What's new, supporters of spooky suplex's?!
Welcome to a very special Halloween edition of the Weekly Watchlist! Spooky season is my absolute favourite time of year, and I thought that there was no better season to talk about one of my favourite gimmicks in wrestling. I've got plenty to say and lots of thoughts, so I won't bore you with a big, long winded introduction. Let's get right down to business this week, shall we?
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| WWE |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
Here’s what we’re reviewing for the week;
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Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend - Has the Yes Movement been Hurt or Healed?
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| Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. WWE |
Basic Breakdown
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| The Champion of your nightmares. WWE |
The Backstory
Bursting onto the scene following weeks of bizarre Mister Rogers-esque promos, Bray Wyatt slaughtered Finn Balor at SummerSlam 2019, debuting "The Fiend" in the process. A creature straight from your worst nightmares, The Fiend was a force unlike anything else in the WWE. Terrifying, other-worldly, and seemingly unstoppable, The Fiend slowly showed his true colours as an agent of change in the WWE. After each encounter with Wyatt's final form, his opponents changed in some way. Some, subtle. Others, more drastic.
Following his loss to The Fiend and after treading water on RAW and SmackDown, Balor returned to NXT with a more sharpened focus and harder edge, a much needed change for an overall stale character. Seth Rollins, after losing his Universal Championship to The Fiend at Crown Jewel 2019, slowly morphed into the Monday Night Messiah, believing he was sacrificing those he faced in the ring for the greater good. Daniel Bryan, now the Planet's Champion, once again denounced the "Yes" movement that made him into the star he was, believing he didn't need the people on his side to be the best wrestler in the world. Unfortunately, this didn't help him when he ran up against The Fiend, who soundly beat Bryan and later attacked him, removing his long locks of hair with Bryan not showing his face on WWE TV for weeks at a time.
During a short lived feud with The Miz, The Fiend found himself on the receiving end of a sneak attack this time, with a returning Bryan attacking The Fiend, revealing a buzzed head of hair and a renewed focus. Bryan wanted The Fiend's head, and his gold, and he didn't care what he needed to do to get it.
Bell to Bell
Coming to the ring to his "Flight of the Valkyries" remix, Bryan is focused and ready. He skips to the ring with his signature "yes!" chant, saying in promos from weeks prior that it wasn't The Fiend that changed him, it was the people that did. That they reminded him that he wasn't weak for wanting their help, that they made him who he was and he was stronger with them in his corner.
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt comes to the ring to his incredible "Let Me In" theme which, for whatever reason, is no longer on Spotify! Oh well, here's the YouTube link for it. Enjoy! His custom Universal Title is strung up around his neck, adorned with his own fucking face. Have I mentioned that The Fiend is one of my favourite gimmicks ever? No? Well it is, I've always, always had a soft spot for Wyatt, and The Fiend felt like a dream realized. Rest in Peace, Windham. I miss you.
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| WWE |
There's a different feeling right at the start of this match. The normally composed and reserved Wyatt, while under the mask as The Fiend, is visibly fired up to be in the ring with Bryan again. He's responding to the crowds energy here and knows that they're about to create magic in the ring. It's not like these two don't have history either, Bryan was thiiiis close to becoming a member of the Wyatt family all the way back in 2014, but he managed to break away from the cult and come out the other side. But Wyatt never forgot that betrayal, and he's using that as fuel for his fire tonight.
Wyatt tries to get the early advantage by pulling Bryan in, but Daniel backs him into the corner and starts firing off kicks to the chest. Pressing his luck, he mounts the corner and starts raining down punches, but Wyatt comes alive suddenly and rips Bryan down with a heinous powerbomb. What an insane way to start the match. Also, it should be noted, this was the first Fiend match to not be bathed in red lights. Usually, the entire arena would be lit up blood red for his matches, but enough fan backlash clearly got to McMahon and he caved, so we get to enjoy this match in perfect, pristine lighting!
