Something that many wrestling fans and observers expected finally materialised at Crown Jewel when Bray Wyatt defeated Seth Rollins to win the Universal Championship. It turns Wyatt, who has spent a long time being the dark figure WWE has been looking for since Undertaker becoming an occasional performer, into a leading figure of the company.
That is all fine. But the way in which WWE made The Fiend defeat Rollins was very problematic. To begin with, they made Wyatt look more impervious to pain than any wrestler in WWE history, even The Undertaker. Yes, the character of the new champion is supposed to have supernatural qualities but if he is going to be unaffected by even the most brutal assaults then what is the point of fighting him.
The other problem with The Fiend's victory is the disrespect heaped upon Rollins' finisher – The Stomp. This is one of the most innovative moves in recent times and has been used to defeat even the best in the business. The fact that even a dozen stomps seemed to have no effect on Wyatt makes this deadly and nasty-looking finisher into an innocuous move.
How would anyone, from now on, be able to suspend his disbelief to the point where they can imagine Rollins beating another wrestler with the same move that didn't bother his opponent at Crown Jewel even slightly.
The worst part about this entire drama is that WWE is making a mockery of one of their biggest talents – Seth Rollins. At a time when the current set of superstars are not able to generate as much passion as past wrestlers, Rollins has emerged as somebody who seems to have the persona and the ability to become a big name.
His decimation would leave him looking brittle and vulnerable in WWE. In other words, while trying to build up a new supernatural figure, WWE might be knocking down a top performer in their roster. Surely, the putting over of The Fiend could have been done in a better way.
