Royal Rumble Build Falls Flat, The Fiend Terrifies, More WWE SmackDown Fallout

Heralding the start of WrestleMania season, WWE Royal Rumble 2020 on January 26 had potential to rewrite the direction of WWE. Everyone wanted to skip to the front of the line. The January 24 edition of Friday Night SmackDown showed that passion.

However, while individual stars certainly stepped up, the blue brand did not do nearly enough to get people talking about the Royal Rumble.

While Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin continues to dominate screen time on SmackDown, neither feel like they are ready for the match that is coming. Both are wrestling twice on the show, and that is barely registering for anyone.

Even the better stories are suffering. Lacey Evans has put her all into crafting her rivalry with Bayley. Their latest brawl was exciting. However, it was undercut by poor booking of the champion and her friend Sasha Banks.

Only Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan got away, preparing for a brutal strap match with a bloody final encounter.

This January 24 edition of SmackDown was the time to get people talking. Now WWE is relying the Royal Rumble to get excited fans again.

The Fiend Remains SmackDown's Most Consistent Act and Cannot Lose Now

Daniel Bryan sat down for his contract signing followed by Bray Wyatt appearing on the titantron. He told The Planet's Champion he made a mistake. The Fiend appeared and lashed Bryan repeatedly with the strap that would soon tie them together. He then signed the contract with blood from his palm.

As always, the blue brand's best story going into a major pay-per-view focuses on Wyatt. He and Bryan have crafted a fantastic story, and it feels like every moment builds on the last.

The Fiend's aggressive monstrous nature allows him to do things others would never without anyone being surprised. Signing the contract in his blood was an inspired idea, showing The Planet's Champion that he had fallen right into the trap The Fiend had set.

No matter how great Bryan certainly is, it is Wyatt's time. He needs to stay at the top all the way to WrestleMania. He makes SmackDown more interesting. He has earned the right to work a headlining role on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

It does not matter who his opponent is. Wyatt will make his 'Mania match build one to remember.

Bayley and Lacey Evans Have Earned This Spotlight

Lacey Evans talked about how much it meant to her to stand up to bullies and forge her own path. As she was making a promise for Royal Rumble, Bayley attacked her from behind. The two brawled backstage then right back into the ring during Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.

Uneven storytelling has been a hallmark of every feud for The Sassy Southern Belle to date. However, she may finally have risen above it all. Watching The Role Model and The Lady fight made it clear how much story was behind every punch.

Evans has found her niche as a babyface more than could have possible been expected. Even if she has more to prove, she has shown why WWE put so much faith in her from the start.

This story with Bayley and Banks has been built on a classic formula. The overconfident villains have pushed the hero to her limit, and they are not quite ready for her to fight back. The Sassy Southern Belle has shown herself to have quite a bit of fight.

Bayley vs. Evans is a match with plenty of potential to flop. It is worth giving the women a chance though since it feels like they are just finding their stride.

Braun Strowman and Elias Could Help Keep Each Other Relevant

Credit: WWE.com

Elias brought out Braun Strowman to sing a duet, but Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura interrupted. In the match that followed, Sami Zayn's crew was once again stopped as The Monster Among Men planted The Swiss Cyborg with a running powerslam into an Elias diving elbow drop for the win.

Strowman has spent far too long wavering close to relevancy. He's good at just about everything WWE needs. However, he cannot catch a break. Even though he's on track to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship, that could quickly fall apart.

The Living Truth has just the right tune to get him out of funk. Elias is also good at everything WWE needs, but he's never quite felt like he could be taken seriously. Together, The Monster and The Drifter can keep each other relevant.

It does not have to be as a tag team. Strowman will be a single champion soon and has enough makeshift tag teams to his name. What The Monster needs is someone to watch his back, and Elias can do that.

In fact, The Living Truth feels like the perfect hype man. He can sing the praises of Strowman before he goes out and destroys SmackDown's finest.

WWE Protecting John Morrison Now Could Allow Him to Shine Later

The Miz hyped John Morrison before his match, and it seemed to work. The Shaman of Sexy found his cheap shots at just the right time, and The A-Lister gave him an opening for Starship Pain to seal an important victory over Kofi Kingston.

Morrison has been on a roll early with his return to WWE. It feels like he is on a path to stardom whether he's going with Miz or not. The A-Lister is certainly a great hype man.

Wins and losses may not matter much in WWE, but The Shaman of Sexy did defeat a recent WWE champion. A series of wins now can play a role in keeping Morrison relevant until a major opportunity arises.

If he doesn't lost much now, it will be easy to buy him stepping up to top stars like Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan down the line. Few men are as naturally gifted as Morrison. The problem was always taking the next step forward.