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| I think Jason Vorhees would have used the powerbomb too. WWE |
Wasting little time, Wyatt begins lashing Bryan with the strap after the powerbomb, the sound of leather on flesh ripping through the arena. Writhing and shouting in pain, Bryan rolls to the ropes to try and get some air, but The Fiend is hot on his trail, standing on his throat before assaulting him with more and more shots from the heavy leather strap. Wyatt tries to whip Bryan off the ropes, but Daniel counters with a knee before shoving The Fiend through the ropes to the floor. He dives out after him, but gets caught mid air and sent into the barricade for his efforts.
In one of my favourite Bray moments, after whipping Daniel into the ringpost, a fan audibly shouts his signature phrase, "Yowie Wowie!" to which The Fiend takes a moment from stalking his prey to turn and respond "YEAH!" It's such a small moment but god, does it live in my head rent free. It always makes me smile.
Back to leathering Daniel with the strap, Wyatt tosses Bryan back inside the ring and stalks him on his way back in. He seats Bryan on the top rope and straps his back over and over again, doing everything he can to outright flay open the flesh of his challenger. Bryan finds himself upside down in the tree of woe, a vulnerable spot to be that he pays for dearly in the form of leather across his chest. With Bryan crawling across the canvas, trying to fight to survive, Wyatt kneels next to his and holds a gloved hand to his ear, the ones with the words "HURT" stamped across the knuckles. He laughs to himself, whatever voices rattling around inside his head told him something he really, really liked.
A uranage slam and a neck crank leads to more strap shots, with Wyatt moving to the corner and bellowing out to the crowd inside the stadium. Hitting his signature, and always unsettling, spider-like pose in the corner to taunt Bryan, still flat out on the canvas.
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| Nightmare fuel. WWE |
Bryan tries to fight out, but gets snatched by Wyatt, pulling him into position for Sister Abigail. He nearly spikes Bryan, but he slips free and nails a kick to the head of the monster, staggering him in place and a busaiku knee dropping him to the canvas. Scrabbling for the cover, the referee is right in place to count, but only scores a two, with Wyatt powering out at two. The Fiend charges at Bryan near the ropes, who ducks the barge and leaves Wyatt to fall out to the floor. Jumping to the top rope, Bryan soars, crash landing on The Fiend on the floor. Doing everything he can to maintain this small advantage, he rains down punches on the head of The Fiend, but the monster still has too much left in him, grabbing Bryan and tossing him shoulder first into the ring steps.
Tossing Bryan back inside the ring, his prey uses the environment to his advantage. With Wyatt on, let's say, the east side of the ring, Bryan rolls out to the north side, the strap still connecting them both. Pulling hard, Bryan is able to drive Wyatt face first into the big LED ring post, dribbling his horrific face off the solid post. Back on the east side of the ring with The Fiend, Bryan runs off the apron and flies with a jumping knee strike, taking the worst of the impact as he crashes onto the floor. Wyatt only staggers back, firing forward and smashing through Bryan with a vicious lariat. (If the camera crew actually picked it up in a decent way, you'd be seeing a gif of it below, but alas)
Back with the strap, Wyatt turns the flesh of Bryan black and blue. He clears off the German announce table and joining Bryan on top. Taking a second to prepare the strap in his hands, the small window is all Bryan needed to fire off a kick, straight to the jewels of the monster. Again and again, Bryan takes advantage of the fact that he can't be disqualified to assault the nether regions of the monster from the nether realm. A DDT plants Wyatt face first on the table, not breaking it, but the damage was certainly done. Strap in hand, he begins giving it back to The Fiend, over and over and over again.
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| Hey look! A perfect loop! WWE |
Back inside the ring, a dropkick off the top drops Wyatt, with Bryan using a combination of Yes Kicks and strap shots to keep The Fiend down. Down, but in no way out, Wyatt fires up off the canvas and bellows at Bryan, begging for more! Kicking The Fiend in the head once again, he drops him flat out before grabbing both wrists and stomping the face in of the monster, over and over again. Back in the corner, Bryan calls for the support of the WWE universe, outstretching his arms to his signature "Yes!" chant.
