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I know that the end of SmackDown Live has left you with more questions than answers and I'm here to address all of your doubts. Why did SmackDown Live go off with a strange man with a red beard being unveiled as the man behind the Roman Reigns attacks?
In this article, I shall provide 5 theories as to why he was chosen for this role. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts and opinions.
Roman Reigns looked just as baffled as the rest of us did when this segment took place. So, after the tease of the big reveal that SmackDown Live promised us last week, why would WWE book this particular segment?
Let me answer all your questions in this article.
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#5 Physical similarity to Erick Rowan
It is clear that things aren't very clear in Buddy Murphy's mind at the moment. But to throw a red-bearded herring into the proceedings, Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan can confuse Roman Reigns by saying that Murphy could have mistaken the man who was unmasked as the perpetrator behind the attacks. I hate the fact that someone like Roman Reigns who's supposed to be an intelligent man can fall for a play so silly and so very childish.
But it is what it is. I'm guessing that Roman Reigns will go on believing that this man was behind the attacks all along until further footage emerges that implicates Erick Rowan and Daniel Bryan. And that will lead to the feud that is bound to ensue between the two men down the road.
Well, there are very few individuals on the planet that bear a striking resemblance to Erick Rowan in any manner whatsoever. It's glad to see one of these men!
See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page
#4 A cliffhanger leading into next week
Ultimately, we live in a world where nothing is must-see television anymore. Even the best match can be watched at one's convenience with the availability of streaming platforms. There are way too many distractions for a casual viewer, because of the abundance of options available for fans.
Cliffhangers are the only way to keep an audience member engaged from one week to the next. WWE has achieved this in a sense with The Fiend, where you don't know who he will attack next. They have also left us with questions after Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman became the RAW Tag Team Champions.
But neither of those hooks even remotely compare to what WWE is attempting to do with the Roman Reigns angle and the case of the mystery attacker. It makes sense in a way because Roman Reigns is the biggest star that the company boasts.
#3 Killing time until Clash of Champions
You can only stretch out a story over so many weeks before it becomes stale. This is why many consider Breaking Bad to be the greatest show ever made, it ended right when the story hit the sweet spot and there was nothing left to be told of the tale of Walter White.
WWE is facing the very real issue of stretching this already thin storyline all the way to Clash of Champions, where one assumes that Roman Reigns will face off against his attacker in a big grudge match. Even though every championship will be on the line, one assumes this is the match everyone will be talking about from the show.
While last week's cliffhanger was a real tease, this week's reveal just seems predictable. But then again, it's a chapter in the tale of Roman Reigns and his mystery attacker.
I hope the actual attacker is finally revealed next week before fans begin to protest against this storyline too, which would be a shame because fans are finally cheering for Roman Reigns at long last.
#2 To establish Daniel Bryan as the mastermind all along
As cool as the idea of a murder mystery or even a whodunit is, one has to remember that ultimately, this is a sports entertainment show and not a crime thriller. Which is why it has to lead to a marquee match that people will tune in to watch. The biggest match in WWE that could happen from this whole scenario is Reigns vs. Bryan.
As Tom Colohue from Sportskeeda reported recently, Eric Bischoff is very high on Daniel Bryan and wants him to get a major push. Which is why it is all too certain that Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan will be the big match coming out of this. It's a certainty that this random individual is not the man behind the vicious attacks.
You cannot put Roman Reigns and an unknown red-bearded man in the poster for Clash of Champions. You can, however, definitely book Roman vs. Bryan.
#1 Could not have afforded to make a WWE Superstar look weak
Imagine if it had been someone, even an underutilized superstar like Rusev under the mask instead of the reveal that we finally got. Would we have been able to take him seriously at all considering the fact that Rowan and Bryan were able to boss him around as they did on this week's show?
No, it would have killed the Superstar entirely, to be bullied like this person was. Which is why someone who looked like he could potentially be a pro-wrestler but wasn't chosen for this role.
I do not know who the person is but there's nothing bigger in the sports entertainment industry than a segment with Roman Reigns. If this particular individual is a fan of the sport, what a great moment it must have been for him!
Were you a fan of the segment?
