8 WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Impulse Reactions

3. The Fiend Bray Wyatt (c) Vs. Daniel Bryan

Edge Royal Rumble
WWE.com

First the positives. This was The Fiend's best match so far, and probably Bray's second best singles clash since Daniel Bryan gave him a belter at this event six years ago. This also marked the end of the wretched red light that helped tarnish his early efforts. This was the finest Bryan battle since he turned babyface late last year, and one of the first times in a while he looked emotionally committed to the bit again.

All that said, is it still not okay to say this character is a total bust?

His entrance with his toy belt looked pretty silly. His repeated no-sells of Bryan's knees didn't jive with the emotional make-up of the match overall. The finish sucked the wind out of a crowd just about coming to life, because there's no narrative sense to be made from a character that is indestructible until it...isn't.

It's not Wyatt's fault, just as it wasn't at Hell In A Cell or Survivor Series or any SmackDown segment you might have thought was a little stupid, and full credit to him for enjoying an extended spell at the top of the card, but the silence that greeted the bulk of the match was the loudest and most inconvenient truth.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett