One Year of "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt: 4 things WWE got right in his first year and 3 they got wrong

#1 (Wrong) Facing Goldberg at Super ShowDown

WHAT DID WE JUST WITNESS?!@Goldberg has DEFEATED #TheFiend @WWEBrayWyatt for the #UniversalTitle! #WWESSD pic.twitter.com/DIiIc3HRaW

— WWE (@WWE) February 27, 2020

The worst moment of The Fiend's year in WWE, Goldberg's pursuit of the Universal Championship was extremely damaging to the relatively young character. The WWE Hall of Famer did not sell any of Bray Wyatt's actions, both in the build-up and during their eventual match at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia.

There were ways for The Fiend to lose the Universal Title without looking too bad, but Goldberg was not the right opponent for it. The match was short and lousy, ending with a weak-looking suplex implied to be a Jackhammer. After Goldberg won, Wyatt stood up and immediately disappeared.

There have been explanations for this defeat, like Goldberg not being a figure from Bray Wyatt's past. But it does not take the sour taste off the mouth. The Fiend could have easily lost the Universal Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, with the COVID-19 pandemic suggesting that there was no use in putting the title on Goldberg in the first place.

So, if the worry was that Reigns beating the Fiend would have been booed by the live crowd, with the benefit of hindsight, we can now look back and say WWE didn’t need to give Goldberg the Universal Championship at all...

— Gary Cassidy (@WrestlingGary) March 16, 2020

Again, this harkens back to the issue of booking The Fiend to win the Universal Championship in the first place. The fact that WWE sacrificed their most compelling character in years in favor of a Hall of Famer stings like a bee.

Booking Goldberg against The Fiend in the first place was a huge mistake. One that nearly undid all of the good work WWE had done in rebuilding Bray Wyatt. Fortunately, his masked character was rescued by what came next.