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From "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan's final encounter before the Royal Rumble to John Morrison's victory against former WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston, this week's episode of SmackDown featured several contrasting moments.
As entertaining as SmackDown is nowadays, one can't argue that the buildup to the 2020 men's Royal Rumble Match has deviated from what makes the event exciting in the first place (more on that later).
Roman Reigns and King Corbin faced off in a pretty long six-man tag team match before their eventual encounter this Sunday, but in the end, it is Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt's feud that is the most intriguing program heading into the Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View.
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Here are a few interesting observations from this week's episode of WWE SmackDown (January 24, 2020).
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#3: The Miz and John Morrison's Royal Rumble entry announcement was a last-minute misstep
One of the most exciting aspects of a Royal Rumble match is when the viewers wait in anticipation of surprise entrants.
Sadly, in an era where rigorous advertisements are a must for a big media conglomerate like WWE, we already know the names of 27 of the 30 entrants from this year's 30-man Royal Rumble match.
A lot of us get that you need to pre-announce names for a big event like the Royal Rumble, but in all fairness, being unaware about the names of most entrants not only builds up anticipation, it also increases the unpredictable nature of the match itself.
John Morrison won against Kofi Kingston in a singles match this week, but for reasons stated above, Miz & Morrison's pre-match announcement about confirming their Royal Rumble spots was unnecessary just 48-hours before the event.
In contrast, the women's Royal Rumble match has had little to no fanfare this year, and it would be a nice surprise if they put on a better contest than the men in 2020.
#2: Lacey Evans & Bayley's feud finally got its moment before the Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View
Whether you are a fan of her or not, Lacey Evans is one of the most hardworking people on the main roster today.
Her feud against the SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley hasn't been the most noteworthy program heading into this Sunday's Pay-Per-View. However, Evans took advantage of the opportunity to showcase her potential as a successful babyface, and that is probably the biggest takeaway from this feud so far.
Both Bayley and Lacey Evans battled through multiple segments during the episode, which also brought out a last-minute sense of urgency that the feud desperately needed.
Sure, that meant we wouldn't get another Otis & Mandy segment this week, but from what we've seen so far, a week's break can't derail Otis & Mandy's authentic chemistry.
#1: "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan created the most intriguing tease for the 2020 Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View
WWE gets a lot of flak for ending their go-home shows in unimpressive ways, but this time around, they made the right choice by letting "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan close out SmackDown.
Undoubtedly, their Universal Championship feud has had the best buildup heading into this Sunday's Pay-Per-View.
What makes it even more intriguing is that the Strap Match stipulation is completely antithetical to The Fiend's nature. Strap Matches aren't the most exciting stipulations in pro-wrestling history.
It is unlikely that Bray Wyatt's alter-ego is simply going to accept victory by touching the four turnbuckles to end their contest, and this is why it will be interesting to see how Wyatt's bout mentality makes this particular Strap Match stand out from the rest.
We know that since adopting "The Fiend" gimmick, Bray Wyatt's in-ring psychology has uniquely evolved to a bigger extent than before. If you pair that psychology with Daniel Bryan's ability to put on a great match with any wrestler in today's day-and-age, we might just witness an unconventionally great bout this Sunday.
