From the moment Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton began their program together on Aug. 23, two days after SummerSlam, the only constant has been change. Not only did their initial feud quickly turn into a surprising partnership, but just when it appeared as if their SmackDown tag team championship reign had the makings to be permanent, Wyatt Family infighting led to the duo dropping the belts 23 days later.
With their future plans seemingly set in stone after Orton won the Royal Rumble and Wyatt captured the WWE championship at Elimination Chamber two weeks later, setting up a main event match between them at WrestleMania 33, it should have come as no surprise that change was around the corner. Yet surprise it did on Tuesday night's episode of SmackDown Live, in a testament to the attention to detail and storytelling that has surrounded this angle over the past six months.
Despite being attacked by former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper before the match and later being driven through the announcer's table, Wyatt fought off John Cena and AJ Styles to defend his WWE championship in a fast-paced triple threat match that dripped with pay-per-view intensity.
After the match, Orton and Wyatt added one more twist to their compelling journey when Orton entered the ring for what looked like would be a standoff, but Orton quickly buckled to Wyatt's mind control.
"I won the Royal Rumble and all the privileges that come with it, but you are the WWE champion," Orton said. "As long as you are the master and I am the servant, I refuse to face you at WrestleMania. I pledge my undying allegiance to you, Bray Wyatt."
With a sinister smile on his face, Wyatt responded by saying, "You now have the keys to the kingdom, my friend," before dropping the microphone and posing with Wyatt.
The plot twist capped another strong episode of SmackDown Live, as WWE continues to put its best foot forward from a booking sense as we continue down "The Road to WrestleMania" in Orlando, Florida, on April 2.
General manager Daniel Bryan further teased the uncertainty of where things are headed on "Talking Smack," when he announced a Battle Royal for next week's SmackDown Live to determine Bray Wyatt's new opponent at WrestleMania. While it's a strong bet that both Harper and Orton will play key roles in next week's match, the fact that we are 46 days away from WrestleMania, and don't quite yet know the end game to this feud, is something to be happy about.
Whether one of Harper or Orton are playing possum, or the Wyatts are inevitably headed toward a triple threat match to sort out their domestic differences, there's enough trust built up in the SmackDown Live creative team to be confident about the journey. Orton's victory at the Royal Rumble may have felt out of place, especially with the incorrect tease that he might be headed toward a feud with Cena that has been seen and done before. But there's enough evidence going back to last August that the program between Orton and Wyatt had WrestleMania written all over it from the beginning. From their surprise main event booking at No Mercy last October to Orton and Wyatt proving to be the last men standing at the main event of Survivor Series, theirs has been a longform story that WWE has shown commitment to throughout.
Buckle up for the conclusion. The Era of Wyatt is alive and well.
Hits and misses
The addition of the WWE championship around his waist gave Wyatt's words an extra level of gravitas during his promo since to open the show (see below). The title reign was a long-time coming for Wyatt, who seemed to be caught up in an endless cycle of losing in big PPV matches over the past two years. That said, Wyatt's promo, his first since winning the title, was the first time his character truly felt complete on the main roster.
With how real the feud between Nikki Bella and Natalya has felt in recent months, including a seemingly endless array of backstage attacks, it only seems fitting that Bryan announced the two will meet in a Falls Count Anywhere match next week. Both women have done a great job escalating the intensity of the real-life storylines in play with plenty of physicality.
It may have been brief, but the trash-talking backstage between Dean Ambrose and Carmella was a humorous example of intertwining unrelated storylines. Ambrose turned to his former protégé James Ellsworth to deliver a warning about his relationship with Carmella, saying, "Let me give you a nickel's worth of advice: She's using you and she's no good. Why don't you try online dating?" Carmella's response was even better as she looked at Ambrose's attire before referring to him as "a gas station employee."
Outside of her experience and name value, the best thing Mickie James brings to the SmackDown Live women's division in her return to WWE is her character's often psychotic ability to manipulate opponents with mind games. So it was good to see James fake an injury against Becky Lynch only to attack unannounced and steal the pin, even if the execution wasn't necessarily flawless.
Newly crowned SmackDown women's champion Naomi represented herself well in a verbal joust with Alexa Bliss, calling her "a little flea" before threatening to "snatch you into the night." Naomi's recent push was a long time coming and a challenge to find out how good she can be once given the room to operate. While it's fair to argue the timing of the title change, Naomi has looked the part thus far.
Move of the night
It would be easy to pick from any number of high spots between Wyatt, Cena and Styles in the main event. But the one move that had the most impact on Tuesday may have come from Baron Corbin's pre-match attack on Dean Ambrose. In a continuation of their beef which hatched at Elimination Chamber on Sunday, Corbin landed his spinning Deep Six suplex on Ambrose and sent him flying through a table next to the stage, setting off sparks on the landing.
DEEP SIX into the production gear!! #SDLive @BaronCorbinWWE @TheDeanAmbrose pic.twitter.com/57wSnbe7Hq
- WWE (@WWE) February 15, 2017
Line of the night
"She never said that this would be easy. They will lie to you, she said. They will try to denounce you, she said. They will try to steal your gift and she was right. Sister Abigail always spoke the truth and so do I. So when I tell you that I knew this day would come, I am not telling you a lie. And on this day, in this moment in time right now, in this second, I can truly say that I have the whole damn world in my hands. Stand in my way and you will burn in the fire. Ladies and gentleman I want to welcome you all to the Era of Wyatt." -- Bray Wyatt, to open Tuesday's episode of SmackDown Live, in his first promo after winning his first WWE championship.