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Another edition of WWE Monday Night RAW is in the history books, and what a show it was. Not only did fans see a new 24/7 Champion be crowned, but also developments in the King of the Ring tournament, as well as the build-up to this Sunday's Clash of Champions.
What the fans didn't see, though, was Bray Wyatt confronting Stone Cold Steve Austin, despite many speculating that he would. The Texas Rattlesnake, who served as moderator for the Seth Rollins vs Braun Strowman contract signing, was seemingly mentioned by The Fiend in this tweet:
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Here are five reasons The Fiend Bray Wyatt didn't confront 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin on WWE RAW.
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#5 Because WWE don't want to overexpose The Fiend
Bray Wyatt returned to WWE at SummerSlam, in what has been his only match so far this year. Defeating Finn Balor in the bout, Wyatt showed a mean streak that hadn't been seen in him before, but has been used sparingly by the company ever since.
Instead of appearing on RAW each week, Wyatt is often absent, and the appearances he does make are sometimes via an episode of the Firefly Fun House. Much like any great horror movie icon, what makes Wyatt so scary is not knowing when he will appear.
On RAW, Wyatt already had an appearance in the form of his Fun House video about 'stranger danger', and having too much of The Fiend could have taken away from his mystique. Many fans already expected the Eater of Worlds to attack Austin based on the tweet above, so subverting that expectation was a good call by the company.
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#4 Austin had other things planned for the night
Stone Cold Steve Austin may have served as the moderator for the contract signing between Universal Champion Seth Rollins and his RAW Tag Team Title partner Braun Strowman, but that wasn't all the three-time Royal Rumble winner got up to during the show. In an explosive main event, Rollins and Strowman teamed with Cedric Alexander and the Viking Raiders to defeat The OC, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.
After the match, Austin would appear to celebrate with the babyfaces, and though this was a fun moment for everyone involved, it probably wouldn't have happened if The Fiend had struck. It wouldn't have made much sense after all, if Austin had been decimated by the Eater of Worlds earlier in the night, only to shake off the attack and be his usual, jovial, beer-drinking self with the faces to close out the show.
Having six huge stars share the ring definitely seems a better way to end RAW then a prone Austin being attacked by the former WWE World Champion.
#3 Because AJ Styles got confronted instead
Though The Fiend Bray Wyatt did not appear during last night's contract signing between Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman, that doesn't mean the event moderated by the Texas Rattlesnake went off without a hitch. During the signing, United States Champion AJ Styles, along with his OC stablemates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson made their presence known, similar to last week's attempted contract signing.
After the contract had been signed, the OC attempted to raise some hell of their own, but were quickly thwarted by the trio of Strowman, Rollins and the Texas Rattlesnake. Styles found himself alone in the ring with Austin, and got promptly leveled with the Stone Cold Stunner.
After their actions last week, it certainly made sense for the OC to receive this beatdown, more so than having Wyatt appear. If he had, the presence of the Eater of Worlds may have made this segment too much at one time, and it seems WWE definitely made the right call by continuing last week's story on this week's RAW.
#2 They wanted the focus to be on Rollins and Strowman
Bray Wyatt may have a Universal Championship match laid out for him at Hell in a Cell, but it's a long while between now and the show which is scheduled for October 6. At Clash of Champions this Sunday, the reigning Universal Champion Seth Rollins will put the gold on the line when he faces his own RAW Tag Team Champion partner Braun Strowman.
Though the Architect and the Monster Among Men are two of the biggest stars on Monday Night RAW at the moment, they have seemingly been eclipsed in the eyes of many fans by The Fiend. Though he only returned at SummerSlam, Wyatt has quickly become one of the hottest topics of discussion in WWE, thanks to his new Firefly Fun House and The Fiend characters.
Having Wyatt appear tonight would have certainly overshadowed the contract signing itself. Having the Eater of Worlds confront the moderator instead of either competitor would have only helped make it seem like the Universal title, and thus the men competing for it, aren't the focus of the show.
#1 Austin is in no position to take a bump
This is probably the saddest reason on this list, but there is always the chance that Stone Cold Steve Austin's body wouldn't be able to handle something as physical as being attacked by The Fiend. Remember that Austin's neck was broken at SummerSlam 1997, and though the Texas Rattlesnake was able to return to the ring afterward, it has been many years since Austin was an active wrestler.
Retiring in 2003 after his WrestleMania 19 loss to The Rock, Austin has avoided even hinting at a return to the ring. Though he recently took a stunner from Becky Lynch on his 'Straight Up Steve Austin' show, it's possible that the former World Champion's body wasn't ready for a full-on attack.
If this is the case though, the question remains why WWE would even have Wyatt hint at confronting the Rattlesnake at all, as many fans speculated that the two would meet each other based on Wyatt's tweet. Whatever the truth may be, don't expect the Eater of Worlds to confront the Bionic Redneck anytime soon.
