and he turned babyface and somewhat sheepishly returned to the “Yes!” Movement that had brought him to his greatest success. He fended off an attempt from Sami Zayn to recruit him into his stable, and then Bray Wyatt attacked.

The build to their first match, at Survivor Series, was kind of desultory, more or less just an attack and a challenge, and it seemed inevitable that we were getting an immediate rematch... except instead, the Fiend dragged Dan to hell, with a fury of hair and violence bubbling up from the hole in the ring.

And all was quiet for a few weeks as the Miz stepped in for his own feud against Bray.

Return of the Dragon

At TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs, the Miz lost in his attempt to take the Universal Championship and afterwards, folks, well...

A close-cropped Daniel Bryan made his return, full of vigor and violence, and he brought it to the Fiend and, in maybe the most exciting and high-impact few minutes of action since his return, nailed him with the Busaiku Knee twice, the corner chest kicks, hesitation dropkicks, and the piece de resistance, the double wrist-clutch stomps to the head that truly signify the return of the American Dragon.

In the weeks since, Bryan has been on top of his game as he cut through both Miz and Baron Corbin on his way to this title match at Royal Rumble. At the contract signing on this week’s go-home episode of SmackDown, things took a turn for the wild. There, Wyatt overpowered him and signed the contract in his own blood, which is pretty gosh darned intense, friends.

And so, two rivals with long histories against each other go to war in the red light at Royal Rumble.

Oh, and did I mention that this is a strap match? Y’see, Dan got sick of Bray ducking him, so what better way to keep that from happening than to tie both men together at the wrist? (Shh, shh, I know a dog collar match would be better, just let the preview breathe, okay?)

Will the American Dragon claim the Big Blue Belt or has the Fiend already damned him?