The throughline of this past episode of WWE SmackDown centered around The Fiend Bray Wyatt asking Daniel Bryan if he wanted to play with him again. Thus we were left wondering Bryan’s response, and they continually cut to him to show his uncertainty. The idea was raised that wrestling the Fiend changes people, as has been seen in Finn Balor and Seth Rollins. This all as Bray Wyatt promised a ‘new face’ for the Firefly Funhouse tonight. That was seemingly answered ironically when they introduced a new version of the Universal title with the Fiend’s own face on it. However, we later found out that he meant something very different…
At the end of the show, Daniel Bryan not only accepted the challenge, but seemingly revived the Yes! Movement in the process. But Bray Wyatt’s response was swift; the Fiend popped out from a hole in the ring to attack Bryan and with the Mandible Claw choke, dragged him through the hole. But what happened next was quite unexpected.
The Fiend began pulling chunks of hair from the hole – Daniel Bryan’s, supposedly.
Of course they didn’t actually have the guy rip Bryan’s hair from his skull. We didn’t see Bryan during this part, and those beloved red lights washed over the arena as well, so it was an easy enough thing to gimmick. But the implication was clear; the Fiend was tearing out Bryan’s hair before our very eyes.
This means that it’s very likely that the next time we see Bryan, he will look very, very different. He may well go totally bald. He might even lose the beard.
Over a decade ago, Bryan rocked the totally shaven look under his old guise as the American Dragon Bryan Danielson. He’s since become well known for his long scraggly beard and flowing locks. Going totally bald and clean shaven would make for a ‘new face’ to WWE’s audience indeed…