⚡Move of the Match⚡
Firing out of the corner, Bryan charges for the busaiku knee, but The Fiend is one step ahead. Somehow, he manages to catch Bryan out of mid-fucking-air and drill him with Sister Abigail!
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| Kiss your life goodbye. WWE |
Covering for three, Bryan somehow escapes at two! Sitting in the middle of the ring, Wyatt brings his hands to his face in prayer, thinking about what must happen next. Hitting himself in the face over and over again, still with the "HURT" glove, not the "HEAL" one, he psychs himself up for what must be done to re ally, truly put Bryan away.
Pulling the corpse of Bryan to his feet, Daniel lashes out with a slap across the face, catching Wyatt unaware! The Fiend responds with a wicked right of his own, sending Bryan falling back to the corner. Seating himself on the top rope, Bryan tries to use the high ground to his advantage, but The Fiend charges and clamps down with the Mandible Claw! A wise, probably desperate counter, Bryan locks in a cross armbreaker and slips off of the top rope, using the top rope as an anchor point for his submission attempt. Refusing to submit, The Fiend pulls Bryan back to the top rope out of the submission attempt. Un-fucking-real.
Wyatt pulls Bryan back to the ring and begins pushing him down onto the canvas, trying to force the life out of Bryan's body. Somehow, someway, Bryan breaks the claw and holds the arm of Wyatt, transitioning into the LeBell lock! Using the strap to his advantage, he lays back, wrenching on the arm of The Fiend with the thick leather strap running through the mouth of the monster, bending his head back at a vicious angle.
Able to change his position, Wyatt rains down forearm shots on Bryan, breaking the hold and regaining his advantage. Pulling the limb body of Bryan up, he positions him for Sister Abigail but Bryan slips around for a rollup! Wyatt escapes at two with both men resetting to a vertical position. Charging in, Bryan cleaves Wyatt with a busaiku knee, dropping him flat once again! Another pin, but The Fiend survives! Bryan struggles to get to his knees, fired up by the WWE Universe, but the damage from the match has taken its toll. The Fiend rolls and writhes around on the canvas, when suddenly, he's on his feet! The monster rises!
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| A valiant effort, but it's no use. WWE |
Slowly, Bryan turns to face his nightmare, taking a length of strap in his hand before springing to his feet, leathering The Fiend in the chest over and over. Wyatt doesn't flinch. Snatching Bryan by the mouth, he locks in the mandible claw, drilling Bryan into the canvas with a huge slam before holding the submission on for the cover. The referee counts one, then two, then three. The Fiend captures another soul.
Overview & Final Rating
🟢 A spooky recommendation
A fantastic match between these two. You can tell that this was just a fun night at the office for both men. Wyatt was fired up, Bryan was putting in an awesome effort, and both came together to create something really fun. Wyatt felt like a true movie monster here, he showed moments of weakness but by and large, nothing could be done to put him away. A shotgun to the chest would have been the only way to actually do any damage to The Fiend here, honestly, but Bryan came pretty close on a few occasions. Bryan sold his ass off here, looking like he was truly being killed at points in the match, with the actual pain from the leather strap no doubt helping make things easier for him. Aside from his Firefly Fun House cinematic match, I'd say this is far and away The Fiend's best match of his entire run.
Often mired by controversy and too much going on in his matches that brings their quality to a screeching halt, Wyatt is a fantastic wrestler who was always brought down by external factors. Spooky lighting, bad finishes, to much "storytelling," when you just let him go out and have a match with someone he can easily dance with, his true colours show. I hope more people remember Wyatt for matches like this one, and not for matches that involve factors out of his control. He deserves to be remembered as a quality wrestler, because he was. I miss him all the time. But at least we have matches like this one to remember him with.
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Until next week. Be well, love one another, and Let Me In.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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