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In what can be viewed as the most shocking result of WrestleMania 37, Randy Orton defeated The Fiend in the opening match of Night 2.
Many fans believed that The Fiend would easily defeat Orton in a predictable result. It also made sense logically from a storyline point of view, as The Fiend needed to avenge his loss to Orton from the TLC PPV.
Instead, Orton emerged victorious after Alexa Bliss cost the Fiend the match after distracting The Fiend long enough for Orton to hit the RKO for the victory. It also did not help matters that the match was underwhelming as well. This match needed a stipulation attached to it, especially after the story this feud has had.
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Another issue is that WrestleMania is typically a place where feuds culminate, not just beginning with a new angle. Orton and Fiend have been feuding for about half a year now, so it was time for the feud to end. With the end to tonight's match, it is possible that this feud is just beginning.
Fans in attendance at Raymond James Stadium were also not pleased as they booed when The Fiend and Bliss disappeared.
It is now very difficult to take The Fiend seriously at this point. When the character first debuted in the summer of 2019, it was presented as a dominant monster that could withstand extreme amounts of punishment.
Fans were wondering what it would take to defeat The Fiend and who would be the person to do it. The popular choice was Roman Reigns at last year's WrestleMania.
His Hell in the Cell Match with Seth Rollins that fall, followed by dropping the Universal Championship to Goldberg in Saudi Arabia early in 2020 halted that momentum. His feud with John Cena leading up to their Firefly FunHouse Match at WrestleMania 36 was good, but he was still never the same.
His ensuing feud with Braun Strowman, where we saw the "Faces of Wyatt" was more entertaining than many were expecting, but Wyatt was still not the same.
Now, after losing the WWE Championship to Roman Reigns one week after winning it at the SummerSlam PPV, followed up by this feud with Orton, WWE have completely killed any momentum and legitimacy that The Fiend had.
There is some fan speculation that The Fiend we saw tonight was not the real Fiend and that is why Alexa Bliss turned on him. However, that is just fan speculation and even if this is true, it would have made more sense to reveal that before WrestleMania or right before the match. Instead, we had an underwhelming match and an even more underwhelming result.
The Fiend had the potential to be this generation's Undertaker. From his presentation, an indestructible force, to his supernatural powers. WWE had it right in front of their face. But, once again they fumbled his booking and he is possibly beyond repair now.
Roman Reigns' words about The Fiend during his return at SummerSlam sort of resemble what many view him as now and that is "just a freak in a mask".
While it is possible WWE will explain what happened between Bliss and The Fiend on RAW tonight, it might be too little too late. Fans are upset about the Fiend's loss and will find it hard to take him seriously as a threat after his booking over the past year.
Can you honestly see the Fiend as a threat to beat someone like Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley or Roman Reigns? Some may still hold out hope for revitalization, but it is very hard to see how WWE books their way out of this.
What are your thoughts? Do you think WWE needs to drop the Fiend gimmick? If so, what should they do with him next? Sound off in the comments below.
