Backstage Note On How WWE Sees The Fiend Vs. Randy Orton
If you thought The Fiend's new look was twisted, get a load of WWE's logic in the Randy Orton feud.
In WWE's eyes, Bray Wyatt's 'Fiend' character is the babyface in his ongoing feud with Randy Orton.
Twitter user @XylotThemes, who claims to be a regular participant in WWE's digital ThunderDome crowds, says that company officials called for "big boos for Randy Orton" during this week's main event segment on WWE Raw:-
I have the audio from Fastlane & RAW this week, and the host said nothing during that segment at the PPV. On Raw this week the host wanted "Big Boos for Randy Orton", and nothing until the show went off the air. I hope this helped. :)#WWEThunderDome #WWEFastlane #WWERAW
Advertisement— Xylot Themes (@XylotThemes) March 23, 2021
Said segment saw Orton attempt to douse The Fiend in gasoline and set him ablaze, repeating TLC 2020's Firefly Inferno match, in which Wyatt's fiery fate was enough to keep him off television for almost three months. Randy was foiled on this occasion, with Bray downing him via Sister Abigail to close the show.
Orton vs. Wyatt goes down at WrestleMania 37. A wacky cinematic stipulation is yet to be attached to the contest, but has been speculated.
While attempting to burn someone (or something, in this case) alive isn't exactly typical babyface fodder, it's interesting that WWE apparently sees Wyatt's murder clown/straight-to-DVD horror movie monster as the sympathetic party in all of this. Among other things, recent months have seen Alexa Bliss launch fireballs at Orton's face and seemingly possess him, forcing The Viper to cough up black goo.
The Fiend returned at Fastlane 2021 last week, debuting a crispy new look sitting somewhere between an Egyptian mummy, an Ewok, and a Slipknot member.