5 reasons why The Fiend didn't appear on SmackDown this week

#3 Gives time to showcase the 'new' Daniel Bryan

Did WWE use The Fiend's absence to showcase the new Daniel Bryan?

WWE has really played up the fact that the Superstars who face The Fiend leave the match fundamentally changed forever and the results have been interesting. Finn Balor was the first official victim of The Fiend and while he reappeared months later on NXT as a babyface, before turning heel only a short time later.

Then there was Seth Rollins, who faced The Fiend on two different occasions and then turned his back on The WWE Universe. Rollins joined up with AOP and is now on what could turn out to be a great run as a heel . Of course that's going to be up to what WWE do with him next.

With that being said, it seems like Daniel Bryan and The Miz are also undergoing these changes and WWE only amplified that during this week's edition of SmackDown. Interestingly enough though, it was the very absence of The Fiend that helped to showcase those changes even more.

Sure, everyone probably was thinking in the back of their minds that The Fiend was going to appear in some capacity, but when he didn't, they were forced to focus on the action. They were forced to watch Daniel Bryan and The Miz transform into 'better' versions of themselves all thanks to The Fiend.

In the end, that's probably the best part of his character. The fact that The Fiend or even Bray Wyatt need to be present for their presence to be felt.